epitrachelion

/ˌɛpɪtɹəˈkiliɒn/

Etymology

Borrowed from Byzantine Greek ἐπιτραχήλιον (epitrakhḗlion), from Ancient Greek ἐπιτραχήλιος (epitrakhḗlios, “on the neck”) + -ιον (-ion, suffix forming diminutive nouns). ἐπιτραχήλιος (epitrakhḗlios) is from ἐπι- (epi-, “on, upon, on top of, covering”) (from Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi (“on; at; near”)) + τράχηλος (trákhēlos, “neck”) + -ῐος (-ĭos) (from Proto-Indo-European *-yós (suffix forming adjectives)).

Why this word is great

EPITRACHELION — [Noun] The liturgical vestment worn by priests and bishops of the Eastern Orthodox Church as the symbol of their priesthood, corresponding to the Western stole. From Byzantine Greek ἐπιτραχήλιον (epitrakhḗlion), from Ancient Greek ἐπιτραχήλιος (epitrakhḗlios, “on the neck”) + -ιον (-ion, diminutive suffix), with ἐπι- (epi-, “on, upon”) + τράχηλος (trákhēlos, “neck”). Unlike the "stole" (a Western vestment stripped of Eastern sacramental gravity) or the "pallium" (a papal insignia of jurisdiction), the epitrachelion is the weight of divine service made tangible. It is the gold-threaded silk brushing against the priest’s chest as he raises the chalice, the embroidered crosses resting heavy on his collarbones, the fabric whispering against the floor as he prostrates—a yoke willingly borne, a tether between heaven and earth.

noun

The liturgical vestment worn by priests and bishops of the Eastern Orthodox Church as the symbol of their priesthood, corresponding to the Western stole.“[A] little band of marchers displays Greek Orthodox outfits, the rhason and sticharion, the epitrachelion and the epimanikia, the sakkos, the epigonation, the zone, the omophorion; they brandish icons and enkolpia, dikerotikera and dikanikion.”