Schima (robe)
The (big) Schima (pronounced: S-chima, from ancient Greek σχῆμα [ ˈsçæma ]), also megaloschema or scheme, is a garment of the habit of some monks and nuns in the Orthodox churches and Oriental Orthodox monasteries. The carriers are those who are considered particularly experienced in the challenges of the spiritual life. In Byzantine Orthodoxy, they wear a richly decorated scapular and a hood with embroidered crosses.
For the Copts, the askīm (σχῆμα) consists of leather straps with twelve interwoven crosses, which are placed over the shoulders, around the chest and back under the usual habit.
According to the Orthodox tradition, the appearance of the shimas goes back to the desert father Antonius , to whom angels showed the appearance of the shimas in a vision. When a monk or a nun can put on the Schima is not standardized. In some traditions the monk or nun must have proven himself in monastic life for at least 25 years, in other traditions it is only bestowed on the deathbed.
literature
- Scheme. In: Manfred Heim: From indulgence to celibacy. Small encyclopedia of church history. CH Beck, 2008, ISBN 978-3-406-57356-9 , p. 372.
- Karl Christian Felmy: Divine service. In: Friedrich Heyer (Hrsg.): Konfessionskunde. Walter de Gruyter, 1977, ISBN 3-11-084398-6 , pp. 105-131, here pp. 130 f.
- A. Rücker: The ritual of clothing with the leather monk pattern among the Syrians . In. Oriens Christianus NS 4 (1914) 233-237.
Remarks
- ↑ G. Graf: The ranking of the bishops of Egypt . In. Oriens Christinanus III 2 (1927) 334.