Like the chasuble, the phelonion was originally a sort of poncho, a round vestment with a hole in the middle for the head, which fell to the feet on all sides. In its present form the front is largely cut away to facilitate the movements of the priest's hands. In Russia the longer front remained common until quite recent times. The use of the phelonion is not limited to the Divine Liturgy but is specified for any major liturgical function. It is also called phenolion in some books.
Styles
There are two main styles of phelonion. Byzantine- or Greek-style phelonia are tailored to fit over the shoulders, while Russian-style phelonia have a high, stiffened collar that covers the back of the head. There is also a shortened phelonion that is worn by a reader at his tonsuring. This small phelonion is still worn by altar servers in Old Believers churches. The Greek-style phelonion is, generally speaking, worn by those with a historical and geographical closer tie with the Patriarch of Constantinople, which would include most Eastern OrthodoxChristians in the Middle East, Greece, the Balkans, Romania, Bulgaria, as well as Greek-Catholics and Orthodox in western Ukraine. The Russian-style phelonion is used by the Russian Orthodox, Ukrainian Autocephalous, Ukrainian Orthodox, Polish Orthodox churches, as well as the Orthodox Church in America. There is also a version used by some Ukrainian and Bulgarian Orthodox which is half-way between the Russian and Greek styles. of St. Gregory the Great wearing the type of phelonion worn by bishops called the polystavrion, as well as a white omophor.. A bishop who wishes to serve a Divine Liturgy as a priest will sometimes vest in a phelonion instead of his sakkos, but with the omophorion around his neck. This is also done in the Liturgy of St. James. Originally, before the introduction of the sakkos, bishops wore a phelonion identical to that worn by priests, except that it was made of cloth that was either woven or embroidered with a pattern of multiple crosses, called a polystavrion. In Oriental Orthodoxy, the phelonion is often only clasped at the neck, and is thus more open than the Byzantine-style, resembling a Western cope. Its various names are phanolion, paynā, phayno, šurdzar and kāppā. These are worn by bishops as well as priests.
