The Garments of Salvation

by Krista West

  In design, the aer is a rectangle, varying in size from 18–20 inches deep and 24–30 inches wide. The veils are made in various shapes, from simple small squares that drape over the chalice and the asteriskon (“star cover”) of the diskos to the more common cross-shaped veil, which, when laid flat, is an equilateral cross with the central “square” being approximately five inches by five inches. The arms of the cross can also be square, but are often curved or come to a gradual point. The central square is heavily interfaced to prevent the veil from sliding off the chalice or asteriskon.

  Figure 5. Chalice veil set.

  Figure 6. Communion of the Apostles aer (International Congress of Byzantinists, Medieval Pictorial Embroidery: Byzantium, Balkans, Russia. Catalogue of the XVIIIth International Congress Exhibition (Moscow: International Congress of Byzantinists, 1991).

  Communion Cloth

  The term “kalymma” (plural “kalymmata”) has also become attached to another cloth, simple in design but of great practical importance, the “communion cloth.” When Holy Communion came to be distributed to the laity by means of a spoon (in the ninth century) it became necessary to employ a cloth which could be extended from the edge of the chalice and held under the chin of the communicant to contain any accidental spillage of the consecrated mixture of the mingled sacred bread and wine. (Similar cloths would likely have been in use even earlier as a type of napkin when the laity as well as the clergy received the sacred wine by sipping directly from the chalice.) This practical, liturgical cloth is typically 18–20 inches square, made of red, wine-colored fabric (a highly absorbent cotton is best for this application), usually with a gold-colored cross embroidered on one corner. When not in use for the distribution of the Holy Gifts it lies folded under the liturgical spoon or rests upon the top of the chalice. It also serves the important function of being used to wipe the chalice clean after the consumption of the Holy Gifts by the deacon or presbyter at the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy.

  Sponge

  While not a parament, strictly speaking, since it is not made of fabric, the liturgical sponge is also an important, practical item in liturgical usage. A section of a natural sea sponge which has been flattened into an irregular shape approximately two inches by three inches through the careful application of heat and pressure (using a heated iron), the liturgical sponge remains folded within or resting upon the antimension at all times and is used for sweeping particles of the consecrated bread from the diskos into the chalice as well as for sweeping up and collecting stray particles from the surface of the antimension. An additional sea sponge, not flattened but in its natural, spherical shape, is also employed at the prosthesis table, being placed in the chalice, after its cleansing, to absorb any residual moisture.

  Epitaphios

  An additional, highly important, parament which developed from the aer is called the “epitaphios” and is used principally on Great and Holy Friday. The evolution of one textile piece, the great aer, into two distinct pieces, the aer and the epitaphios, came about thus: In addition to being used during every Divine Liturgy, the aer was also used on Great and Holy Friday to wrap the Gospel book which was carried on the priest’s shoulder to represent the body of Christ, with the aer symbolizing a burial shroud. Beginning sometime around the late thirteenth or early fourteenth century (in the Paleologan period, AD 1261–1453), the aer used on Great and Holy Friday began to be made into its own separate cloth with a fuller design scheme, the Body of Christ being augmented by lamenting figures such as the Mother of God, the myrrh-bearing women and St Joseph of Arimethea.14

  These two pieces, aer and epitaphios, while having a common origin have developed quite differently in both size and decorative scheme. Whereas the aer remains a small rectangle and has become less ornate over the centuries, the epitaphios became a much larger piece with average sizes ranging from 20 to 36 inches high by 30 to 48 inches wide and, sometimes even larger: one of the most glorious of all extant epitaphioi, the “Thessaloniki epitaphios,” is truly life-size at almost six-and-a-half-feet wide by over two feet high.15 These types of extraordinarily elaborate epitaphioi “represent the quintessential creations of the Late Byzantine art of embroidery”16 and form the cornerstone of the canon of embroidered iconography within the Church. Although one may argue that embroidered epigonatia and epimanikia are just as elaborate, the larger scale of the epitaphios makes these textiles much more impressive examples of embroidered iconography. Due to their limited use (and thus excellent preservation) and their heavy gold-work, many historical epitaphioi remain in the collections of museums in Greece, the Balkans, and throughout Europe, and their workmanship, quality, and sublime beauty make them one of the highpoints in the history not only of the needle arts of the Orthodox Church, but of embroidered textiles in general.

  While design schemes vary widely among epitaphioi from about the fourteenth century onwards, the epitaphios originally depicted the body of Christ upon a dark background, most often a deep, burgundy silk. Beginning in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, a fuller cast of characters began to be depicted, resulting in the now well-known “Lamentations at the Tomb” image which can include up to twelve figures as well as various angelic representations surrounding the lifeless body of Christ.17 Additionally, the apolytikion of Great and Holy Saturday (or a portion thereof)—“The pious Joseph brought down thy pure body from the tree, wrapped it in pure linen, embalmed it with ointment, arrayed it and laid it in a new tomb”—came to be embroidered as a border around the lamenting figures along with various floral motifs and vinework.18

  While their most prominent usage is in the processions of Great and Holy Friday and their solemn enthronement upon the holy table for the forty-day Paschal season, epitaphioi have also come to occupy an honored symbolic position in the church building and are now commonly displayed throughout the church year on the west wall of the nave, often hung in wooden cases or on drapery rods so that they may be readily observed.19 Such strategic positioning is almost certainly due to a Byzantine fascination with the ceremonial rites of Jerusalem and, more specifically, with the Church of the Resurrection. The main altar of the Church of the Resurrection is oriented to the east, but if one turns from the altar and faces west then one is facing the chapel of the Holy Sepulchre, the very tomb of Christ. With an understanding of the earthly church building representing the Heavenly Jerusalem, the west wall is the most suitable location for the lifeless body of Christ, as portrayed on the epitaphios. At the time of the rise of the elaboration of the epitaphios in the Paleologan period, there was close contact between Byzantium and the Holy Land and this, along with an awareness of the church as the Heavenly Jerusalem, meant such symbolic placement of the epitaphios would not have been lost upon the viewer each time he departed the church building.20

  While historical epitaphioi feature some of the finest textile craftsmanship in the history of the Orthodox Christian Church, it is unfortunate that the same can be said of only a fraction of the epitaphioi produced for use in the Church today. Many feature crudely worked machine embroidery, utilizing low-quality materials and threads. The designs and figures are almost cartoonish and, due to the technical difficulty of executing faces and the severe lack of trained embroiderers, painted paper is often inserted into the embroidery, which stands the test of time poorly, becoming worn and tattered in a few short years. These modern epitaphioi tend to have cheap velvet as their background fabric and are finished with embroidered outlines rather than filled gold-work designs as of old. They are usually finished with poor-quality, metallic-paper-wrapped fringe (as opposed to the old style fringe whose threads were wrapped in real gold) and some even feature metallic rick-rack or military braid in the place of better-quality finishings.

  It is primarily due to the advent of poor-quality, synthetic “metal” threads and the desire for inexpensive products that this situation has arisen, but it is also due in part to a lack of understanding and awareness of the Church’s long history of bea
utifully crafted, exceptional-quality textile pieces which are typically on display only in museums or in monasteries outside of North America. It takes only one generation to lose awareness of a fine craft and such is the sad case of the production of epitaphioi in North America today. It is not too strong a statement to remark that of all Orthodox Christian art forms, the epitaphios is the one that has sunk the lowest. But, despite this grave situation, there is some hope that this craft is slowly being revived by skilled embroiderers who are beginning to educate a new generation, and such work is to be highly commended.

  Of the few high-quality epitaphioi being produced, they typically follow the old designs and are still made from historical metal-thread and split-stitch techniques. Better-quality epitaphioi feature heavier embroidery, more elaborate and finely executed figures (particularly the faces), and more ornate borders such as intricate grapevines, floral vinework, or angelic representations. These styles are rarely finished with any kind of fringe since the beauty and intricacy of the design need no further adornment and fringe tends to degrade quickly.

  One derivative form of the epitaphios that is beginning to grow in use is the epitaphios dedicated for use on the feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos. This type of epitaphios is usually embroidered on a blue background and features an icon of the falling asleep of the Mother of God. These epitaphioi are displayed and venerated during the liturgical celebrations of the Dormition on August 15.

  Decorative Veils

  The next category of paraments for consideration is that of the various cloths that may be grouped under the heading “decorative veils” (as opposed to “liturgical veils”). These typically comprise cloths that are draped on icon stands (proskynitaria) and feature the widest variety of size, materials, and design of almost any category of Orthodox Christian parament.

  Figure 7.a Proskynitaria cover from Greece.

  Due to the great variation in size and overall design of proskynitaria, the cloths that cover them come in a range of sizes and designs—some cover the stand to the floor, others only come down partway in the front; some consist of a two-piece arrangement in which a smaller cloth is layered over a larger, longer cloth. In the latter instance the smaller cloth is often of high-quality linen and features finely hand-worked filet crochet lace, sometimes with symbols such as chalices, grapevines, or monograms like the Chi Rho forming a border along the front. It can also feature multi-colored cotton or silk embroidery on white linen, or be made from a more elaborate piece of real-metal brocade. In one variation, this top cloth is square rather than rectangular, and thus is placed under the icon on the diagonal so that a triangular-shaped section is glimpsed under each edge of the icon. Such cloths are typically made by hand by pious women and manifest a great amount of needlework skill and investment of time.21

  Figure 7.b Proskynitaria cover from Greece.

  Decorative veils made from brocade are typically finished with galloon, fringe, and often crosses, whereas those made from white linen or various-colored silks can be more elaborate and feature hand-embroidery work. Machine-embroidered velvet is occasionally used for decorative veils, with this type of decorative veil being sometimes matched to the holy table cloth and sometimes adorned with a different design altogether.

  Podea

  While this species of decorative cloth has rarely been seen in parishes in North America, it is gradually coming back into use, especially in Orthodox Christian monasteries, so mention of it should be made. It is important to note that its usage has never died out on Mt Athos and the parament collections of the Holy Mountain contain excellent examples of these beautiful embroideries. The podea is a type of decorative veil that hangs just below an icon, either affixed to the iconostasis or attached to an icon stand. Its primary function is to further adorn the icon and, as such, it serves as a permanent feature of the church interior. The podea’s specific historical usage is further described by Pauline Johnstone:

  A podea belonged to a particular icon, was consecrated in its honour and sometimes presented as a thank offering to the saint it represented. . . . A podea could be any kind of decorated cloth. . . . The subject chosen was always connected with the icon for which the cloth was intended, but it was not a copy of the icon. Thus a sermon . . . described an icon showing a half-length portrait of the Virgin Hodigitria, of which the podea was represented as covering her feet, that is the lower half of her dress. In this way the faithful could benefit by touching the hem of her garment. In the same way the podea of the famous icon of Christ of the Khalki was described as recalling the story of the woman diseased with an issue of blood, who was cured by touching the hem of the Saviour’s garment.22

  While historical podea often featured complex embroidery, most modern podea are typically a rectangle of fabric which can be as simple as brocade finished in galloon or can be made in a more ornate fashion with a liturgical design machine-embroidered on velvet or silk. In its most ornate form, it is hand embroidered with iconography, and this iconography forms a complement to the icon it adorns. Due to its historical place in the collection of Orthodox Christian paraments as well as its excellent ability to provide yet more scope for the use of textiles in the Church, it is to be hoped that the podea will be given more prominence in North American parish usage in future generations.

  Figure 8. Podea in St Katherine’s, Thessaloniki, Greece.

  Banners

  The final, general category of Orthodox Christian church textiles is comprised of banners and embroidered hangings for pillars and walls. Historically, these large-scale textiles often featured various iconographic scenes and were designed to be yet another medium in which to portray the saints and the feasts of the Church, complementing the other elements in the church building and harmonizing with them, from vestments to woodcarvings. Hangings and banners were often worked on silk backgrounds with the typical stitches and methods of Eastern Orthodox embroidery as described below. Their finishings could have included various galloons, fringes, and tassels as some extant embroidered pieces can be seen to have been completed; however, it is conjecture to speak in any detail about how the grandest hanging textiles would have been embellished and there was most likely a wide variety for the finishing ornamentation adorning the great decorative pieces now lost.

  Banners were a common fixture in earlier centuries, an essential feature of the many seasonal liturgical processions of Constantinople and other Orthodox Christian cities and a ubiquitous feature of well-appointed ancient church buildings. While the use of banners is beginning to be resurrected in modern times, textile hangings for walls and pillars have generally died out in current usage. This is primarily due to the historical development of the iconostasis. This evolution is succinctly described by Byzantine scholar Slobodan Curcic:

  From the very beginnings of church architecture, the area with the altar table was set aside as the Holy of Holies. Initially separated by a low chancel screen, by the fifth century this grew into a columnar screen, referred to as a templon. It is still debated how and when the intercolumniations of such a screen began to be closed. Generally, it is thought that initially curtains may have hung between columns, and that they could, at given moments, be opened, exposing the sanctuary area to full view of the assembly of the faithful. By the Middle Byzantine period, possibly as early as the ninth century, the templon began to be closed by icons—depicting Christ, the Mother of God, and other saints—thus rendering the interior of the sanctuary completely invisible to the congregation. This trend continued in the later centuries with the enclosing sanctuary screen, now referred to as the iconostasis, rising first by the addition of one, and later by two or more, tiers covered by individual icons.23

  Figure 9. Photo of banner (photo used with permission of Alpha Omega Church Supplies, New York).

  An additional reason that the use of large-scale hangings died out was their prodigious size and, thus, great cost. Even during the height of imperial and noble patronage in Byzantium, these pieces would hav
e been extremely costly to produce and they would be considered prohibitively expensive for most parish communities today. However, the use of smaller, portable banners is on the rise in North America with such banners being made in all levels of quality, from mass-produced types featuring paper iconography and lower-quality fringe, to lavish, hand-embroidered styles with either painted or embroidered iconography. Banners are typically displayed on poles mounted in stands and can be carried during processions. As with podea, it is gratifying that these textiles are making a small yet steady comeback and it is to be hoped that many more parish communities will embrace and fund the production of these forms of processional icons in years to come.

  Miscellaneous Cloths

  In addition to the covering of holy tables with textiles, auxiliary tables or furnishings such as the prothesis table, the tetrapodion (a “four-legged” table placed upon the solea for various services), niches, etc. are also covered with variously decorated cloths. If these are free-standing pieces of furniture, the cloth usually hangs down four to ten inches on all sides and is finished with galloon and fringe similar to the top cloth of the holy table, but in an overall simpler style so as not to compete with the holy table cover. In the case of a niche, in which the surface to be covered is part of the structure of the building, then the cloth typically follows the contours of the building at the back and sides, hangs down three to eight inches in front, and is finished with galloon around the perimeter, but fringe only along the front.