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Khorugv (Russian: хоругвь, Bulgarian: хоругва, Church Slavonic: хорѫгꙑ, Ukrainian: хоругва, Polish: chorągiew, Romanian: prapur, Finnish: kirkkolippu, sometimes translated as gonfalon)[1] 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.
- ^ Historically, the Russian word khorugv, as well as Polish choragiew also referred to a military banner in the secular sense, and the corresponding detachment associated with it. Derived from this word are the Polish "Chorągiew" (an administrative unit), as well as the military ranks Chorąży in Poland or Khorunzhiy among Russian Cossacks.