OMOPHORION. - A liturgical vestment, distinctive of bishops of the Byzantine, Armenian, Syrian, Maronite and Coptic rites, it is a scarf (band, sash) of silk, 3 or 4 m. long, 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 omophorion to let the head pass through, and the omophorion is worn in the manner of a scapular.
The omophorion corresponds to the Latin pallium, with these differences: a) while the pallium is the vestment distinctive of the pope and of archbishops and is rarely granted to a bishop, the omophorion is given today to all bishops of the aforementioned rites; b) while the existence of the pallium can be traced back to the 5th century, for the omophorion one goes back to the 4th century (cf. Isidore of Pelusium: PG 78, 272) and its first representation to the 5th century; c) the form of the pallium has changed greatly, but the omophorion in the Byzantine, Armenian and Coptic rites has preserved its ancient form. According to a new hypothesis the origin of the omophorion should be sought in the great and small pallium of monks (cf. Synod of Gangra [340-341], can. 12). - See plate VI.
Plate VIBYZANTINE OMOPHORION with sacred scenes, in embroidery, probably of the 13th cent. Cross at top left: Nativity, Annunciation, Baptism. Cross at top right: Feast of All Saints, Transfiguration, Palms. Cross at bottom left: Crucifixion, Presentation, Dormitio Virginis. Cross at bottom right: Resurrection, Ascension, Pentecost. At top right, under the cross: Image of Christ King of Kings. In the horizontal bands: The chariot of the glory of the triumphant Lord. Inscription, from left to right: «This o. belongs to the Most Sacred Metropolitan of Old Patras, more than Venerable, and Exarch of all Achaia, Don Theophanes in the year 7126 indiction 1st Apr. and of Christ 1618». This last date refers to the moment when the o. came into the possession of the Metropolitan of Patras - Grottaferrata, abbey - Treasury.(fot. Vasari)Bibliography6 worksA. J. Butler, The ancient Coptic Churches of Egypt, II, Oxford 1884, pp. 143-62; P. Bernardakis, Les ornementes liturg. chez les Grecs, in É
BIBL.: A. J. Butler, The ancient Coptic Churches of Egypt, II, Oxford 1884, pp. 143-62; P. Bernardakis, Les ornementes liturg. chez les Grecs, in Échos d'Orient, 3 (1902), p. 133 ff.; J. Braun, Die liturgische Gesandung, Friburgo in Br. 1907, pp. 664-74; J. Muyldermans, Le costume liturg. arménien (offprint from Muséon), Louvain 1926, pp. 286-90; A. Raes, Introd. in liturgiam orient., Rome 1947, pp. 238-40; B. Stefanides, Η τών αδραστρολογικών εὐθυμάτων τοῦ βυζαντίου ἐπιδράσις ἐπὶ τῶν ἀρχιερατικῶν ἀμσίων, in Θεολογία, 21 (Athens 1950), pp. 23-24.
Alfonso Raes
OMOBONO, saint - Church of St. O. de' sarti along the Via del Mare, built at the end of the 16th century, with later restorations - Rome.
Raes, Alfonso. “Omoforio.” In Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. IX, col. 124. Città del Vaticano: Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1952. https://azioneromana.com/article/omoforio.
MLA
Raes, Alfonso. “Omoforio.” Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. IX, Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1952, col. 124. Azione Romana, https://azioneromana.com/article/omoforio.
BibTeX
@incollection{ec9_omoforio,
author = {Raes, Alfonso},
title = {Omoforio},
booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica},
volume = {IX},
pages = {124},
note = {Cited by column},
publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico},
address = {Città del Vaticano},
year = {1952},
url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/omoforio}
}
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