Omophorion

OMOFORIO. – Liturgical vestment, distinctive of the bishops of the Byzantine, Armenian, Syrian, Maronite, and Coptic rites, it is a silk scarf (band, sash), 3 or 4 m. long and 0.25–0.30 m. wide, thrown freely

over the chest and shoulders so as to let one end hang in front and the other behind; among the Syrians and Maronites, however, an opening is made in the middle of the o. to allow the head to pass through, and the o. is worn like a scapular.

The o. corresponds to the Latin pallium, with the following differences: a) whereas the pallium is the distinctive vestment of the pope and archbishops and is rarely granted to a bishop, the o. is now given to all bishops of the aforesaid rites; b) whereas the existence of the pallium can be traced back to the 5th century, for the o. one goes back to the 4th century (cf. Isidoro Pelusiota: PG 78, 272) and its first representation to the 5th century; c) the form of the pallium has changed considerably, whereas the o. in the Byzantine, Armenian, and Coptic rites has preserved its ancient form. According to a new hypothesis, the origin of the o. should be sought in the large and small pallium of the monks (cf. Synod of Gangra [340–341], can. 12). – Vedi tav. VI.
OMOBONO, santo – Church of s. O. de' sarti along the Via del Mare, built at the end of the 16th century, with subsequent restorations – Rome.