Coptica v. 16 2017

66 Ramez Mikhail

be seen on married priests. Even within the monastic realm, many monk priests today celebrate the Eucharistic liturgy wearing only a white monastic cowl. Thus, the shamlah is itself quickly becoming a relic of the past. As far as the epitrachelion , which has been seen in the earliest sources for priestly ordinations, there are again no strict rules requiring priests to wear it, even during the Eucharistic liturgy. The result is that some priests always wear it, others never, and others still only occasionally. As for the phelonion or burnus , most priests only wear it for major feasts, and many remove it immediately after the conclusion of the prothesis . Although 13 th and 14 th century sources – with the exception if Ibn Kabar – consistently described sleeves and girdles as standard priestly vestments, today these are nearly extinct. No distinction in vesting can be seen among presbyters and those elevated to the rank of qummuṣ or archpriest. Among bishops, the practice is equally fluid. In addition to the sticharion , more bishops are likely to wear the epitrachelion , though it is still very common even among bishops to celebrate the liturgy without it. As for head covering, many pray wearing only the white monastic cowl, which is essentially the practice of monk priests. It is also common to see bishops wearing a white stiff hat identical in shape to the black one worn outside. Bishops also can wear a Byzantine-style mitre, though only when celebrating alone in their own diocese. In addition to these styles of head covering common today, many photographs of bishops and patriarchs in the last one hundred years show them sometimes wearing the hood attached to the phelonion , or a ballīn on the head and crossed on the chest and back, or even an omophorion -like garment on the shoulders. Bishops and patriarchs are also more likely to be seen wearing sleeves and/or girdles, though this is by no means normative. Although the earliest sources investigated here show a clear distinction between the vestments for bishops and those for patriarchs, today such distinctions have more or less disappeared. However, in practice the patriarch celebrating the liturgy – usually with at least a few bishops – is more likely to wear more elaborate vestments. In summary, the current practice of vesting in the Coptic Rite can be characterized as fairly irregular. Most of the vestments witnessed in the sources are still in use, though the frequency and consistency of such use vary by person and location. It is hoped that this two-part analysis of the history of Coptic liturgical vestments may contribute to raising awareness of this area of liturgical heritage, unfortunately characterized by often convoluted historical records and inconsistent current practice. This may in turn inspire some bishops and metropolitans – those solely empowered to initiate legitimate liturgical renewal – to issue clear instructions regulating the vesting practices of all ranks within their respective dioceses. Conclusion