encolpium

English

Alternative forms

• encolpion, enkolpion

Noun

encolpium (plural encolpia or encolpiums)

1. A reliquary that is worn suspended from the neck like a medallion.
   • 1965, Marvin Chauncey Ross, Catalogue of the Byzantine and Early Mediaeval Antiquities in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection, Volume 2, →ISBN:

     Since encolpiums of this type were used for many centuries, many have survived and the literature is fairly extensive.

   • 2002, Herbert Norris, Church Vestments: Their Origin and Development, →ISBN, page 136:

     An encolpium or reliquary is mentioned as being of gold with one side, obviously the front, formed of crystal, the other sides being enamel.

   • 2012, Cynthia Jean Hahn, Strange Beauty: Issues in the Making and Meaning of Reliquaries, →ISBN:

     Encolpia in the form of crosses may be a uniquely interactive sort of reliquary.