EPIGONATION (ἐπιγωνάτιον, ἐπιγόνατο). - A liturgical ornament of the Byzantine rite, worn suspended from a ribbon at the level of the right knee. It is diamond-shaped and consists of cloth and cardboard covered with richly embroidered fabric and adorned with a sword, a cross, or an image: a cherub or a saint. Its origin is unclear.
It may have been a simple handkerchief or a pouch containing the text of the liturgy or homily read by the pontiff. At first only the patriarch had the right to wear the e.; it was then granted to bishops, and finally to archimandrites and other ecclesiastical dignitaries. In the list of officials of the Patriarchal Church of Constantinople, one of them carried and placed the e. upon the person of the patriarch. Whoever has the privilege of wearing the e., when putting it on, recites a prayer. This alludes to the victory of Christ and of Grace over the powers of death. The e. is also a sign of authority. Placido de Meester