Convent Of The Entry Of The Most Holy Theotokos Into The Temple

[Apotheoun]

 

The Pravmir website has a series of photographs that depict the life of the nuns living at the Convent of the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple in the City of Ivanovo, Russia. Click the link to see the whole series of pictures:

 

http://www.pravmir.com/the-living-convent/

[To Jesus Through Mary]

This is AMAZING!! So beautiful!! And the Madonna about 3/4 the way down is breath taking. The photographer did a wonderful job. Thanks for sharing that.

[Gabriela]

Wow! Beautiful! The abbess looks like such a gentle woman. And I love the sign at the entrance!

 

I don't know much about Orthodox. Can you answer some questions?

 

1) Who is the woman in the hooded outfit with the writing all over it? What's that outfit?

2) When do the sisters wear the "extra hat"? (Sorry, I don't know what it's called!)

3) What's with the Orthodox and cats? 

4) What is "prosphora"?

 

Thanks very much for sharing!

[Apotheoun]

Wow! Beautiful! The abbess looks like such a gentle woman. And I love the sign at the entrance!

 

I don't know much about Orthodox. Can you answer some questions?

 

1) Who is the woman in the hooded outfit with the writing all over it? What's that outfit?

2) When do the sisters wear the "extra hat"? (Sorry, I don't know what it's called!)

3) What's with the Orthodox and cats? 

4) What is "prosphora"?

 

Thanks very much for sharing!

 

1.  That is a nun who has been given the Great Schema, which is meant to be a visible sign of her having reached the highest level of the spiritual life in monasticism.

 

An image of a group of nuns wearing the Great Schema.

 

2.  I am not sure what "extra hat" you are referring to, so I cannot really answer your question.

 

3.  I think the presence of cats at monasteries serve a very pragmatic purpose.  They kill rodents.

 

4.  Prosphora is bread, and in particular it refers to the bread that will be consecrated into the Body of Christ during the divine liturgy.

[TheresaThoma]

Beautiful!

[Gabriela]

2.  I am not sure what "extra hat" you are referring to, so I cannot really answer your question.

I'm talking about the cylinder that's on top of their heads in some pictures, under their veils, lifting the veil up from their heads and giving it more "height". In other pictures, their veils lie directly on top of their heads, like most Western nuns'. The priest in the picture of the nuns you just posted has it, too.

[AnneLine]

Apotheoun, I think you can answer this better than I, but there was a thread in Vocation Station by Marigold (now Sr. Marigold!) who has now entered an Orthodox Monastery.  She explained all of this well a while ago in this thread:

 

http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/topic/116477-entering-the-convent-the-orthodox-way/

 

She is no longer available to answer questions, obviously!

 

I believe that the sisters with the tall headgear are the ones who have made theri final vows.  The others I believe are novices... and as Apotheoun noted, the ones with the 'writing' are the ones who have been given the Great Schema.

 

Apotheoun, can you tell us anything about what is contained in the wording on those robes?  I'm just curious... it appears to be a schematic (no pun intended) of the Crucifixion....?

 

 

You might want to look over the thread above and see if any of your questions are answered!

 

The photos are truly beautiful -- thanks for sharing them!!!!

Edited December 7, 2012 by AnneLine

[Apotheoun]

Apotheoun, I think you can answer this better than I, but there was a thread in Vocation Station by Marigold (now Sr. Marigold!) who has now entered an Orthodox Monastery.  She explained all of this well a while ago in this thread:

 

http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/topic/116477-entering-the-convent-the-orthodox-way/

 

She is no longer available to answer questions, obviously!

 

I believe that the sisters with the tall headgear are the ones who have made theri final vows.  The others I believe are novices... and as Apotheoun noted, the ones with the 'writing' are the ones who have been given the Great Schema.

 

Apotheoun, can you tell us anything about what is contained in the wording on those robes?  I'm just curious... it appears to be a schematic (no pun intended) of the Crucifixion....?

 

 

You might want to look over the thread above and see if any of your questions are answered!

 

The photos are truly beautiful -- thanks for sharing them!!!!

 

The nun with the round cylindrical headdress (called a Klobuk) in the above picture is - at least as far as I can tell - a Rassophore nun, while the other nuns are all wearing the Great Schema, which is the highest degree of monasticism in Eastern Orthodoxy.

 

In the link I gave in the original post, the nuns who have no specific headdress (i.e., just a veil), or those with a soft hat (skufia), are novices.  Those with the cylindrical hat (Klobuk) are either Rassophore or Stavrophore nuns.

 

 

Here are drawings that show the garments of the first three levels of monasticism:

 

                                              

 

In addition to the klobuk (cylindrical headdress) the Stavrophore nun (and monk) wears a garment called the mantíya (mantle), which is a full cape joined at the neck.

 

P.S. - Bishops, Metropolitans, and Patriarchs, as monastics, also wear the mantiya, but instead of the cape being black a hierarch's mantiya is a specific color that helps to identify his office.

 

Bishop                 Metropolitan                Patriarch             

Edited December 7, 2012 by Apotheoun

[Apotheoun]

I should add that the klobuk in the Byzantine-Slav tradition normally has an epanokamelavkion (a long black veil) attached to it.  

[AnneLine]

Thank you -- and I like your new Phred Phlintstone garb for your avatar as well!