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Although The vows of the Rassaphore does not make formal Riasophore/Rasophore are 'implicit' rather than 'explicit'. Such vows(chastity, poverty, obedience, perseverance, he is still morally obligated to continue stability) are inferred by the rite traditionally used in the monastic estate for the rest of his lifetonsuring. Some will remain Rassaphores permanently without going on to the higher degrees.
==Coptic Orthodox monastic degrees==
In the [[Church of Alexandria (Coptic)|Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria]] there are only two degrees of professed monks, corresponding to the Rassaphore combined with the Stavrophore and the Great Schema. (There is nothing equivalent to separate Stavrophore status in the Coptic tradition).
The two rites of Rassaphore and Stavrophore are served one immediately following the other, as a single service, very seldom nowadays to be separated by several years. When the two rites are separated, the portions of the habit that were given in the previous rite are not given a second time in the latter rite.
As for the Great Schema, which is made of a leather cord twisted in design and has five to seven small crosses along its length and worn crosswise around the neck, flowing down cross wise front and back, it is usually granted to bishops either upon their episcopal consecration or shortly afterwards and it is usually granted when a monk has reached a high degree of asceticism or has been living as a hermit and also to the monks, hieromonks, and abbots who have been in the monastic life for over 30 years and have been living in an exemplary monastic life.
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'''Rassaphore''' (Slavonic: рясофор), lit. "Robe-bearer"— If the novice continues on to become a [[monk]], he is clothed in the first degree of monasticism at a service at which he receives the tonsure. Although there are no formal vows made at this point, the candidate is normally required to affirm his commitment to persevere in the monastic life. The abbot will then perform the tonsure, cutting a small amount of hair from four spots on the head, forming a cross. He is then given the outer cassock (Greek: ''Rasson'', ''Exorasson'', or ''Mandorrason''; Slavonic: ''Riassa''), an outer robe with wide sleeves, from which the name of Rassaphore is derived. He is also given a ''[[kamilavkion]]'', a cylindrical brimless hat, which is covered with a veil called an ''[[epanokamelavkion]]''. (These are separate items in the Greek tradition, but in the Russian tradition the two are stitched together and the combination is called a ''[[klobuk]]''.) If he has not previously received it, a leather belt is fastened around his waist. His habit is usually black, signifying that he is now dead to the world, and he receives a new name.
==Stavrophore==
==Great Schema==
'''Great Schema''' (Greek: Μεγάλο Σχήμα - ''Megaloschemos'', Slavonic: Схима, ''Schima'') — Monks In the Russian tradition, monks whose abbot feels they have reached a high level of spiritual excellence reach the final stage, called the Great Schema. The tonsure of a ''Schemamonk'' or ''Schemanun'' follows the same format as the Stavrophore, and he makes the same vows and is tonsured in the same manner. But in addition to all the garments worn by the Stavrophore, he is given the ''analavos'' (Slavonic: ''analav'') which is the article of monastic vesture emblematic of the Great Schema. For this reason, the analavos itself is sometimes itself called the "Great Schema". It drapes over the shoulders and hangs down in front and in back, with the front portion somewhat longer, and is embroidered with the instruments of the Passion and the [[Trisagion]]. The Greek form does not have a hood, the Slavic form has a hood and lappets on the shoulders, so that the garment forms a large cross covering the monk's shoulders, chest, and back. Another piece added is the ''Polystavrion'' or "Many Crosses", which consists of a cord with a number of small crosses plaited into it. The polystavrion forms a yoke around the monk and serves to hold the analavos in place and reminds the monastic that he is bound to Christ and that his arms are no longer fit for worldly activities, but that he must labor only for the [[Kingdom of Heaven]]. Among the Greeks, the mantle is added at this stage. The paramandyas of the Megaloschemos is larger than that of the Stavrophore, and if he wears the klobuk, it is of a distinctive thimble shape, called a koukoulion'', the veil of which is usually embroidered with crosses.
The Schemamonk also shall remain some days in vigil in the church. On the eighth day after Tonsure, there is a special service for the "Removal of the Koukoulion."
In some monastic traditions the Great Schema is only given to monks and nuns on their death bed, while in others they may be elevated after as little as 25 years of service. In the Greek tradition, the Great Schema is not looked upon as a major elevation but rather as having come to the full practice of monasticism, and so a monastery may be filled with monastics of the Great Schema.
If a bearer of some monastic title acquires the Great Schema, his title incorporates the word "schema". For example, a hieromonk of Great Schema is called '''hieroschemamonk''', [[archimandrite]] becomes '''schema-archimandrite''', [[hegumen]] - '''schema-hegumen''', etc. In Russian tradition, in such cases the part "schema" is commonly truncated to "схи" (sche), and correspondingly the titles are spelled as схимонах, иеросхимонах, схиархимандрит, схиигумен.
==See also==
[[Category:Monastics]]
[[ro:Ranguri monahale]]