A pectoral cross with the images of Ukrainian Saints Borys and Hlib, called an encolpion, has been found in the southwestern Ukrainian Chernivtsi region. The encolpion was transferred to the Bukovyna Center of Archeological Research at Chernivtsi State University, where its great scientific and historical value was identified. This news was posted on the website of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate on 21 August 2002.
Encolpions bearing the image of Jesus Christ, the Mother of God or the saints were first found in Ukrainian territories in the 10th century, when Christianity was spreading across the territories of the present-day Eastern Europe. They were made from small metal plates and worn on the chest. Relics of saints were usually placed inside encolpions. Today, encolpions are well known to archeologists and preserved in many museums throughout Ukraine. Up to this time, only one encolpion with images of Sts. Borys and Hlib, dating back to the 13th century, had been found in Ukraine. Source: www.orthodox.org.ua