Pictoral Explanation: Syro Malankara Vestments

[Thomas48]

Hello Dear Friends,

This thread is a follow up to my previous thread Pictoral Explanation: Syro Malabar Vestments. For those of you who are interested, I decided to share information on the Syro Malankara Catholic vestments and present it in a similar format. Syro Malankara Catholic vestments are perhaps one of the most beautifully adorned and ornamented vestments I have ever seen. I hope you enjoy reading this thread of its grandeur and deep rooted meaning. Also please note that I am not a Syro Malankara Catholic or a West Syriac Rite Catholic, so please if there are any errors feel free to correct me. If you would like to share pictures or explain the vestments of your own Church, please be my guest.

First we start with the Kutino: The kutino is a white surplice whose color is an indication of the priest’s purity. The priest signs the cross over it three times saying, Clothe me, O Lord, with the robe of incorruption through the strength of Thy Holy Spirit, and make me worthy to keep the true faith and walk in the paths of purity and righteousness all the days of my life.
http://sor.cua.edu/Vestments/BPKutino.jpg

Next we have the Hamnikho: The hamnikho ‘necklace,’ the stole which symbolizes the priest being armed with the fear of the Lord. He signs the cross over it twice, reciting Psalm 18:39, 40: Gird me with strength unto the battle and subdue under me them that rise up against me, defeat my enemies and silence those who hate me.

http://sor.cua.edu/Vestments/BPHamnikho.jpg

Next there is the Zenoro: Then he puts on the zenoro ‘girdle’ which speaks of the priest’s control over all bodily desires. He signs the cross over it once reciting Psalm 45:3: Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O thou most mighty with thy splendor and glory. Thy glory triumphs.

http://sor.cua.edu/Vestments/BPZenoro.jpg

Next there is the Zende: He then arms himself with the zende ‘sleeves’ which symbolize the priest’s readiness to keep God’s Law and do works of righteousness. He signs the cross twice over the left sleeve and recites Psalm 18:34 while wearing it: He trains my hands to war; and he strengthens my arms like a bow of brass. He then signs the cross once over the right sleeve and recites Psalm 18:35 while wearing it: Let Thy right hand help me up, and let Thy loving discipline raise me.

http://sor.cua.edu/Vestments/BPZende.jpg

And finally we have the Phayno: The priest then puts on the phayno, a cope which symbolizes Aaron’s robe of many colors and the Savior’s seamless robe. He signs the cross over it thrice reciting Psalm 132:9-10: Let Thy priests be clothed with righteousness and Thy righteous with glory. For Thy servant David’s sake, turn not away the face of thine anointed. Then he puts it on reciting Psalm 132:9: Clothe Thy priests with salvation and Thy saints with glory.

http://sor.cua.edu/Vestments/atPhayno.jpghttp://sor.cua.edu/Vestments/BPBlessing.jpg

Source: sor.cua.edu/Vestments/

 

[Thomas48]

Special Vesture

First we have the Eskimo: If the priest is a monk, he then puts on the eskimo, a hood worn by monks at all times.

http://sor.cua.edu/Vestments/BPEskimoBack.jpghttp://sor.cua.edu/Vestments/BPEskimo.jpg

Next we have the Msone: The priest also puts on msone, ceremonial shoes which are worn during the celebration of the Holy Qurbono. Since animal products are prohibited on the sanctuary, the shoes are not made of leather. Upon wearing the left shoe, the priest recites, May my feet, O Lord God, be shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace so that I may tread underfoot serpents and scorpions and all the power of the enemy, for ever. Upon wearing the right shoe, he recites, Cast down under my foot, Lord God, all false pride that is exalted against Thy knowledge, and grant that by Thy help I may bring the lusts of the flesh into subjection, for ever.

http://sor.cua.edu/Vestments/atShoesWhite.jpg

Next we have the Masnaphto: If the celebrant is a prelate, he puts on the masnaphto ‘turban’, a head-cover which symbolizes the cloth with which the Lord’s head was bound for His burial. He makes the sign of the cross twice on it and wears it reciting Psalm 4:6-7: Who can show me He who is good? May the light of Thy countenance shine upon us, O Lord, Thou hast given gladness to my heart.

http://sor.cua.edu/Vestments/BPMasnaphtoCloseUp.jpg

Next we have the Batrashil: If the celebrant is a prelate, he puts on the batrashil `Pallium’ which is similar to the Hamnikho but extends both front and back. It reminds the prelate of the Cross which the Savior carried. He crosses it once reciting Psalm 27:5: In the day of trouble, he protects me in the shadow of his tabernacle. He exalts me upon a rock; and now he shall lift up my head above mine enemies.

http://sor.cua.edu/Vestments/atBatrashilFront.jpghttp://sor.cua.edu/Vestments/BPBatrashil.jpg

Next we have the Sakro: The Patriarch wears the sakro `shield’ attached to the zenoro on the right side. The shield of faith symbolizes his authority and his position as the protector of the faith (Ephesians 6:16 "… above all taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one).

http://sor.cua.edu/Vestments/PSakro.jpg

And finally we have Mooroneetho: The prelate takes the crosier (mooroneetho) in his left hand, which symbolizes the bishop’s authority and reminds us of the shepherd’s staff, reciting Psalm 110:2: The Lord will send forth the sceptre of Thy power out of Zion: thou shalt rule in the midst of thine enemies. He also takes a hand Cross in his right hand, from which a cloth called mqablonitho ‘veil’ is hung reciting Psalm 44:5: For Thy cause we shall combat our enemies and for the cause of Thy name we shall trample those who hate us. Upon completing this, the celebrant washes his hands.

http://sor.cua.edu/Vestments/BPAll.jpg

Source: sor.cua.edu/Vestments/

 

[ByzCathCantor]

Thanks again, Thomas! I really love when you do these educational posts. Your knowledge and passion is exemplary, May God bless you and keep you!

 

[JRS_88]

Thank you so much for posting this!

 

[Thomas48]

Thanks again, Thomas! I really love when you do these educational posts. Your knowledge and passion is exemplary, May God bless you and keep you!

Thank you so much for posting this!

I am glad you enjoyed this thread but the knowledge is not my own, it is only shared knowledge from the source provided

 

[Zabdi_Premjit]

Great post!

Thank you for sharing the info.

 

[svayalumkal999]

Great post! As a Syro-Malabar Catholic myself, I’ve always wondered why our bishops don’t wear any extra vestments (except for the mitre, of course), while in the Malankara/West Syriac churches, prelates have a bunch of additional vestments.

 

[Medical_Student]

Amazing Post!!!

 

[SyroMalankara]

Great post! As a Syro-Malabar Catholic myself, I’ve always wondered why our bishops don’t wear any extra vestments (except for the mitre, of course), while in the Malankara/West Syriac churches, prelates have a bunch of additional vestments.

I think the Malabar vestments, if they are to correspond to their sister Chaldean and Assyrian Churches, are supposed to have a hand cross for the bishop, and a crown. The mitre came to replace the crown, most likely due to Latin influence and some prelates do not carry the hand cross for whatever reason.

For Malankara, since all bishops are monks, prior to becoming bishop, they adopt the monastic habits. For some reason the Malankara Catholic priests stopped wearing the skullcap, while in the Orthodox side in Malankara they wear the outdoor hat all the time, even subdeacons

 

[malphono]

I think the Malabar vestments, if they are to correspond to their sister Chaldean and Assyrian Churches, are supposed to have a hand cross for the bishop, and a crown. The mitre came to replace the crown, most likely due to Latin influence and some prelates do not carry the hand cross for whatever reason.

Chaldean bishops use a miter as well and yes, it’s a type of latinization. OTOH, I’m not so sure the crown used by ACoE bishops is authentic either. That would seem to be a byzantinization. Perhaps our brother Rony has some further insight into it.

For Malankara, since all bishops are monks, prior to becoming bishop, they adopt the monastic habits. For some reason the Malankara Catholic priests stopped wearing the skullcap

I was under the impression that bishops still wear the phiro. Its abandonment by non-monastic priests, though, seems to be logical. The Maronites have a similar situation (actually ours is worse since it’s rare to find a bishop who dons the phiro even extra-liturgically).

while in the Orthodox side in Malankara they wear the outdoor hat all the time, even subdeacons

Do you mean the koub’ono here?

 

[SyroMalankara]

I was under the impression that bishops still wear the phiro. Its abandonment by non-monastic priests, though, seems to be logical. The Maronites have a similar situation (actually ours is worse since it’s rare to find a bishop who dons the phiro even extra-liturgically).

The monastic/episcopal headgear with the crosses is called the eskeem… these would only make sense for a monk to wear. However, the phiro (skullcap) is to be worn by all priests.

Do you mean the koub’ono here?

I don’t think so, the koub’ono is an episcopal headgear, I’m referring to this:
http://sor.cua.edu/Vestments/atPhiro.jpg
Also more detail here:
philippi-collection.blogspot.com/2011/01/phiro-dkohnutho-skull-cap-of-syrian.html

The Malankara version is sewn into the secular (outdoor) headgear:
(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)

 

[svayalumkal999]

I think the Malabar vestments, if they are to correspond to their sister Chaldean and Assyrian Churches, are supposed to have a hand cross for the bishop, and a crown. The mitre came to replace the crown, most likely due to Latin influence and some prelates do not carry the hand cross for whatever reason.

Thanks for the reply. I’ve seen photos of Mar George Alencherry using the hand cross (I’ve attached one such photo here), but I haven’t seen any other Syro-Malabar bishops using it. On the other hand, I’ve seen photos of many Syro-Malankara, Malankara Orthodox, and Jacobite bishops using the hand cross (my mother’s side of the family is Syro-Malankara family, so I’ve long been interested in the histories and traditions of both churches). I have to say, both yours and Thomas48’s posts have been incredibly enlightening and a joy to read, so I thank you both!

 

[malphono]

The monastic/episcopal headgear with the crosses is called the eskeem… these would only make sense for a monk to wear. However, the phiro (skullcap) is to be worn by all priests.

Yes, right. But originally you [post=13042969]said [/post]“For some reason the Malankara Catholic priests stopped wearing the skullcap” so you see whence the confusion.

I don’t think so, the koub’ono is an episcopal headgear, I’m referring to this:
Margoneetho: Syriac Orthodox Resources

The Malankara version is sewn into the secular (outdoor) headgear:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WVgwFfuER...Aq9SH_Q/s1600/dubai-reception-valiya-bava.jpg

Ah, OK. I thought your original reference might have been to that pillbox thing (no idea what it’s called), but it wasn’t clear to me. FYI, I’ve seen some SOC wear something very similar.

 

[Thomas48]

Great post! As a Syro-Malabar Catholic myself, I’ve always wondered why our bishops don’t wear any extra vestments (except for the mitre, of course), while in the Malankara/West Syriac churches, prelates have a bunch of additional vestments.

I think the Malabar vestments, if they are to correspond to their sister Chaldean and Assyrian Churches, are supposed to have a hand cross for the bishop, and a crown. The mitre came to replace the crown, most likely due to Latin influence and some prelates do not carry the hand cross for whatever reason.

Chaldean bishops use a miter as well and yes, it’s a type of latinization. OTOH, I’m not so sure the crown used by ACoE bishops is authentic either. That would seem to be a byzantinization. Perhaps our brother Rony has some further insight into it.

Syro Malabar priests don’t have the extra vestments like our Malankara brothers because historically the East Syriac rite is much simpler in regards to vestments. In terms of head wear for East Syriac Churches, like brother Malphono stated I too think that the crown of the Assyrian Church is a Byzantization. Historically what head wear was authentically worn by East Syriac Churches, I really am not sure.

The truth behind the vestments for the Chaldean and Syro Malabar Church is that they heavily rely on each other for authenticity and ingenuity. In example if you look closely, the Syro Malabar Miter is not the same as the Latin Miter or of any other Church. For the most part of the 1900’s, since the restoration of the Syro Malabar Church, the only head wear worn was the Latin Miter. However in the later part of the 1900’s the Church started adding its own design to the Latin Miter by adding symbols such as the St. Thomas cross. Then finally in the 2000’s, the Syro Malabar Church developed a distinguished Miter for themselves with a heart shape instead of a point on the top. Today the Chaldean Church also uses our miter on some occasions. Though the Chaldean and Syro Malabar vestments are composed of the same individual components, you will often see pictures of both Churches using each others specific designs (however the Syro Malabar Church solely started using its own design of vestments for the most part after the 90’s).

The hand cross of the Syro Malabar Church is also an interesting question. To my knowledge all of our prelates use this cross but only on specific occasions. I also believe that there is rule that when the Major Archbishop carries his hand cross for a celebration the other prelates of SMC may not.

Some Pictures -

Old Syro Malabar Latin Miter (Mar Joseph Powathel) - New Syro Malabar Miter (Mar Matthew Moolakkattu)

http://i.picresize.com/images/2015/06/12/BWTw.jpghttp://i.picresize.com/images/2015/06/12/QRaBZ.jpg

Red Miter Reserved for the Major Archbishop (Maran Mar George Alencherry) - Prelate Using the Hand Cross (Mar Matthew Arackal)

http://i.picresize.com/images/2015/06/12/sgzhl.jpghttp://i.picresize.com/images/2015/06/12/qpTPQ.jpg

 

[SyroMalankara]

It’s interesting to note that the Major Archbishop’s descending dove deign is very similar to what I’ve seen on the mitre of the Syriac Catholic Patriarch, which is also similar to the design usually stitched within the Liturgically worn masanaptho (hood) inside of the cross worn by the Catholicos of the Syro-Malankara Church.

Malankara Syriac Catholic/ Malankara Orthodox /Syriac Orthodox:
http://sor.cua.edu/Vestments/BPMasnaphtoCloseUp.jpg

Syriac Catholic:
http://cache3.asset-cache.net/gc/45...xx49Lq2nTBtL1PB5sQ3T4n1T8QjTPho8HCVdgoXKoRw==

Syro-Malabar:
(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)

 

[Thomas48]

It’s interesting to note that the Major Archbishop’s descending dove deign is very similar to what I’ve seen on the mitre of the Syriac Catholic Patriarch, which is also similar to the design usually stitched within the Liturgically worn masanaptho (hood) inside of the cross worn by the Catholicos of the Syro-Malankara Church.

Thats a good observation, perhaps the Syro Malankara/Malabar descending dove designs are taken from the Mar Thoma Sliwa and used in representation of it.