One my own favourite instantiations of contemporary liturgical art is the paleochristian revival style which took hold in the later nineteenth and first half of the twentieth century as modern archeology saw ancient Christian sites excavated, interest in Roman catacombs renewed and so on. It was during this period that we saw the corresponding revival of many ancient Christian symbols such as the Chi-Rho and -- one of my personal favourites -- the peacock.
This revival was mainly seen in the Latin West however Riza Orthodox Vestments, based out of Australia, has been putting this into practice within their own Byzantine context -- which certainly makes manifest sense since Byzantium has the same roots in this regard. We have covered their work before, but recently they shared another example of their work in this style; a green phelonion (the Byzantine equivalent of the Western chasuble).
This particular example includes a number of interesting elements of ornamental decoration, first and most prominently, the image of two peacocks, symbols of eternal life, drinking from the Eucharistic chalice.
Also found is the classic Chi-Rho; a Christogram which represents the first two letters of Christ's name in Greek: XP (ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ) -- Christos -- as well as the Alpha and Omega.
The Chi-Rho is also found on the paleochristian style, ornamental Greek cross found on the upper back of the phelonion.
All said, it is a gorgeous vestment worthy of the celebration of the sacred and divine liturgy.
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