The phelonion (Greek: , plural, , phailónia; Latin: paenula, Russian: Фело́нь - Felón’) is a liturgical vestment worn by a priest of the Byzantine Christian tradition. It is worn over the priest's other vestments and is equivalent to the chasuble of Western Christianity. History Like the chasuble, the phelonion was originally a sort of poncho, a conical round vestment with a hole in the middle for the head, which fell to the feet on all sides. It derived from the Roman civilian paenula, and it was made of wool, silk, or linen. Unlike the chasuble, it was worn at all liturgical functions, not only at the celebration of the Mass or Divine Liturgy. It was in use as early as the sixth century for priests, bishops, and also minor orders, and can be seen in the mosaics in Ravenna and the Euphrasian Basilica in Porec. The phelonion is depicted in the Menologion of Basil II, dating to 1000 AD. It shape evolved, and it was folded above the elbows to free the arms and hands. In its present form (dating from about the fifteenth century) the front is largely cut away (from about the waist down) to facilitate the movements of the priest's hands. In Russia the longer front remained common until quite recent times. The use of the phelonion is not limited to the Divine Liturgy but is specified for any major liturgical function. It is also called phenolion (; plural phenolia ) in some books. Polystavrion Originally the bishops wore a phelonion identical to that worn by priests and it could be of any solid color. Starting before the 11th century, a special phelonion, called the polystavrion o polystaurion ("many crosses") phelonion developed for certain prelates, and it was made of cloth that was either woven or embroidered with a pattern of multiple crosses. The oldest surviving sources depicting the polystavrion as used by bishops are certain manuscripts from the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries. The first author to mention it, Joannes Zonaras, declares it use allowed not only for the four Orthodox patriarchs (Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem) but also to the exarchs of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, that is the bishops of Caesarea, Ephesus, Thessaloniki, and Corinth. The twelfth century canonist Theodore Balsamon deemed it strictly reserved for the patriarch. No polystavrion has survived from the Byzantine period, and it was gradually supplanted by the