EPITRACHELIO (ἐπιτραχήλων, also called περιτραχήλων). — It is the priestly stole which, like that of the deacon, consists of a long strip of silk, the color of the phelonion or chasuble, whose two ends are joined at the front, leaving an opening through which the neck may pass: hence its name. It is adorned with crosses and fringes and symbolizes the grace of the Lord infused into the priest’s soul. In the priest’s chirotony, the bishop takes the stole that he had worn as a deacon hanging from his left shoulder and passes one of its ends behind his neck, exclaiming ἄξιος, as he does for each of the ornaments or insignia of the order conferred. The priest must wear the e. in all ecclesiastical functions, even when he is not wearing the phelonion.
BIBL. Simone di Soloniero, Opera: PO 155, 08, 146, 376, 337. Placido de Meeser