Felonius

FELONIUS. - It is the Roman paenula (Gr. φελόνιον, by corruption of φεινάλιον or φενάλιον), but from the ancient and ample form that envelops the whole body. The Slavs and the Romanians in a more recent era shortened the front part. The f. is par excellence the ornament of the priest, who receives it in solemn form from the bishop after his cheirotonia. It was formerly worn also by the bishop, who little by little replaced it with the archiepiscopal. The episcopal f. was adorned with multiple crosses, whereas the priestly f., always made of precious fabric, must be adorned with a single cross on the back part. Its use is reserved to the liturgy, to some rare ceremonies, such as solemn Baptism. The major dignitaries of the Church of Constantinople had the right to wear it, but with the diaconal orarion, because they were not priests (G. Codinus, De officiis Magnae Ecclesiae et Aulæ Constantinopolitanæ, Venice 1729, p. 84). From the priestly f. one must distinguish an f. of smaller form that was conferred on the lector and that the subdeacon also wore. Later it took the form of a tunicle which Symeon of Thessalonica calls cosciatov, alb. Placido de Meester