A mantle ( el, μανδύας, translit=mandyas;
Church Slavonic: мантия, ''mantiya'') is an ecclesiastical garment in the form of a very full cape that extends to the floor, joined at the neck, that is worn over the outer garments. Especially in the case of Elijah, it was likely a Tallit or Tallis, a Hebrew garment that housed the fringes still seen today which are also translated at “the hem of His garment” in the New Testament. It is also likely that further ecclesiastical garments were based originally on this garment.
In the
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops vi ...
and the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, the mantle is a monastic garment worn by
bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...
s,
hegumens,
archimandrite
The title archimandrite ( gr, ἀρχιμανδρίτης, archimandritēs), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot ('' hegumenos'', gr, ἡγούμενος, present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") wh ...
s, and other monastics in processions and while attending various church services, such as
Vespers or
Matins; but not when vested to celebrate the
Divine Liturgy
Divine Liturgy ( grc-gre, Θεία Λειτουργία, Theia Leitourgia) or Holy Liturgy is the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine Rite, developed from the Antiochene Rite of Christian liturgy which is that of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of C ...
. Unlike the Western
cope, the mantle is worn only by monastics. The
klobuk
Klobuk of Patriarch Philaret of Moscow (1619-33), Kremlin museum
A klobuk is an item of monastic clothing worn by monks and, in the Russian tradition, also by nuns, in the Byzantine Rite, composed of a kamilavka (stiffened round black headc ...
is worn over the mantle.
Christian knights, many of whom take monastic vows, wear a mantle as well, often containing
Christian symbols.
Knights of the
Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre, for example, wear a white mantle with a
Jerusalem Cross that represents the
Five Holy Wounds of Christ.
History
The mantle was originally a cape worn simply to ward off the cold. The mantle was first mentioned in the
Old Testament, as a garment worn by several prophets including
Elijah and
Elisha. In , the mantle passing from Elijah the prophet, to Elisha, his successor, symbolizes the passing of prophetic authority:
:And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
:And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces.
:He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan;
:And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over.
Depictions of monks on
icons show the mantle in use from the earliest Christian times. The original monastic mantle was of simple material: black, brown or grey, depending on what was at hand. As time went on, the use of mantles of a particular color and style came to be established as specific monastic vesture. Over the years distinguishing colors and ornamentation came to be applied to the mantle to distinguish monastics of higher positions within the church, while still reminding them of the need for monastic humility.
In the contemporary practice of the Eastern Orthodox Church, monks and nuns wear solid black mantles. They also wear veils, differing between traditions and rank. In common practice, monks wear a black veil that covers a
Kalimavkion, a cylindrical hat. Abbesses also wear this same veil and hat while nuns only wear the veil. The practice of wearing a kalimavkion below the veil has only arisen in the last 300 years, and prior to this period, monks either wore no veil, or wore a pointed veil, as seen in many Russians of the old rite and icons of African saints. Nuns have been wearing a veil, in addition to the mantle since at least the 11th Century.
Monastics
The monastic mantle is worn by Orthodox Christian
monks and
nuns of the
Lesser Schema and
Great Schema. In the Greek practice the use of the mantle by those of the Lesser Schema is less common. (It is not worn by
Rassaphores). The mantle worn by a simple monk or nun is black (black being the traditional monastic color, symbolizing mourning over one's sins and a reminder of the
vow of poverty), joined at the neck and hanging down to the feet. In the Russian tradition, the mantle is usually pleated (33 pleats for the number of years in the earthly life of
Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...
). It may or may not have a train. Over the centuries, much symbolic meaning has come to be attributed to the mantle:
"
hemantle is a monastic vestment, which covers the whole person with the exception of the head. Its freely flowing lines typify the wings of the Angels; hence it is called "the Angelic vestment." The folds of the Mantle are symbolical of the all-embracing power of God; and also of the strictness, piety and meekness of the monastic life; and that the hands and other members of a monk do not live, and are not fitted for worldly activity, but are all dead."
"
he mantleis called 'the garment of incorruption and purity'
n the text of the Tonsure ceremony">Tonsure.html" ;"title="n the text of the Tonsure">n the text of the Tonsure ceremony and the absence of sleeves is to remind the monk that he is debarred from worldly pursuits. The mantle is given him in token of the 'exalted angelic state' which he assumes"
The mantle is bestowed upon a monk when he becomes as Stavrophore (Lesser Schema), for which reason this rank of monk is sometimes referred to as a "mantle monk". The mantle is bestowed a second time if he becomes a Schemamonk (Greater Schema).
An Hegumen (Abbot) or Hegumenia (Abbess) wears the simple monastic mantle.
When an Orthodox monk or nun dies, they are vested in their religious habit. A strip of cloth is torn from the bottom of their mantle and is used to bind their body three times: around the chest, around the waist, and around the feet.
Archimandrites
The mantle worn by an archimandrite will be joined in front at the bottom as well as at the neck, and will have "tablets" or "pectorals" (Greek: πόματα, ''pómata''; Slavonic: ''skrizhali'')—rectangular pieces of red or green cloth sewn onto the corners of the mantle (i.e., two at the neck and two at the feet). The upper two tablets (those at the neck) will often be
embroidered with
crosses. The tablets symbolize the fact that the Archimandrite will guide the brethren according to the commandments of God. The four tablets are symbolic of the Old and the
New Testaments, and of the Four Gospels.
When an archimandrite dies, his mantle is laid on his coffin in place of a
funeral pall.
Bishops
There is also an episcopal mantle which is not worn with the other episcopal
vestments while celebrating the
Divine Liturgy
Divine Liturgy ( grc-gre, Θεία Λειτουργία, Theia Leitourgia) or Holy Liturgy is the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine Rite, developed from the Antiochene Rite of Christian liturgy which is that of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of C ...
, but when the bishop formally enters the church beforehand, or when a bishop is formally attending (i.e., presiding over) a service in which he is not serving. Among the Greeks, it is common for all bishops regardless of rank, to wear a red mantle; however, many also use purple during
Great Lent. In the Slavic tradition, a more complex color scheme has developed, and hierarchs wear different-colored mantles according to their rank: violet for bishops; plum for
archbishops; blue for
metropolitan
Metropolitan may refer to:
* Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories
* Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England
* Metropolitan county, a typ ...
s; and green for
patriarch
The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in ce ...
s in the Russian tradition. Different national churches have different traditions regarding the colors worn by bishops.
In the Russian tradition, the episcopal mantiya is characteristically decorated with red and white horizontal ribbons, called "rivers" or "streams" (Greek: ποταμοί, ''potamoí''; Slavonic: ''Istochniki''), symbolizing the word of God going out into the entire world (, , ). Among the Greeks, these rivers are usually gold.
The tablets on the Bishop's mantle may be more finely embroidered or made of more costly material than those on the mantle of an archimandrite. The upper tablets (those at the neck) may be embroidered with icons; those at the feet may be embroidered with the bishop's monogram. The episcopal tablets symbolise the four
Gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...
s which must be the focus of a bishop's teachings. The episcopal mantle always has a train on it, and may have small bells attached as well, recalling the bells attached to the Robe of the
High Priest ().
In general, when a bishop celebrates any service other than the Divine Liturgy (or when he is attending, but not celebrating Liturgy), he will wear the mantle with the
Epitrachelion, the
Omophorion (the latter being worn outside the mantle), and, in some liturgical traditions, the
Cuffs. He will also stand on an
orlets.
When a bishop dies, his mantle is laid on his coffin in place of a
funeral pall.
Knights
Christian knights who are members of
military orders, such as the
Order of Saint John and
Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre, wear a mantle.
Gallery
File:Мефодій Почаївський.JPG, Saint Methody of Pochayiv Lavra
, native_name_lang =
, logo =
, logo_size =
, logo_caption =
, image = Панорама Почаївська лавра 02.jpg
, image_size =
, image_caption = General v ...
, wearing an Archimandrite's mandyas.
File:Declaration ceremony of the Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens.jpg, Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens, Primate of the Orthodox Church of Greece, wearing a red mantle with gold rivers. Icons of the four evangelists are present on the "tablets," at the clasps of the garment; the icon of St. Matthew is clearly visible in this picture.
Image:Stjohn shanghai.png, Saint John (Maximovich) wearing an episcopal mantiya.
File:Funeral of Patriarch Alexy II-3.jpg, The funeral of Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow. The patriarchal mantle is draped over his coffin. The patriarch's monograms in Church Slavonic: "P" and "A", for "Patriarch Alexy", are visible in front.
Notes
External links (photos)
Simple monastic mantleA Schemamonk and Hieromonk in mantlesBishop Benjemin entering church in mantleSeveral Bishops seated in mantles during Hours(
Church of the Holy Sepulchre)
Mantle worn by Armenian monks(Church of St. James in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
)
{{Clothing
Eastern Christian vestments
History of clothing
History of clothing (Western fashion)
History of fashion
Byzantine clothing
Robes and cloaks
Coats (clothing)
Christian monasticism
Christian clothing
es:Manto (indumentaria)