Vestments

Vestment is the term for special clothing worn by the people who conduct a worship service. Vestments have their origin in the ordinary street clothes of the first century, but have more or less remained the same as clothing fashions have changed.

Today, vestments are designed to be worn over street clothes and serve a number of practical purposes: they conceal the distractions of fashionable street clothing, they remove any consideration of what constitutes appropriate attire, and they remind the congregation that the ministers are not acting on their own, but performing in their official capacities. Vestments are in almost universal use, although in some churches only the choir wears vestments. Common vestments include albs, cassocks, chasubles, robes, and surplices.

Alb

An alb, called a sticharion in Orthodox churches, is a plain, lightweight, ankle-length tunic with long sleeves and a hood, or a flap in the back that suggests a hood, and it is generally worn with a rope cincture. The word alb is short for the the Latin phrase tunica alba, which means white tunic; accordingly, albs are usually made of white or undyed fabric.

In the first century, the tunic was the first article of clothing that you put on in the morning. Working-class people wore knee-length tunics, while older people and people with less active occupations wore ankle-length tunics. It was possible to wear more than one tunic at a time, and it was considered gauche to wear a tunic without a cincture.

The tunic was originally sleeveless. Greeks and Romans thought sleeves were barbaric, because barbarians wore them. (The barbarians lived in colder climates.) Tunics did not acquire sleeves until the third century, when a Roman Emperor came back from a military campaign wearing a tunic with sleeves—much to the horror of the fashion mavens of the day. A modern alb has sleeves because we need to cover street clothing that has sleeves.

In the first century, most people wore a himation over their tunics. The himation was a rectangular garment that was wrapped around the body. The designs on the himation, as well as its color and quality, varied depending on the wearer’s sex, occupation, and social status. Because of the relatively precarious way it was worn and the way it hindered movement, people had to remove it when they were engaged in various physical activities. For example, when blind Bartimaeus ran to Jesus in Mark 10:46-52, he threw off his himation. Jesus wore a sleeveless, ankle-length tunic with a rope cincture underneath a himation. Matthew 9:20-22 tells about a woman who was healed when she touched the hem of His himation. In Revelation 3:5, 3:18, and 4:4 people are given white himatia. Perhaps the writer of Revelation wanted us to think of people who had received a white tunic at their baptism now receiving an elegant and triumphant white himation to wear over it. (Note that most Bible translations are not consistent with the names of articles of clothing.) The himation never became a church vestment, probably because as servants, the clergy would have to remove it anyway.

In the first four centuries of the Church, people were baptized in the nude. For propriety, they were baptized in three groups: men, women, and children; and female deacons baptized the women. When they emerged from the water, they were immediately clothed in a white tunic (a tunica alba, or alb). For this reason, the alb is a reminder of baptism and a symbol of the resurrection on the Last Day.

Anyone who has a leadership role in worship can wear an alb and cincture, whether they are clergy or lay people. Only clergy wear a stole over the alb. Albs are increasing in popularity not only because they are ecumenical, but also because congregations are increasingly eager to conform to the practices of the ancient Church.

Cassock

A cassock is a plain, lightweight, ankle-length tunic with long sleeves, but no hood. It is very similar to an alb, except that it is most often black and it is better tailored. A cassock can be worn with either a rope or cloth cincture. Cassocks sometimes have buttons down the front, and they are sometimes designed to be worn as street clothing. When most people think of a priest, they generally have a mental picture of a person dressed in a cassock. Before 1900, most formal clothes were black and most work clothes were not dyed. Thus the main historic distinction between albs and cassocks is that albs are working clothes and cassocks are formal clothes, so if the alb expresses humility, the cassock expresses respect. A cassock is sometimes also called a soutane.

Cassocks are worn by both clergy and lay worship leaders, with or without a surplice. Generally, only clergy wear a stole over the cassock.

Cassocks are most common in Anglican, Roman Catholic, and Orthodox churches, but you can find them most anywhere. The cassock-and-surplice combination is very common in Anglican churches. Some choirs wear cassocks with surplices instead of robes. John Wesley wore a cassock and surplice, because he was a priest in the Church of England.

Chasuble

A chasuble, called a phelonion in Orthodox churches, is an ornate circular garment with a hole in the center for the wearer’s head. When worn, it reaches to the wearer’s wrists, so that if the wearer holds both arms straight out, the chasuble forms a semi-circle when viewed from the front or the back. The chasuble is the descendant of a first-century paenula that was worn as a coat by both sexes. Today it connotes solemnity and formality. The chasuble is customarily worn by the celebrant during a Eucharistic service. Sometimes the celebrant puts the chasuble on over other vestments as part of the Eucharistic ceremony. Chasubles are used in Lutheran churches, particularly outside the United States, as well as in Anglican and Roman Catholic churches.

The chasuble is always worn with a stole. Generally, the stole is under the chasuble. The stole and chasuble combination is the first-century equivalent of wearing a necktie and jacket. It is formal wear appropriate to fancy dinner parties, such as Communion.

Christus victor

 Christus victor is Latin for Christ the Winner. It is similar to a crucifix, in that it consists of a figurine of Jesus imposed upon a cross, except that the figure of Jesus is fully clothed, usually in white and red garments, with uplifted and outstretched arms and a triumphant facial expression. It depicts the triumph of the Ascension over the suffering of the Crucifixion.

Cincture  

A cincture, called a poias in Orthodox churches, is anything worn around the waist to gather or hold up clothing. Vestments often include cinctures made of cloth or rope. When a cincture is made of leather or plastic, or if it is used with street clothing, it is called a belt.

Cope

A cope is an ornate cape-like garment worn by a bishop. In the ancient Church, bishops were generally elderly men who needed a cope to keep warm. The bishop removes the cope and puts on a chasuble to celebrate the Eucharist.

Cross (pectoral cross)

Many people wear crosses around their necks as jewelry. If the cross is large enough to be seen from a distance and the chain is long enough to position the cross over the center of the chest, it is called a pectoral cross.

Pectoral crosses are quite often worn over albs or cassocks, but seldom if ever over robes. While they look quite nice with vestments, they are too dramatic for street clothes. If you want to wear a cross with street clothes, use a small cross on a neck chain. Christians did not wear crosses or hang them on their walls until after crucifixion was no longer the standard method of capital punishment. Instead, the earliest Christians used the gesture of the sign of the cross.

Cross (sign of the cross)

The sign of the cross is a pious gesture that must have originated in the first century, because it was a widespread practice in the second century. It is not a late innovation of the Roman Catholic Church, as many people imagine. It may be that early bishops applied chrism (anointing oil) by tracing a cross on the person’s forehead, and the gesture originated when people wanted to reaffirm their anointing afterwards by using their right thumb to trace the sign of the cross on their forehead.

The gesture quickly developed into its modern form, where the right hand moves from the forehead to the chest, then from shoulder to shoulder. Eastern Christians cross themselves right to left, and Western Christians cross themselves left to right. It is customary to cross oneself at the beginning and ending of prayer (at the words “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” ), before receiving Communion, and at certain points in the liturgy.

It is common for the clergy to make the sign of the cross over the elements of the Eucharist as they are being consecrated, and over people and objects as they are being blessed. The sign of the cross is also helpful at times when you are moved to pray but at a loss for words.

Crucifix

A crucifix is a cross with a superimposed figurine. Crucifixes originated before the sixth century, at which time the figuring depiced Jesus symbolically as a lamb. As Christian art gradually began to depict Jesus as a human being rather than as a lamb, the figurine changed from a lamb to a fully dressed triumphant Jesus.

The crucifix with a suffering Jesus became very popular in the west during a time when so many people were dying of the plague that disposing of corpses was the most pressing issue for local authorities. In those days of unrelenting grief, suffering, and sorrow, pastors spent most of their time conducting funerals. (Reread the lyrics of the hymn, Now Thank We All Our God, and ponder the fact that it was written by a pastor who buried dozens of plague victims each day.)

Many of the more gruesome crucifixes from that era show Jesus dying from the grotesque final symptoms of the bubonic plague, including the contorted, purple face. Today, in our more comfortable times, such crucifixes strike us as grotesque or horrible, which was of course the point. Crucifixes made sense of all that suffering and dying. They were an important expression of faith that Jesus can overcome the most horrible death. Because the plagues were largely in the west, crucifixes are not as common in Orthodox churches, and because the plagues were largely over by the time of the Protestant Reformation, many Protestants associated them with Roman Catholicism and did not use them; however, they are still common among Lutherans, particularly outside the United States.

Dalmatic

In the first century, a dalmatic was an garment that the upper classes wore over their tunics. It is very much like a surplice in shape, except that it is plain and not necessarily white. In the church, it is a garment sometimes worn by deacons. If the deacon is wearing a stole, the stole goes over the dalmatic.

Epitrachilion 

See stole.

Incense

See thurible.

Mitre

A mitre is a distinctive hat worn by a bishop. The word mitre comes from the Greek word mitra (μιτρα), which means headband. In the ancient Church, bishops were generally elderly men who needed a hat to keep their heads warm. Today the mitre is symbolic of the bishop’s office and it generally matches the bishop’s cope.

Phelonion

See chasuble.

Poias

See cincture.

Robe  

Many people use the term robe as a synonym for vestment, but in actual fact, a robe is not a vestment at all. It is a ankle-length gown with long sleeves, designed to be worn without a cincture. There are four types of robes, all of which are modern forms of the academic robes that professors used to wear while on the job in medieval universities. The four types are choir robes, clergy robes, academic gowns, and judicial robes. Only the first three types are worn in church. All types of robes are designed to be worn over street clothing. The only vestment that can be worn over a robe is a stole.

Choir robes come in a large variety of styles and colors. They give the choir a unified appearance. (However, choirs can wear cassocks and surplices instead of robes.)

Academic gowns come in three forms corresponding to bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees. The doctoral robe sometimes appears in church. It has puffy sleeves with three stripes on the forearm, indicating that the wearer possesses a doctoral degree. When they are used in church, academic gowns are most often worn without the square cap or the long, decorative hood down the back that normally complete the outfit. If there is a hood, the colors indicate the wearer’s field of study and alma mater.

Clergy robes mark clergy who do not have a doctorate degree or who do not choose to wear their doctoral robes. Even though most clergy have a masters degree, clergy robes are a modified form of the baccalaureate robe, probably because contemporary masters robes have an odd appearance. Clergy robes are nearly identical to judicial robes, except that clergy robes often have a sort of built-in stole; a wide stripe running down both sides of the zipper in the front, often with decorated with Christian symbols.

Unlike vestments, robes are not worn by lay leaders. The original purpose of the robe was to indicate that the wearer had the authority of academic credentials. John Calvin started the tradition of wearing academic robes in church. He was not able to wear vestments because he was not ordained clergy, but he did have an academic law degree. For that reason, clergy robes are most common in churches that are in the Reformed tradition, such as Presbyterian churches, and in other groups with Calvinist roots, such as Baptists. Choir robes are nearly universal.

Soutane

See cassock.

Sticharion

See alb or cassock.

Stole

A stole, called a epitrachilion in Orthodox churches, is a long, narrow rectangular garment that is worn around the neck so that it hangs down in front of the wearer’s legs, ending below the knees. The stole originated as a sort of kerchief. People used them as a general work cloth, for polishing things, and for wiping sweat from their faces. They came into the church, probably as a cloth that the celebrant could use to clean the Communion ware as part of the service, and for that reason, the stole became a Eucharistic garment.

Modern stoles are usually the appropriate color for the season. Only ordained clergy wear a stole. A deacon can also wear a stole, but it is customary for a deacon to wear it over the left shoulder, tied at the waist on the right side, so that the stole hangs diagonally across the chest. A stole can be worn over a robe, an alb, or a cassock.

If an ordained minister combines a cassock, surplice, and stole, the cassock goes on first, then the surplice, then the stole on top.

If an ordained minister combines an alb, stole, and chasuble, the alb goes on first, then the stole, then the chasuble on top. (There are stoles that are designed to be worn over chasubles, but that is not common.)

If a deacon combines an alb, dalmatic, and stole, the alb goes on first, then the dalmatic, then the stole on top.

Surplice

A surplice is a very lightweight blouse-like garment with sleeves. It is almost invariably white and it often has lace trim. A surplice is only worn over a cassock, never by itself, and never over an alb or an academic gown. The cassock and surplice combination is very common in Anglican churches, where it is worn by both clergy and lay worship leaders.

Thurible

A thurible is also called a censer. It is a metal holder for incense, usually suspended on chains. Either the celebrant or a thurifer swings it around in a predetermined pattern. It is used in Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Episcopal, and sometimes even Methodist services. ( listed them in order of frequency of use, from greatest to least.) Incense was universally a feature of ancient Christian worship, because it was used in the Jewish Temple during sacrifices. Thuribles give off a lot of smoke when they are in use. If it is high-quality incense, it won’t make people sneeze.