www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology Ruthenian and Ukrainian "Kopak"

Can the Greek Catholic-style (Ruthenian and Ukrainian) priestly "Kopak" be purchased? If they are available, what church supply store sales them?

Here Bishop Milan Shashik wears one, but with a mounted cross on top.

http://www.mgce.uz.ua/albums/1020/IMG_0001.jpg

U-C

Dear Ung-Certez:

Slava Isusu Christu!

Below is the link to the Byzantine Church Supplies in Philadelphia. They have the kopak:

http://ukrcathedral.com/byzsup/vestments.html

When I first saw this topic, I was very confused. I thought it said "hopak" instead of kopak, and was amazed thinking they sell the hopak at that store in Philadelphia.

Is it "kopak" or "kolpak"? Originally, it was just an ordinary round hat.

The thought of the Bishops doing a hopak was a great visual!

I recall seeing one or two Byzantine Catholic bishops wearing a kopak that looked like a "mini-mitre". It was tapered at the top with a cross. At first I thought it was an Armenian Catholic bishop, but the "mitre" was quite smaller in size compared to an Armenian mitre. It really caught my attention because it was so distinctive.

This was on a video of a Divine Liturgy celebrated in eastern Europe years ago. I haven't seen another since.

Has anyone else seen this style of kopak before?

To the best of my knowledge, it is spelled "kolpak". It was for Greek Catholic clergy to wear so as to distinguish them from Eastern Orthodox clergy. In light of the 1996 instruction, they should no longer be in use.

Dn Robert

The cylindrical fur cap worn by 19th century hussars was called the "colpack", and was obviously copied from the Ukrainian kolpak, the principal difference being the addition of a small cloth bag attached to the top and draped over one side of the hat. They are still worn with the dress uniform of the Royal Horse Artillery.

Archbishop Vsevolod of Scopelos affected a kolpak. I suspect it has now transcended the Orthodox/Catholic divide and is seen as a unique identifier of the Kyivan Church.

Religion and Nationality in Western Ukraine: The Greek Catholic Church and the Ruthenian National Movement in Galicia, 1867-1900 by John-Paul Himka has a chapter titled "Three Bar Crosses and Kolpaks" which mentions how kolpaks came to be used by the Greek Catholic clergy. A portion of that chapter is able to be read here [books.google.com] (page 65).

The assertion of some (as a priest friend of mine in the UAOC who wears one attests) is that the kolpak goes back to Mohylian times as a way to distinguish all Ukrainian parochial clergy (whether Ukrainian Orthodox or Greek Catholic) from the Muscovite, who also had their own form of skufya/kamilavka distinct from Greek styles. It may be difficult to pin down exactly.

The Greeks call the soft skoufos a "kalpaki" so the word does seem to simply indicate a round, brimless cap.

The real origin of the octagonal design, though, seems shrouded in mystery.

Dn. David

My memory is a tad faded, but I think that it was Fr. Serge Keleher, in his comments in the updated translation of "Ordo Celebrationis", who indicated that the kolpak was meant to distinguish Uniate Greek Catholic clergy from Eastern Orthodox clergy. Perhaps I, paraphrasing baseball pitcher Roger Clemens, have "misremembered". I had also read the theories that it either was a copying of the headgear worn in Jewish synagogues and/or that worn by senior academics at Polish universities. Perhaps Fr. Serge can add his comments?

Dn. Robert

I would agree a little bit with Stuart and Father Serge on this one. Many in the Pittsburgh area will remember the late Father Peter Molchany of Homestead,PA who left the Greek Catholic Church to found ACROD in the 1930's with Bishop Chornock. Father Peter became a Protopresbyter and was frequently pictured wearing a kolpak. However, I have not seen one in ACROD since his passing other than occasions when the late Archbishop would attend one of our functions.

Indeed, and even in Ukraine one sees the "kolpak" less and less frequently these days even amongst the Greek Catholic parochial clergy in favor of the lower-style cylindrical skufos (Greek/Romanian style), such as in the recent New York Times story about the UGCC parish priest in Rudno:
[Linked Image]

From what I have gleaned I do not think the use of the kolpak is any older than the 18th century, is definitely a western Ukrainian usage, and it resembles some historical depictions of synagogue headgear. Whether it was meant to distinguish Greek Catholic from Orthodox or Ukrainian from Muscovite clergy appears to be a matter of opionion. The last priest in our Eparchy to use one retired about a year ago. It has become a sort of vogue amongst the Society of St. Josaphat as an emblem of the latinized Greek Catholic resistance, which is another reason to abandon it.