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THE MODERN and CONTEMPORARY TRADITION of SACERDOTAL VESTMENTS in GREECE (19Th – 20Th Century)

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THE MODERN and CONTEMPORARY TRADITION of SACERDOTAL VESTMENTS in GREECE (19Th – 20Th Century) Crkvene studije, Ni{ / Church Studies, Nis 12-2015, 585-598 УДК 271.2-725-443.5”18/19” Manolis G. Varvounis Democritus University / Thrace-Greece [email protected] Nadia Macha-Bizoumi Technological Educational Institute / Athens-Greece [email protected] THE MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY TRADITION OF SACERDOTAL VESTMENTS IN GREECE (19th – 20th century) Abstract: The study of sacerdotal vestments and their evolution over the passage of time constitutes a broad field of research, with many parameters and different axes of approach. To date, however, research has focused mainly on their study as outstanding works of art, due to the gold-embroidered silk ecclesiastical garments. A careful analysis of the form of their woven -or also hand-embroidered- ornamentation reveals that, as regards their decorative motifs, sacerdotal vestments often observe the alternations of fashion, in the sense of the trends in vogue, constituting a reflection of society's orientations. Until the prevalence on the market of industrialized European textiles with interwoven designs (19th century), the silk fabrics of Ottoman or Persian origin with interwoven silver- and gold- embroidered decoration play a leading role in the making of sacerdotal garments. Sumptuous silk fabrics with interwoven designs with Christian motifs come from the workshops of Bursa and Constantinople. In the 19th century, the market is inundated by textiles of European origin, while in parallel, but in a smaller proportion, Persian silks also continue to be present. Ottoman tulips and carnations interchange with the multicoloured floral ornamentation of Western European baroque. Besides these fabrics, though, one also encounters sacerdotal garments made of textiles with secular embroidery, which at times imitates the decoration of European textiles and at others constitutes an exceptional example of the local embroidering art. This category consists of ecclesiastical garments made from refashioning secular embroideries, whose initial use was to adorn a local costume or as a household decoration. This «movement» between old and new forms and decorative techniques, as an expression of fashion's changeable nature, constitutes a typical case of cultural movement between continuities and discontinuities, in what is, furthermore, a fairly conservative domain. Key Words: sacerdotal vestments, Greece, textiles, ornamentation, modern and contemporary traditions, fashion. Greek Orthodox sacerdotal vestments include the: sakkos (a tight-fitting garment with wide sleeves worn by bishops), phelonion (a type of chasuble), omophorion (a wide band of cloth worn around the shoulders by bishops), epitrachilion (priestly stole, worn around the neck), orarion (a stole, worn over the left shoulder), epimanikia (cuffs bound with laces), epigonation (a diamond-shaped stiffened cloth always worn on the right side via a loop over the left shoulder, which is a clergy award), mandyas (a long, sleeveless cape 585 that fastens at the neck and the feet, worn by bishops), and mitre. The study of these vestments and their evolution1 over the passage of time constitutes a broad field of research, with many parameters and different axes of approach2. Up till now, research has focused mainly on their study as outstanding works of art, because of the silk ecclesiastical garments embroidered with gold thread.3 As generally known, in terms of their morphological characteristics, vestments preserve dress forms and shapes of late Antiquity. They borrow elements from the secular dressing mode, as chitons (tunics), anaxyrides (breeches), phelonia (chasubles) and others are also included in the vestimentary system of the clergy.4 Over the passage of time, and given that they do not follow the evolution of the corresponding items of the people's wardrobe, these garments remain stationary as regards their morphological characteristics (shape, cut), and precisely for this reason subsequently evolve into exclusive, basic garments of sacerdotal attire5, lending to it the characteristics of a uniform. Compared to secular clothing, the ecclesiastical vestimentary system proves to be more conservative in terms of adopting, appropriating and incorporating new vestimentary modes over time. However, the attentive study and analysis of the form of the interwoven or hand- embroidered ornamentation of the fabrics used to make them, shows that -as will be shown below- in terms of their ornamentation, sacerdotal vestments often «observe» the alternations of fashion, in the sense of what is in vogue, constituting the reflection of the orientations of the society in whose bosom they were created. Vestments with an interwoven design Until the 18th and 19th century, when industrialized European textiles with an interwoven design came to dominate on the market, sacerdotal vestments were made primarily of silk fabrics of Ottoman6 and Persian origin with an interwoven silver-and gold- embroidered decoration. Sumptuous silks7 with an interwoven design based on Christian motifs come from the workshops of Bursa8 or Constantinople, which were custom woven for Church dignitaries. Bursa, initially a silk trading centre, gradually evolves into a mighty manufacturing pole of silk materials, which in its heyday, in the 16th century, produces and supplies the market with a wide range of gold-woven and silver-woven brocade (diba), silk satin (atlazi), camouchas (French camocas or camuscat, a costly damask-style, flower- patterned heavy silk fabric), silk velour, and others. Based on the material preserved in museum9 and monastery collections, sacerdotal vestments are made of fabrics of this type. 1 See Papas 1965; Mayo 1984; Kalamara 1999, 176-210; Vlachopoulou-Karabina 2012, 269-294. 2 Zidianakis 1999, 9. 3 Vei-Chatzidaki 1953; Chatzinikolaou 1969, 201-215; Theochari 1986; Vlachopoulou-Karabina 1998; Ballian 1999, 13-14; Vlachopoulou-Karabina 2009. 4 Stefanidis 1950, 19-25. 5 Sotiriou 1919, 237-247, 359-370, 452-460 and 546-551; Vlachopoulou-Karabina 2012, 269-294. 6 More specifically on the Ottoman silk industry cf. Atasoy - Denny – Mackie – Tezcan 2001, 155- 175. 7 On the use of luxurious fabrics, see Theochari 1994; Vlachopoulou-Karabina 2006, 235-276. 8 Regarding the workshops of Bursa, cf. Sahillioglou 1985, 43-112; Patrinellis 1988-1989, 9-50. 9 The Benaki Museum collection, for instance, comprises, among others, a piece of silk fabric from Bursa, dating to the 16th century, with repeated representations of the Virgin Mary Nikopoios among angels, crosses and tulips (index number 3864), and the sakkos of Neophytos, Metropolitan of Nicomedia (number 9349), dedicated in 1629 to the Monastery of the Holy Cross of Serres 586 In parallel, in terms of the production and commercialization of luxurious materials, as of the 14th century various towns of Spain and Italy (such as Venice and Florence) appear with competitive possibilities and, from the 16th century onwards, Lyon in France10, which finally manage to supplant Bursa11. In the 18th and 19th century, the market is taken over by textiles of European origin, while simultaneously -though to a lesser degree-, Persian silks12 also continue to be traded on Western markets. The interwoven decoration is dominated by Ottoman tulips and carnations, which are interchanged with the multicoloured floral ornamentation of Western baroque. Information on the use of silk fabrics with interwoven decoration for sacerdotal vestments is also drawn from their pictorial representation on dated monuments. Their comparative study with the fabrics of vestments preserved in monastery and museum collections assist research on determining the time of their adoption by local societies and also the geographic scope of their dissemination. Indeed, a study concerning Ottoman motifs and decorative elements in the Post-Byzantine monumental painting of Epirus during the 16th and 17th century,13 records and examines the variety of ornamental motifs of Ottoman inspiration in depictions of sacerdotal vestments in wall paintings/frescoes. In these depictions, arabesque compositions reminiscent of the Rumi-Hatayi style dominate, as well as the type of decoration consisting of oval medallions, a type particularly popular in the mid-16th century on Ottoman silk camouchas (brocade) fabrics. Another well-known Ottoman decorative motif from the early 15th through to the 18th century is the çintamani (a design usually depicted as two wavy horizontal bands alternating with three circles in triangular formation), which is also encountered adorning the caftans made of camouchas worn by the sultans14. The aforementioned motifs on the depicted sacerdotal vestments function in a complementary capacity to the historical knowledge about the use of in-vogue fabrics of the ecclesiastical wardrobe, as the interwoven decorative motifs bear witness to the observation of the evolution of the dominant decorative trends. Vestments with an embroidered design However, the ornamentation of sacerdotal vestments with religious or secular motifs is not only interwoven, but also hand-embroidered15. The development of a series of production centres of Post-Byzantine ecclesiastical gold-embroidered cloths resulted in the creation of works that, though they may differ from one locality to another, nonetheless follow, in their greater proportion, the common trends of each period. The influences of secular art are apparent in the expressive style and decorative perception of embroidered (Macedonia), made of silk from Bursa interwoven with silver and with gold threads, with
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