In Russia, the image of an Orthodox priest is well known: a man with long hair, an impressive beard, in a black cassock, similar to a hoodie. Another important symbol of the priesthood is a cross dangling on the chest or stomach. In fact, in the view of the people, the cross is what makes a priest a clergyman, at least in a social sense. This important attribute of religious service will be discussed below.
The priestly cross in the modern practice of the Russian Orthodox Church
The first thing to say is that the pectoral cross of a priest, so well known in Russia, is practically not used in the churches of the Greek tradition in the East. He became an attribute of a priest in our country not so long ago - at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. Prior to this, the priests did not wear a pectoral cross. And if they did, then only some and on a special occasion.
Today, this item is given to every priest immediately upon ordination to the dignity,as part of the obligatory vestments and insignia from other representatives of the hierarchy. At worship, clerics wear it over special vestments, and at ordinary times - over their cassock or cassock. There are several varieties of pectoral crosses: silver, gold and decorated. But this will be discussed below.
Encolpion - the ancestor of the priestly cross
The first ancestor of the modern priestly cross is an object called the encolpion. It represents an ark, that is, a small box, on the front side of which, in ancient times, chrism was depicted - a monogram of the name of Jesus Christ. A little later, instead of it, the image of the cross began to be placed on the encolpion. This item was worn on the chest and played the role of a vessel in which something valuable could be hidden: manuscripts of books, a particle of relics, Holy Communion, and so on.
The earliest evidence of the encolpion that we have dates back to the 4th century - Patriarch John of Constantinople, known in church circles as St. John Chrysostom, writes about this subject. In the Vatican, during excavations of local Christian burials, several encolpions were found, also no younger than the 4th century.
Later they were transformed from hollow rectangular boxes into hollow crosses, while retaining their function. At the same time, they began to be subjected to more thorough artistic processing. And soon they were adopted as attributes of the episcopal dignity and Byzantine emperors. The same custom was later adopted by Russian tsars and bishops who survived the Romanempire. As for the sovereign, only Emperor Peter the Great abolished this tradition. In the church, encolpion crosses were worn by some monks, and sometimes even lay people. Often this item became an attribute of pilgrims.
Spreading crosses
In the 18th century, encolpions almost universally fell into disuse. Instead, they began to use metal crosses without cavities inside. At the same time, the right to wear a pectoral cross was for the first time assigned to bishops. Since the forties of the same century, monastic priests in the rank of archimandrite have been granted this right in Russia, but only if they are members of the Holy Synod.
But a year later, namely in 1742, all archimandrites in general get the opportunity to wear a pectoral cross. This happened following the example of the Kyiv Metropolis, where this practice spread spontaneously even before its formal approval.
Establishing the right to bear crosses by white priests
White, that is, married clergy received the right to wear a pectoral cross at the end of the 18th century. Of course, this was not allowed for everyone at once. First, Emperor Paul introduced this attribute as one of the church awards for priests. It could be obtained for any merit. For example, a special pattern of the cross was given to many priests in 1814 in honor of the victory over the French army two years earlier. From 1820, crosses were also given to those clergy who served abroad or at the imperial court. However, rightsthey could also be deprived of wearing this item if the clergyman served in his place for less than seven years. In other cases, the pectoral cross remained with the priest forever.
Crosses as a hallmark of learning of the Russian clergy
In the 19th - early 20th centuries, an interesting practice arose to issue crosses to priests in accordance with the degree they had. The pectoral cross at the same time relied on doctors of sciences. And the candidates and masters were content with these items, attaching them to the buttonhole on the collar of the cassock.
Gradually wearing pectoral crosses became the norm for all priests in the Russian Church. The last line under this process was drawn by Emperor Nicholas II, who ordered by a special decree in honor of his coronation to award all priests the right to wear an eight-pointed silver cross of the established pattern. Since then, it has become an integral tradition of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Types of crosses
As mentioned above, the crosses are different from each other. The above-described silver Nicholas cross is an attribute with which a clergyman begins his career as a clergyman. For services to the church or long service, he may be awarded the right to wear a four-pointed golden cross. The priest serves with him until he is elevated to the rank of archpriest. When this happens, he has the opportunity to receive the next reward - a pectoral cross with decorations.
This variety is usually richly inlaidprecious stones and, in principle, does not differ in any way from the paraphernalia worn by bishops. Usually, this is where the awards in the field of chest decorations end. Sometimes, however, some clergymen are given the right to wear two crosses at once. Another very rare award is the golden cross of the patriarch. But this honor is awarded to literally a few. Since 2011, a pectoral cross, called a doctor's cross, has appeared, or rather, has been restored. They hand it over, respectively, to priests with a doctorate in theology.
Pectoral cross
As for the pectoral cross, which is also worn on the chest, it is given to every newly baptized Christian. It is usually worn under clothing as it is not an adornment but a symbol of religious identity. And it is called first of all to remind its owner of his Christian duties.
