Definitions for "Epitrachelion"
a long narrow stole worn by bishops and priests
epitrachelia (Gr., "upon the neck"): a long liturgical scarf approximately two meters in length, suspended from around the neck of priests and bishops, and the most important insignia of their priestly office. The two pieces of fabric are held together by buttons or bells, and tassels or fringes hang from the bottom. Priests are required to wear the epitrachelion for their priestly duties, they may celebrate the less solemn offices while wearing them without the phelonion: i.e., Lesser Vespers, Compline, and Prayer-services in private dwellings. Depictions of epitrachelia date to as early as the tenth century, examples do not survive before the fourteenth century. Although the epitrachelion is usually hidden under the phelonion during the liturgy, they are often richly decorated, typically with the Deesis, or scenes from the Twelve Great Feasts; they were probably among the first vestments to receive embroidered decoration (see cat 182, 183, 184, 268).
The Epitrachelion (from the Greek, "around the neck"; often called simply a stole in casual English-language usage) is the liturgical vestment worn by priests and bishops of the Orthodox Church as the symbol of their priesthood, corresponding to the Western stole. It is essentially the orarion adapted for priests and bishops, worn around the neck with the two ends hanging down equally in front (more or less to the ankle) and with the two adjacent sides sewn or buttoned together up the center, leaving enough space through which to place the head. In practice, the epitrachelion is made to be worn only this way, tailored to lie flat around the neck, and is never actually unfastened.