When considering vestments, we spend most of our time here on LAJ focusing on the vestments of the Latin rite -- and there is certainly plenty to focus on. But it crossed my mind of late how rarely we see antique vestments of the Eastern tradition -- specifically the Byzantine tradition -- shown, and as such, I decided to search out a few examples for the edification of our reader.
So with that in mind, and in no particular order, here is just a small taste of some antique vestments coming from the Byzantine tradition -- mostly the Russian tradition -- for your consideration. The vast majority of these come from the 1600's. Please see the caption beneath each photo for further details.
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| Sakkos (a bishop's outer vestment) from the 17th century, made from Italian silk velvet. |
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| Sakkos made in 1364 from Byzantine silk |
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| Sakkos of Patriarch Nikon, dated to sometime in the 17th century |
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| The equivalent of the Latin alb/surplice, dated to 1635-1646 |
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| The equivalent of the Latin alb/surplice, dated to ca. 1641-1674 |
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| The equivalent of the Latin alb/surplice, dated to 1641-1674 |
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| The equivalent of the Latin alb/surplice, dated to the 17th century |
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| Phelonion (i.e a chasuble) from 1544. |
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| Phelonion of the Trinity-St. Sergius monastery dated to 1652-1653. The hem is made from Ottoman silk |
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| A Russian phelonion dated to 1652. |
We have covered the use of fabrics from the Eastern world, specifically the Ottoman and Islamic world, in Western vestments and it should come as little surprise that they can similarly be found in the Eastern Christian tradition as well. Here are a couple of examples of such usages.
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| Sakkos of Patriarch Nikon made of fabric coming from the Ottoman empire |
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| Phelonion from Russia made of Ottoman silk, ca. 17th century. |
In many regards, while there are certain some distinct differences, one can see that there is much in common to be found with historical vestments of the Latin rite.
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