Khorugv

Khorúgv (Russian: Xоругвь, Bulgarian: Хоругва, Ukrainian: Хоругва, Polish: Chorągiew, Finnish: Kirkkolippu, sometimes translated as gonfalon), is a religious banner used liturgically in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches.

The khorugv or banner consists of an icon of Christ, the Theotokos or a saint, either painted or embroidered on a rectangular piece of cloth. The cloth is often pointed or swallow-tailed, or has several streamers coming down from it. The banner often has two or three tails on it, each terminating in a tassel, and may be fringed around the edges. It is suspended from a crossbar which is attached horizontally to a long vertical pole (see the article Gonfalon for a picture). The finial at the top of the pole is usually a cross. More rarely, banners can also be made of metalwork, or carved out of wood.

Banners are carried in a religious procession known as Holy Cross Processions (Russian: крестный ход, krestny khod), and when not being carried are usually displayed in the church.

The first ensign used by the Christian Church was the labarum of the Roman Emperor Saint Constantine I. In the year 312, on the eve of the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, he saw a vision of the Cross of Christ appear in the sky, and beneath it the words Ἐν τούτῳ νίκα (En touto nika, "In this, be victorious"). Constantine ordered the symbol of the Cross to be placed on the imperial standards. He was victorious in the battle, and as a result legalized the practice of Christianity in the empire, and was himself baptized before his death.

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