Orarion

The Orarion (Greek: ὀράριον; Slavonic: Орарь, orar) is the distinguishing vestment of the deacon and subdeacon in the Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox Churches and Eastern Catholic Churches. It is a narrow stole, usually four to five inches (127 mm) wide and of various lengths, made of brocade, often decorated with crosses (three, five or seven) embroidered or appliquéd along its length. It is usually trimmed with decorative banding around the edges and fringe at the two ends.

Deacon

The deacon wears the orarion over his left shoulder with the front portion draped over his left forearm. He will take this portion in his right hand when leading litanies or drawing attention to a particular liturgical action. This single orarion is the oldest form, as illustrated in traditional and older iconography.

Archdeacons and protodeacons are awarded the much longer double orarion, which is worn over the left shoulder, wrapped around the chest and back, and brought back over the left shoulder to the front. The Archdeacon's orarion may also have the word "Holy" embroidered three times on it in large letters, using nomina sacra where customary, in reference to the Trisagion. In modern Greek Orthodox practice, all deacons usually wear the double orarion.