In Russia, the image of the Orthodox priest is well known: a man with long hair, an impressive beard, in a black robe that looks like a hoodie. Another important symbol of the priesthood is the cross hanging on the chest or stomach. In fact, in the view of the people, the cross is what makes the priest a cleric, at least in the social sense. This important attribute of religious service will be discussed below.
Priestly cross in modern practice of the Russian Orthodox Church
The first thing to say is that the priest's pectoral cross, so well known in Russia, is practically not used in the churches of Greek tradition in the East. He in our country also became an attribute of a priest not so long ago - at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. Before this priest, the pectoral cross was not worn. And if they wore it, then only a few for a special reason.
Today, each priest is given this item immediately upon ordination, as part of the obligatory vestment and insignia from other members of the hierarchy. At worship, clergy wear it over special vestments, and at regular times - over their cassock or cassock. There are several varieties of pectoral crosses: silver, gold and with ornaments. But this will be discussed below.
Encolpion - the ancestor of the priestly cross
The first ancestor of the modern priestly cross is an item called an encolpion. It is an ark, that is, a small box on the front side of which in antiquity was depicted chrymism - a monogram of the name of Jesus Christ. A little later, instead of her, 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 into which something valuable could be hidden: manuscripts of books, a particle of relics, holy communion and so on.
The earliest evidence of the encolpion we have dates back to the 4th century - the Patriarch of Constantinople John, known in church circles as Saint John Chrysostom, writes about this subject . During the excavation of local Christian burials in the Vatican, several encolpions were discovered, also no younger than the 4th century.
Later they transformed from hollow rectangular caskets into hollow crosses, while maintaining their function. However, they began to be subjected to more thorough artistic processing. And soon they were accepted as attributes of the episcopal dignity and Byzantine emperors. The same custom was later adopted by Russian tsars and bishops who survived the Roman Empire. As for the sovereign, only Emperor Peter the Great abolished this tradition. In the church, some monks, and sometimes even lay people, wore cross-encolpions. Often this item became an attribute of pilgrims.
Cross Spread
In the eighteenth century, encolpions almost everywhere go out of use. Instead, they began to use metal crosses without cavities inside. At the same time, the right to wear a pectoral cross was first assigned to bishops. Beginning in the forties of the same century, monastic priests in the rank of archimandrite have been vested with 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 received the opportunity to wear a pectoral cross. This happened following the example of the Kiev Metropolitanate, in which such a practice spread spontaneously even before its formal approval.
Establishment of the right to wear crosses by white priests
The white, that is, the married clergy received the right to wear a pectoral cross at the end of the 18th century. Of course, this was not allowed to all at once. First, Emperor Paul introduced this attribute as one of the priests' church rewards. It could be obtained for any merit. For example, a special example of the cross was given to many priests in 1814 in honor of the victory two years earlier over the French army. From 1820, crosses were also given to those clergymen who had been serving abroad or at the imperial court. However, the right to wear this item could be deprived 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 the scholarship of the Russian clergy
In the 19th - early 20th centuries, an interesting practice arose to give priests crosses in accordance with the degree they had. The pectoral cross was relied upon by doctors of sciences. And the candidates and masters were content with these subjects, 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 commanded a special decree in honor of his coronation to award all priests the right to wear an eight-pointed silver cross of a standard pattern. Since then, it has become an integral tradition of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Types of Crosses
As mentioned above, 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 his services to the church or his length of 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 award - a pectoral cross with ornaments.
This variety is usually richly inlaid with precious stones and, in principle, does not differ in any way from the attributes worn by bishops. Usually, awards in the field of breast jewelry end there. 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 literally units are awarded this honor. Since 2011, a pectoral cross called a doctor’s cross appeared, or rather, was restored. They are awarded it, respectively, to priests with a doctorate in theology.
Pectoral cross
As for the pectoral cross, which is also worn on the chest, it is awarded to every newly baptized Christian. Usually it is worn under clothes, since it is not a decoration, but a symbol of religious identity. And it is intended primarily to remind its owner of his Christian duties.