The Analavos of the Great Schema () is a distinctive

vestment Vestments are Liturgy, liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christianity, Christian religion, especially by Eastern Christianity, Eastern Churches, Catholic Church, Catholics (of all rites), Lutherans, and Anglicans. ...

worn only by the highest degree of monastics in

Eastern Orthodox Christianity Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

, emblematic of their monastic habit. It is a symbol of their total devotion to the

cross A cross is a religious symbol consisting of two Intersection (set theory), intersecting Line (geometry), lines, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of t ...

and to the Orthodox Faith, and is adorned with the

Instruments of the Passion Arma Christi ("weapons of Christ"), or the Instruments of the Passion, are the objects associated with the Passion of Jesus Christ in Christian symbolism and art. They are seen as arms in the sense of heraldry, and also as the weapons Christ us ...

and other religious symbols.

Description

The word ''analavos'' (''Analav'' in

Church Slavonic Church Slavonic is the conservative Slavic liturgical language used by the Eastern Orthodox Church in Belarus, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Serbia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Slovenia and Croatia. The ...

) comes from the Greek ''αναλαμβάνω'', meaning "to take up." This phrase comes from Luke 9:23, "Then he said to them all: 'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.'" A garment called simply the Many Crosses () serves to hold the analavos in place and can reach from the ankles to the neck. The garment itself takes the form of a

when worn, spreading over the wearer's shoulders and front and back torso. The crosses on the analavos represent a Christian monk's constant crucifixion with Christ, a scriptural theme present in

Paul's Epistles The Pauline epistles, also known as Epistles of Paul or Letters of Paul, are the thirteen books of the New Testament attributed to Paul the Apostle, although the authorship of some is in dispute. Among these epistles are some of the earliest exta ...

Symbology

The Analavos of the Great Schema contains many symbols which glorify the cross and

Passion of Christ The Passion (from latin language, Latin , "to suffer, bear, endure") is the short final period before the death of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, described in the four canonical gospels. It is commemorated in Christianity every year during Holy ...

. Not all the symbols listed are present on every analavos, and there may be additional ones.

References

{{reflist Eastern Christian vestments