thumb|alt=Chrysostomos of Smyrna|Icon of Saint [[Chrysostomos of Smyrna wearing a polystavrion (“many crosses”) phelonion.]]
The phelonion (Greek: , plural, , phailónia; Latin: paenula, Russian: Фело́нь - Felón’) is a liturgical vestment worn by a priest of the Byzantine Christian tradition. It is worn over the priest's other vestments and is equivalent to the chasuble of Western Christianity.
History
Like the chasuble, the phelonion was originally a sort of poncho, a conical round vestment with a hole in the middle for the head, which fell to the feet on all sides. It derived from the Roman civilian paenula, and it was made of wool, silk, or linen. The first author to mention it, Joannes Zonaras, declares its use was allowed not only for the four Orthodox patriarchs (Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem), but also for the exarchs of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, that is the bishops of Caesarea, Ephesus, Thessaloniki, and Corinth. On the other hand, early depictions of the polystavrion tend to suggest that it was restricted to patriarchs. Between the 12th and 15th century, the polystavrion obtained great importance, and is often seen in monumental paintings and frescos.
The polystavrion was the first case of vestement that differentiated the rank of a see. Before, the highest ranking patriarch and a rural bishop would have both worn the plain phelonion with the omophorion.
The polystavrion was initially developed as a symbol of higher rank, but gradually was extended to all bishops. This phenomenon was later repeated with the sakkos and the mitre, which also started off as worn only by the highest-ranking patriarchs and then trickled down to the rest of the hierarchy.