Kamilavka
Encyclopedia
Clerical clothing
Clerical clothing is non-liturgical clothing worn exclusively by clergy. It is distinct from vestments in that it is not reserved specifically for services. Practices vary: clerical clothing is sometimes worn under vestments, and sometimes as the everyday clothing or street wear of a priest,...
worn by Orthodox Christian
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
and Eastern Catholic monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
s (in which case it is black) or awarded to clergy
Clergy
Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....
(in which case it may be red or purple).
The kalimavkion is a stiff cylindrical head covering, similar to a stovepipe hat but without a brim
Brim
Brim refers to an edge or border*Brim *Brim , a defunct brand of decaffeinated coffee*Brim, Victoria is a town in Australia*Undercurrent, an award-winning 2010 Icelandic film...
. The kalimavkion is worn during services; at other times, the softer skufia
Skufia
A skufia is an item of clerical clothing worn by Orthodox Christian and Eastern Catholic monastics or awarded to clergy as a mark of honor...
is worn in its place. The specific shape and colouring will differ between the various ethnic traditions:
- In the Greek traditionGreek Orthodox ChurchThe Greek Orthodox Church is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity sharing a common cultural tradition whose liturgy is also traditionally conducted in Koine Greek, the original language of the New Testament...
, monkMonkA monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
s wear a simple black kalimavkion, covered by a black veil (epanokalimavkion), but ordained clergy (both married and monastic) wear a kalimavkion with a flattened conical brim at the top. HierodeaconHierodeaconA Hierodeacon , sometimes translated "deacon-monk", in Eastern Orthodox Christianity is a monk who has been ordained a deacon...
s (monastic deacons) remove the veil when they vest for services, but hieromonkHieromonkHieromonk , also called a Priestmonk, is a monk who is also a priest in the Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholicism....
s (monastic priests) do not. In the Greek tradition, nunNunA nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
s do not normally wear a kalimavkion, but rather just the veil.
- In the Russian traditionRussian Orthodox ChurchThe Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
, priests and deacons, if awarded it, wear a kamilavka that is normally taller than the Greek style, widens as it rises, and is flat at the top. Monks wear a black kamilavka with black veil. Russian nuns also wear the kamilavka with veil. Hieromonks and hierodeacons wear the same black kamilavka and veil as non-ordained monastics. Again, hierodeacons remove the veil when they are serving, but hieromonks do not. ProtodeaconProtodeaconProtodeacon derives from the Greek proto- meaning 'first' and diakonos, which is a standard ancient Greek word meaning "servant", "waiting-man," "minister" or "messenger." The word in English may refer to various clergymen, depending upon the usage of the particular church in question.-Eastern...
s (honorary rank for married deacons) are awarded a purple or red kamilavka, but ArchdeaconArchdeaconAn archdeacon is a senior clergy position in Anglicanism, Syrian Malabar Nasrani, Chaldean Catholic, and some other Christian denominations, above that of most clergy and below a bishop. In the High Middle Ages it was the most senior diocesan position below a bishop in the Roman Catholic Church...
s (a parallel rank for monastic deacons) continue to wear the black kamilavka. ArchpriestArchpriestAn archpriest is a priest with supervisory duties over a number of parishes. The term is most often used in Eastern Orthodoxy and Eastern Catholic Churches, although it may be used in the Latin rite of the Roman Catholic Church instead of dean or vicar forane.In the 16th and 17th centuries, during...
s (honorary rank for married priests) are also awarded a purple or red kamilavka. BishopBishopA bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
s, who are always monks, wear a black kamilavka with a black veil. ArchbishopArchbishopAn archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
s are distinguished by a jewelled cross on the front of their veil. MetropolitansMetropolitan bishopIn Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis; that is, the chief city of a historical Roman province, ecclesiastical province, or regional capital.Before the establishment of...
wear a white veil over their kamilavka, with the same cross as an archbishop. The Patriarch of Moscow instead of the kamilavka wears a white koukoulionKoukoulionThe Koukoulion is a traditional headress worn by monks of the highest degree in the Eastern Orthodox Church....
, a conical head covering with a monastic veil.
- In the Serbian Orthodox ChurchSerbian Orthodox ChurchThe Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth in order of seniority after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia...
clergy of all ranks wear a black kalimavkion which is flat at the top. Monastics wear a black veil over the kalimavkion during services. BishopBishopA bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
s wear a black kalimavkion with a wide purple band at the bottom, and remove the veil when they are outside the church.
