Choir dress
Encyclopedia
Choir dress is the vesture of the clerics, seminarian
s and religious
of traditional churches worn for public prayer, either apart from the eucharist
or by those attending the eucharist as the clergy part of the congregation rather than as the celebrant
s. Choir dress is different from the vestment
s worn by the celebrants of the eucharist, and is normally made of fabrics such as wool, cotton or silk, as opposed to the fine brocade
s used in vestments (with the exception of the cope
, which is both a vestment and choir dress).
Choir dress also differs from "house dress" which is worn outside of a liturgical context (whether in the house or on the street). House dress may be either formal or informal.
Choir dress in the Roman Catholic Church
is worn by deacons, priests and bishops when presiding at or celebrating a liturgy
that is not the Mass
, especially the Liturgy of the Hours
, or when attending Mass without celebrating or concelebrating the Eucharist. It is worn by seminarians, instituted lectors and acolytes, and altar servers and choir members at Mass or other liturgical events.
The basic components of choir dress are:
For seminarians, deacon
s, and priest
s the cassock is exactly the same as their normal cassock: a black cassock with black buttons, girded with a black fascia.
Priests who hold additional honors may wear a different cassock: chaplains of honor
wear a black cassock with purple piping, buttons, and fascia, while honorary prelates
and protonotaries apostolic
wear a purple
cassock with scarlet
piping and buttons with a purple fascia. A black cassock with amaranth
piping and buttons, girded with a purple fascia, serves as pian dress (academic dress) for an honorary prelate or protonotary apostolic. Canons
may wear the rochet
with a distinctive mozzetta
, the particular colors of which are determined by the chapter
.
Bishops wear the above mentioned purple cassock with scarlet piping, and add a pectoral cross
suspended from a green
and gold
cord, a mozzetta
over the rochet, and a purple zucchetto
under the biretta. A cardinal
wears a scarlet
cassock with scarlet trim, pectoral cross on a red and gold cord and a red mozzetta over the rochet, with a red zucchetto. The Pope
's choir dress includes a white cassock, rochet, red silk mozetta, red brocade stole and his pectoral cross hangs from a golden cord. Some canons wear their cross on a ribbon, but only a bishop may wear the cross on a cord. Under new regulations, neither bishops nor canons wear fur trimmed cappas.
The cope
and/or stole may be worn over choir dress when a cleric presides over a sacrament
(for instance, at matrimony, if not celebrated during Mass), or by the cleric presiding over prayers (for instance, the priest presiding at a solemn celebration of Vespers
in the Liturgy of the Hours at a seminary might wear cope and stole over choir dress, while the priests of the faculty and seminarians would wear simple choir dress of cassock and surplice).
Monks who are neither deacons nor priests also have a form of choir dress: the full monastic habit with the monastic cowl forms their formal wear for attending the Liturgy of the Hours or Mass.
Informal house dress for the higher clergy is the simar
with fascia (a fringed sash worn around the waist), and zucchetto
. Formal house dress may include additionally the biretta
and ferraiuolo. For everyday wear, especially in North America and Great Britain, a clergyman may wear a collared clergy shirt with black or grey coat and pants. Some clergy, especially religious, will wear non-clerical dress when about parish duties among those who know them well. Sometimes, cardinals or bishops will have piping and colored buttons attached to their clergy shirts so it resembles the simar.
The choir dress of clergy in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox
and Eastern Catholic churches are relatively similar. Over the inner cassock
(rasson or podrasnik), a deep-sleeved exorason (riassa), which is often black, is worn. In the Russian Orthodox Church
, married clergy often wear grey, while monastic clergy wear black. During the paschal
season both monastic and married clergy will often wear a white inner cassock. Some Russian Metropolitans
wear a white inner cassock and a blue outer when formally arriving to celebrate the Divine Liturgy
.
s wear a black cloak, the mandyas over the outer cassock. The mandyas completely covers the monastic below the chin and reaches to the floor. In the Greek usage, the mandyas is usually only worn when performing certain liturgical roles; in the Slavic usage, all monks and nun
s of the rank of Stavrophore
or above wear the mandyas at every service, so long as they are in their own monastery
. The mandyas of an hegumen
(abbot
) is of black silk, that of an archimandrite
or bishop
is of coloured silk (specific usages will differ by jurisdiction), and has four square "tablets" on it: two at the neck and two at the feet. A bishop's mandyas additionally has "rivers" on it: three horizontal stripes either of gold (Greek practice) or red and white (Slavic practice).
Monastic clergy wear different headcoverings than married clergy. Married clergy wear either a coloured kalimaukion
or skufia
; monastic clergy wear a black kalimaukion and veil
(together known as the klobuk
). For monastics, the skufia is reserved for house dress, and the klobuk is worn in church. Russian archbishop
s have a jewelled cross attached to the front of their klobuks; Russian Metropolitans wear a white klobuk with jewelled cross. Several Orthodox Patriarch
s wear a rounded headcovering called a koukoulion
.
Priest
s who have been awarded a pectoral cross
wear it with their choir dress (these pectoral crosses are of several degrees: silver, gold, or jewelled). Bishops wear a panagia
(icon
of the Theotokos
) in place of the pectoral cross. Archbishops may wear a pectoral cross and a panagia. All primates
and some bishops below primatial rank have the dignity of wearing an enkolpion (icon of Christ), a pectoral cross, and a panagia.
A ruling Igumen (so long as he is inside his own monastery) and a bishop may carry his paterissa (crozier) when he is in church. However, the paterissa is never to be carried inside the sanctuary; instead, when he goes into the altar
, the paterissa is either handed to an altar server
or left leaning against the iconostasis
outside the Holy Doors.
In North America and Great Britain, some Orthodox clergy have begun to wear a Roman collar (clergy shirt), though this is discouraged among the more traditional Orthodox.
In the Syriac Orthodox Church
, married priests wear a black skullcap
, or phiro, while monastic priests wear the schema, eskimo. For certain sacrament
al functions, a priest or bishop puts on the epitrachelion
(stole).
What is now referred to as choir dress in Anglicanism
was the only vesture permitted to the clergy in the 1552 Prayer Book; the Elizabethan Prayer Book of 1559 added the so-called Ornaments Rubric
, which in theory permitted the pre-Reformation eucharistic vestments (chasuble, dalmatic, tunicle, alb, amice, and maniple) along with the cope, that had been in use during the reign of Edward VI. By the 18th century the eucharistic vestments were not in general use although the cope was used for coronations and in certain cathedrals. After the Oxford Movement
in the mid-19th century they were restored in many cathedrals and parish churches. In many low-church dioceses and parishes the choir dress continued to be the norm, even at the Eucharist.
The cassock
is almost invariably black for priests and deacons. A traditional Anglican cassock is double-breasted, being buttoned on the shoulder rather than up the front (there may be a single button sewn to the center of the chest used to fasten the academic hood if worn). Many Anglican clergy, especially (though not exclusively) those within the catholic tradition of Anglicanism, prefer to wear the Latin single-breasted cassock. The cassock is worn with a cincture, which may take the form of a cloth sash resembling a fascia
, or a simple rope girdle or leather belt. Over this is worn the surplice
, which is longer and fuller than that worn by Roman Catholic clergy, sometimes reaching well below the knees. Traditionally, an academic hood is worn around the shoulders and down the back, along with a black tippet
or scarf worn around the nape and hanging straight down in front. The hood and tippet were once a single garment called an almuce
. (The tippet is not to be confused with the stole, which is also worn in a similar manner, but is not part of choir dress, being worn at the eucharist and other sacramental services.) Some clergy also wear Geneva bands
(or "preaching tabs") from their collars. Though not worn at service-time, the Canterbury cap
is the traditional headgear of Church of England
clergy; some prefer the biretta (see below) or mortar board
. Neither is widely worn, although the cap, with cassock, gown and tippet, is specified in English canon law
as part of the "outdoor habit" or "house dress" of the clergy. At some periods of history a black gown, either academical or 'Genevan
', was worn for Morning and Evening Prayer
instead of the surplice which was reserved for use at the Holy Communion - the cassock, bands, gown, academical hood and tippet still being the normal liturgical costume for ordained minister of the Church of Scotland
and other Reformed and Presbyterian churches.
Chaplains in the Armed Forces wear tippets with officially sanctioned badges and any medals which they have achieved. A bishop or priest may wear a tippet with the arms of the seminary
from which he received his degree. In England some cathedral clergy wear tippets on which is embroidered the distinctive symbol or cathedral coat of arms. Members of the high church
or Anglo-Catholic
parts of the church sometimes wear choir dress of a more Roman Catholic style, including a shorter surplice (or cotta), a stole (and sometimes a biretta
), excluding hood and tippet.
Readers officiating in the absence of ordained clergy often wear a blue tippet, or, in the United States, a black tippet displaying the arms
of the diocese. At the Eucharist, it may be more fitting for readers of Scripture to wear street clothing to emphasize the role of the laity in recent versions of the Prayer Book
. However in some parishes readers wear the traditional vestments of the subdeacon at High Mass: alb fastened with a white cincture and a tunicle. In other parishes they wear the cassock and surplice, as do members of the choir.
Anglican bishop
s usually wear a purple cassock. Over this, instead of the surplice, they wear the rochet
with red or black chimere
and matching cuffs, black tippet, and sometimes an academic hood. At the Eucharist they typically wear the alb, stole and chasuble if it is the tradition of the parish; or they may wear a cope (a floor-length vestment with a hood) and mitre (a hat often silk and even embroidered, with two ribbons [or falls] down the back). In evangelical dioceses and parishes they wear the choir dress (rochet, chimere and tippet).
For street wear, an Anglican clergyman in clerical clothing may wear a clergy shirt either with or without a black suit coat. Anglican bishops may wear a purple clergy shirt. Anglican bishops normally wear a pectoral cross, usually on a chain, which may be adorned with jewels, and the episcopal ring.
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
s and religious
Religious order
A religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious practice. The order is composed of initiates and, in some...
of traditional churches worn for public prayer, either apart from the eucharist
Eucharist
The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...
or by those attending the eucharist as the clergy part of the congregation rather than as the celebrant
Celebrant
Celebrant may refer to:* Celebrant or Officiant, the leader of a liturgy or ceremony who is empowered to perform it** In the Catholic and Anglican churches, the celebrant is the person who celebrates a sacrament, e.g., the priest who celebrates the Eucharist or the bishop who ordains a priest*...
s. Choir dress is different from the vestment
Vestment
Vestments are liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christian religion, especially among Latin Rite and other Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Anglicans, and Lutherans...
s worn by the celebrants of the eucharist, and is normally made of fabrics such as wool, cotton or silk, as opposed to the fine brocade
Brocade
Brocade is a class of richly decorative shuttle-woven fabrics, often made in colored silks and with or without gold and silver threads. The name, related to the same root as the word "broccoli," comes from Italian broccato meaning "embossed cloth," originally past participle of the verb broccare...
s used in vestments (with the exception of the cope
Cope
The cope is a liturgical vestment, a very long mantle or cloak, open in front and fastened at the breast with a band or clasp. It may be of any liturgical colour....
, which is both a vestment and choir dress).
Choir dress also differs from "house dress" which is worn outside of a liturgical context (whether in the house or on the street). House dress may be either formal or informal.
Roman Catholic choir dress
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
is worn by deacons, priests and bishops when presiding at or celebrating a liturgy
Liturgy
Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...
that is not the Mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
, especially the Liturgy of the Hours
Liturgy of the hours
The Liturgy of the Hours or Divine Office is the official set of daily prayers prescribed by the Catholic Church to be recited at the canonical hours by the clergy, religious orders, and laity. The Liturgy of the Hours consists primarily of psalms supplemented by hymns and readings...
, or when attending Mass without celebrating or concelebrating the Eucharist. It is worn by seminarians, instituted lectors and acolytes, and altar servers and choir members at Mass or other liturgical events.
The basic components of choir dress are:
- the cassockCassockThe cassock, an item of clerical clothing, is an ankle-length robe worn by clerics of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Anglican Church, Lutheran Church and some ministers and ordained officers of Presbyterian and Reformed churches. Ankle-length garment is the meaning of the...
, with or without fasciaFascia (vestment)The fascia is a sash worn by clerics and seminarians with the cassock in the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Church. It is also worn with the simar by those entitled to use the simar. It is not to be worn as a belt but should be placed above the waist between the navel...
(fringed sash worn around the waist), - if the person is a brother or priest in a religious orderReligious orderA religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious practice. The order is composed of initiates and, in some...
that has its own habitReligious habitA religious habit is a distinctive set of garments worn by members of a religious order. Traditionally some plain garb recognisable as a religious habit has also been worn by those leading the religious eremitic and anachoritic life, although in their case without conformity to a particular uniform...
(Benedictines, Franciscans, DominicansDominican OrderThe Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
, etc.), the habit is worn in place of the cassock, - the surpliceSurpliceA surplice is a liturgical vestment of the Western Christian Church...
(or rochetRochetA rochet is a white vestment generally worn by a Roman Catholic or Anglican Bishop in choir dress. It is unknown in the Eastern Churches. The rochet is similar to a surplice, except that the sleeves are narrower...
if the wearer is a bishopBishopA bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
, cardinal, or canonCanon (priest)A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....
), and - the birettaBirettaThe biretta is a square cap with three or four peaks or horns, sometimes surmounted by a tuft. Traditionally the three peaked biretta is worn by Roman Catholic clergy and some Anglican and Lutheran clergy. The four peaked biretta is worn as academic dress by those holding a doctoral degree from a...
(though in practice this is now optional).
For seminarians, deacon
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
s, and priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
s the cassock is exactly the same as their normal cassock: a black cassock with black buttons, girded with a black fascia.
Priests who hold additional honors may wear a different cassock: chaplains of honor
Monsignor
Monsignor, pl. monsignori, is the form of address for those members of the clergy of the Catholic Church holding certain ecclesiastical honorific titles. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian monsignore, from the French mon seigneur, meaning "my lord"...
wear a black cassock with purple piping, buttons, and fascia, while honorary prelates
Monsignor
Monsignor, pl. monsignori, is the form of address for those members of the clergy of the Catholic Church holding certain ecclesiastical honorific titles. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian monsignore, from the French mon seigneur, meaning "my lord"...
and protonotaries apostolic
Protonotary apostolic
In the Roman Catholic Church, protonotary apostolic is the title for a member of the highest non-episcopal college of prelates in the Roman Curia or, outside of Rome, an honorary prelate on whom the pope has conferred this title and its special privileges.-History:In later antiquity there were in...
wear a purple
Purple
Purple is a range of hues of color occurring between red and blue, and is classified as a secondary color as the colors are required to create the shade....
cassock with scarlet
Scarlet (color)
Scarlet is a bright red color with a hue that is somewhat toward the orange. It is redder than vermilion. It is a pure chroma on the color wheel one-fourth of the way between red and orange. Scarlet is sometimes used as the color of flame...
piping and buttons with a purple fascia. A black cassock with amaranth
Amaranth (color)
Amaranth is a reddish-rose color that is a representation of the color of the flower of the amaranth plant. The color shown is the color of the red amaranth flower , but there are other varieties of amaranth that have other colors of amaranth flowers; these colors are also shown below.The color...
piping and buttons, girded with a purple fascia, serves as pian dress (academic dress) for an honorary prelate or protonotary apostolic. Canons
Canon (priest)
A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....
may wear the rochet
Rochet
A rochet is a white vestment generally worn by a Roman Catholic or Anglican Bishop in choir dress. It is unknown in the Eastern Churches. The rochet is similar to a surplice, except that the sleeves are narrower...
with a distinctive mozzetta
Mozzetta
The mozzetta is a short elbow-length cape that covers the shoulders and is buttoned over the breast. It is worn over the rochet or cotta as part of choir dress by some of the clergy of the Catholic Church, among them the Pope, cardinals, bishops, abbots, canons and religious superiors...
, the particular colors of which are determined by the chapter
Chapter (religion)
Chapter designates certain corporate ecclesiastical bodies in the Roman Catholic, Anglican and Nordic Lutheran churches....
.
Bishops wear the above mentioned purple cassock with scarlet piping, and add a pectoral cross
Pectoral cross
A pectoral cross or pectorale is a cross, usually relatively large, suspended from the neck by a cord or chain that reaches well down the chest. It is worn by the clergy as an indication of their position, and is different from the small crosses worn on necklaces by many Christians, which have no...
suspended from a green
Green
Green is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 520–570 nanometres. In the subtractive color system, it is not a primary color, but is created out of a mixture of yellow and blue, or yellow and cyan; it is considered...
and gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
cord, a mozzetta
Mozzetta
The mozzetta is a short elbow-length cape that covers the shoulders and is buttoned over the breast. It is worn over the rochet or cotta as part of choir dress by some of the clergy of the Catholic Church, among them the Pope, cardinals, bishops, abbots, canons and religious superiors...
over the rochet, and a purple zucchetto
Zucchetto
The zucchetto , a/k/a pileolus in Latin and calotte/calotta in France, Italy and Hispanic nations, is a small skullcap worn by clerics of the Roman Catholic Church, as well as in Anglicanism....
under the biretta. A cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
wears a scarlet
Scarlet (color)
Scarlet is a bright red color with a hue that is somewhat toward the orange. It is redder than vermilion. It is a pure chroma on the color wheel one-fourth of the way between red and orange. Scarlet is sometimes used as the color of flame...
cassock with scarlet trim, pectoral cross on a red and gold cord and a red mozzetta over the rochet, with a red zucchetto. The Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
's choir dress includes a white cassock, rochet, red silk mozetta, red brocade stole and his pectoral cross hangs from a golden cord. Some canons wear their cross on a ribbon, but only a bishop may wear the cross on a cord. Under new regulations, neither bishops nor canons wear fur trimmed cappas.
The cope
Cope
The cope is a liturgical vestment, a very long mantle or cloak, open in front and fastened at the breast with a band or clasp. It may be of any liturgical colour....
and/or stole may be worn over choir dress when a cleric presides over a sacrament
Sacrament
A sacrament is a sacred rite recognized as of particular importance and significance. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites.-General definitions and terms:...
(for instance, at matrimony, if not celebrated during Mass), or by the cleric presiding over prayers (for instance, the priest presiding at a solemn celebration of Vespers
Vespers
Vespers is the evening prayer service in the Western Catholic, Eastern Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran liturgies of the canonical hours...
in the Liturgy of the Hours at a seminary might wear cope and stole over choir dress, while the priests of the faculty and seminarians would wear simple choir dress of cassock and surplice).
Monks who are neither deacons nor priests also have a form of choir dress: the full monastic habit with the monastic cowl forms their formal wear for attending the Liturgy of the Hours or Mass.
Informal house dress for the higher clergy is the simar
Simar
A simar, as defined in the 1913 Webster's Dictionary, is "a woman's long dress or robe; also light covering; a scarf." The word is derived from French simarre, and is also written as cimar, cymar, samare, and simare....
with fascia (a fringed sash worn around the waist), and zucchetto
Zucchetto
The zucchetto , a/k/a pileolus in Latin and calotte/calotta in France, Italy and Hispanic nations, is a small skullcap worn by clerics of the Roman Catholic Church, as well as in Anglicanism....
. Formal house dress may include additionally the biretta
Biretta
The biretta is a square cap with three or four peaks or horns, sometimes surmounted by a tuft. Traditionally the three peaked biretta is worn by Roman Catholic clergy and some Anglican and Lutheran clergy. The four peaked biretta is worn as academic dress by those holding a doctoral degree from a...
and ferraiuolo. For everyday wear, especially in North America and Great Britain, a clergyman may wear a collared clergy shirt with black or grey coat and pants. Some clergy, especially religious, will wear non-clerical dress when about parish duties among those who know them well. Sometimes, cardinals or bishops will have piping and colored buttons attached to their clergy shirts so it resembles the simar.
Eastern choir dress
Oriental Orthodoxy
Oriental Orthodoxy is the faith of those Eastern Christian Churches that recognize only three ecumenical councils — the First Council of Nicaea, the First Council of Constantinople and the First Council of Ephesus. They rejected the dogmatic definitions of the Council of Chalcedon...
and Eastern Catholic churches are relatively similar. Over the inner cassock
Cassock
The cassock, an item of clerical clothing, is an ankle-length robe worn by clerics of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Anglican Church, Lutheran Church and some ministers and ordained officers of Presbyterian and Reformed churches. Ankle-length garment is the meaning of the...
(rasson or podrasnik), a deep-sleeved exorason (riassa), which is often black, is worn. In the Russian Orthodox Church
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
, married clergy often wear grey, while monastic clergy wear black. During the paschal
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
season both monastic and married clergy will often wear a white inner cassock. Some Russian Metropolitans
Metropolitan bishop
In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis; that is, the chief city of a historical Roman province, ecclesiastical province, or regional capital.Before the establishment of...
wear a white inner cassock and a blue outer when formally arriving to celebrate the Divine Liturgy
Divine Liturgy
Divine Liturgy is the common term for the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine tradition of Christian liturgy. As such, it is used in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches. Armenian Christians, both of the Armenian Apostolic Church and of the Armenian Catholic Church, use the same term...
.
Eastern Orthodox
In Eastern Orthodoxy and Byzantine Catholicism, monkMonk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
s wear a black cloak, the mandyas over the outer cassock. The mandyas completely covers the monastic below the chin and reaches to the floor. In the Greek usage, the mandyas is usually only worn when performing certain liturgical roles; in the Slavic usage, all monks and nun
Nun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
s of the rank of Stavrophore
Degrees of Eastern Orthodox monasticism
The degrees of Eastern Orthodox monasticism are the stages an Eastern Orthodox monk or nun passes through in their religious vocation.In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the process of becoming a monk or nun is intentionally slow, as the monastic vows taken are considered to entail a lifelong...
or above wear the mandyas at every service, so long as they are in their own monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
. The mandyas of an hegumen
Hegumen
Hegumen, hegumenos, igumen, or ihumen is the title for the head of a monastery of the Eastern Orthodox Church or Eastern Catholic Churches, similar to the one of abbot. The head of a convent of nuns is called hegumenia or ihumenia . The term means "the one who is in charge", "the leader" in...
(abbot
Abbot
The word abbot, meaning father, is a title given to the head of a monastery in various traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not actually the head of a monastery...
) is of black silk, that of an archimandrite
Archimandrite
The title Archimandrite , primarily used in the Eastern Orthodox and the Eastern Catholic churches, originally referred to a superior abbot whom a bishop appointed to supervise...
or bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
is of coloured silk (specific usages will differ by jurisdiction), and has four square "tablets" on it: two at the neck and two at the feet. A bishop's mandyas additionally has "rivers" on it: three horizontal stripes either of gold (Greek practice) or red and white (Slavic practice).
Monastic clergy wear different headcoverings than married clergy. Married clergy wear either a coloured kalimaukion
Kamilavka
A Kalimavkion , or kalymmavchi , or kamilavka , is an item of clerical clothing worn by Orthodox Christian and Eastern Catholic monks or awarded to clergy ....
or skufia
Skufia
A skufia is an item of clerical clothing worn by Orthodox Christian and Eastern Catholic monastics or awarded to clergy as a mark of honor...
; monastic clergy wear a black kalimaukion and veil
Epanokamelavkion
An epanokamelavkion is an item of clerical clothing worn by Orthodox Christian monastics who are rassophor or above, including bishops...
(together known as the klobuk
Klobuk
thumbA klobuk is an item of clerical clothing worn by Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic monastics and bishops, especially in the Russian tradition...
). For monastics, the skufia is reserved for house dress, and the klobuk is worn in church. Russian archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
s have a jewelled cross attached to the front of their klobuks; Russian Metropolitans wear a white klobuk with jewelled cross. Several Orthodox Patriarch
Patriarch
Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. The system of such rule of families by senior males is called patriarchy. This is a Greek word, a compound of πατριά , "lineage, descent", esp...
s wear a rounded headcovering called a koukoulion
Koukoulion
The Koukoulion is a traditional headress worn by monks of the highest degree in the Eastern Orthodox Church....
.
Priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
s who have been awarded a pectoral cross
Pectoral cross
A pectoral cross or pectorale is a cross, usually relatively large, suspended from the neck by a cord or chain that reaches well down the chest. It is worn by the clergy as an indication of their position, and is different from the small crosses worn on necklaces by many Christians, which have no...
wear it with their choir dress (these pectoral crosses are of several degrees: silver, gold, or jewelled). Bishops wear a panagia
Panagia
Panagia , also transliterated Panayia or Panaghia, is one of the titles of Mary, the mother of Jesus, used especially in Orthodox Christianity....
(icon
Icon
An icon is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity and in certain Eastern Catholic churches...
of the Theotokos
Theotokos
Theotokos is the Greek title of Mary, the mother of Jesus used especially in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches. Its literal English translations include God-bearer and the one who gives birth to God. Less literal translations include Mother of God...
) in place of the pectoral cross. Archbishops may wear a pectoral cross and a panagia. All primates
Primate (religion)
Primate is a title or rank bestowed on some bishops in certain Christian churches. Depending on the particular tradition, it can denote either jurisdictional authority or ceremonial precedence ....
and some bishops below primatial rank have the dignity of wearing an enkolpion (icon of Christ), a pectoral cross, and a panagia.
A ruling Igumen (so long as he is inside his own monastery) and a bishop may carry his paterissa (crozier) when he is in church. However, the paterissa is never to be carried inside the sanctuary; instead, when he goes into the altar
Altar
An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
, the paterissa is either handed to an altar server
Altar server
An altar server is a lay assistant to a member of the clergy during a Christian religious service. An altar server attends to supporting tasks at the altar such as fetching and carrying, ringing the altar bell and so on....
or left leaning against the iconostasis
Iconostasis
In Eastern Christianity an iconostasis is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a church. Iconostasis also refers to a portable icon stand that can be placed anywhere within a church...
outside the Holy Doors.
In North America and Great Britain, some Orthodox clergy have begun to wear a Roman collar (clergy shirt), though this is discouraged among the more traditional Orthodox.
Examples
There exists color and design variations in each autocephalous Church, but these diagrams give some examples of Eastern Orthodox choir dress vestments:Oriental Orthodox
Syriac Orthodox Church
The Syriac Orthodox Church; is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church based in the Eastern Mediterranean, with members spread throughout the world. The Syriac Orthodox Church claims to derive its origin from one of the first Christian communities, established in Antioch by the Apostle St....
, married priests wear a black skullcap
Skullcap
Skullcap or skull cap may refer to:* Calvaria , in anatomy, the top part of the skull* Headgear:** A Kippah or yarmulke, a small cloth skullcap worn by Orthodox Jewish men and some Jewish women...
, or phiro, while monastic priests wear the schema, eskimo. For certain sacrament
Sacrament
A sacrament is a sacred rite recognized as of particular importance and significance. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites.-General definitions and terms:...
al functions, a priest or bishop puts on the epitrachelion
Epitrachelion
The Epitrachil is the liturgical vestment worn by priests and bishops of the Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Churches as the symbol of their priesthood, corresponding to the Western stole...
(stole).
Anglican choir dress or choir habit
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
was the only vesture permitted to the clergy in the 1552 Prayer Book; the Elizabethan Prayer Book of 1559 added the so-called Ornaments Rubric
Ornaments Rubric
The "Ornaments Rubric" is found just before the beginning of Morning Prayer in the Book of Common Prayer of the Church of England. It runs as follows:"THE Morning and Evening Prayer shall be used in the accustomed Place of the Church, Chapel, or Chancel; except it shall be otherwise determined by...
, which in theory permitted the pre-Reformation eucharistic vestments (chasuble, dalmatic, tunicle, alb, amice, and maniple) along with the cope, that had been in use during the reign of Edward VI. By the 18th century the eucharistic vestments were not in general use although the cope was used for coronations and in certain cathedrals. After the Oxford Movement
Oxford Movement
The Oxford Movement was a movement of High Church Anglicans, eventually developing into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose members were often associated with the University of Oxford, argued for the reinstatement of lost Christian traditions of faith and their inclusion into Anglican liturgy...
in the mid-19th century they were restored in many cathedrals and parish churches. In many low-church dioceses and parishes the choir dress continued to be the norm, even at the Eucharist.
The cassock
Cassock
The cassock, an item of clerical clothing, is an ankle-length robe worn by clerics of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Anglican Church, Lutheran Church and some ministers and ordained officers of Presbyterian and Reformed churches. Ankle-length garment is the meaning of the...
is almost invariably black for priests and deacons. A traditional Anglican cassock is double-breasted, being buttoned on the shoulder rather than up the front (there may be a single button sewn to the center of the chest used to fasten the academic hood if worn). Many Anglican clergy, especially (though not exclusively) those within the catholic tradition of Anglicanism, prefer to wear the Latin single-breasted cassock. The cassock is worn with a cincture, which may take the form of a cloth sash resembling a fascia
Fascia (vestment)
The fascia is a sash worn by clerics and seminarians with the cassock in the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Church. It is also worn with the simar by those entitled to use the simar. It is not to be worn as a belt but should be placed above the waist between the navel...
, or a simple rope girdle or leather belt. Over this is worn the surplice
Surplice
A surplice is a liturgical vestment of the Western Christian Church...
, which is longer and fuller than that worn by Roman Catholic clergy, sometimes reaching well below the knees. Traditionally, an academic hood is worn around the shoulders and down the back, along with a black tippet
Tippet
A tippet is a stole or scarf-like narrow piece of clothing, worn over the shoulders. They evolved in the fourteenth century from long sleeves and typically had one end hanging down to the knees...
or scarf worn around the nape and hanging straight down in front. The hood and tippet were once a single garment called an almuce
Almuce
An almuce was a fur hood-like shoulder cape worn as a choir vestment in the Middle Ages, especially in England. It is still worn by certain Canons Regular, such as the white almutium worn on the arm by Premonstratensian canons. It also survives in the tippet and hood worn by some Anglican...
. (The tippet is not to be confused with the stole, which is also worn in a similar manner, but is not part of choir dress, being worn at the eucharist and other sacramental services.) Some clergy also wear Geneva bands
Bands (neckwear)
Bands are a form of formal neckwear, worn by some clergy and lawyers, and with some forms of academic dress. They take the form of two oblong pieces of cloth, usually though not invariably white, which are tied to the neck. Bands is usually plural because they require two similar parts and did not...
(or "preaching tabs") from their collars. Though not worn at service-time, the Canterbury cap
Canterbury cap
The Canterbury cap is a square cloth hat with sharp corners found in the Anglican communion, similar to the Counter-Reformation's biretta, the notable exception being that a Canterbury cap has four ridges, compared to the biretta's three. It is also soft and foldable, whereas the biretta is rigid...
is the traditional headgear of Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
clergy; some prefer the biretta (see below) or mortar board
Mortar Board
Mortar Board is an American national honor society whose purpose is to recognize outstanding students dedicated to the values of scholarship, leadership, and service. The Cornell University Der Hexenkreis chapter, founded in 1892, is the oldest and predates the national society's founding in 1918...
. Neither is widely worn, although the cap, with cassock, gown and tippet, is specified in English canon law
Canon law
Canon law is the body of laws & regulations made or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Catholic Church , the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of...
as part of the "outdoor habit" or "house dress" of the clergy. At some periods of history a black gown, either academical or 'Genevan
Geneva gown
The Geneva gown, also called a pulpit gown, pulpit robe, or preaching robe, is an ecclesiastical garment customarily worn by ordained ministers in the Christian churches that arose out of the historic Protestant Reformation.- Description :...
', was worn for Morning and Evening Prayer
Evening Prayer (Anglican)
Evening Prayer is a liturgy in use in the Anglican Communion and celebrated in the late afternoon or evening...
instead of the surplice which was reserved for use at the Holy Communion - the cassock, bands, gown, academical hood and tippet still being the normal liturgical costume for ordained minister of the Church of Scotland
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
and other Reformed and Presbyterian churches.
Chaplains in the Armed Forces wear tippets with officially sanctioned badges and any medals which they have achieved. A bishop or priest may wear a tippet with the arms of the seminary
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
from which he received his degree. In England some cathedral clergy wear tippets on which is embroidered the distinctive symbol or cathedral coat of arms. Members of the high church
High church
The term "High Church" refers to beliefs and practices of ecclesiology, liturgy and theology, generally with an emphasis on formality, and resistance to "modernization." Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term has traditionally been principally associated with the...
or Anglo-Catholic
Anglo-Catholicism
The terms Anglo-Catholic and Anglo-Catholicism describe people, beliefs and practices within Anglicanism that affirm the Catholic, rather than Protestant, heritage and identity of the Anglican churches....
parts of the church sometimes wear choir dress of a more Roman Catholic style, including a shorter surplice (or cotta), a stole (and sometimes a biretta
Biretta
The biretta is a square cap with three or four peaks or horns, sometimes surmounted by a tuft. Traditionally the three peaked biretta is worn by Roman Catholic clergy and some Anglican and Lutheran clergy. The four peaked biretta is worn as academic dress by those holding a doctoral degree from a...
), excluding hood and tippet.
Readers officiating in the absence of ordained clergy often wear a blue tippet, or, in the United States, a black tippet displaying the arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
of the diocese. At the Eucharist, it may be more fitting for readers of Scripture to wear street clothing to emphasize the role of the laity in recent versions of the Prayer Book
Book of Common Prayer
The Book of Common Prayer is the short title of a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion, as well as by the Continuing Anglican, "Anglican realignment" and other Anglican churches. The original book, published in 1549 , in the reign of Edward VI, was a product of the English...
. However in some parishes readers wear the traditional vestments of the subdeacon at High Mass: alb fastened with a white cincture and a tunicle. In other parishes they wear the cassock and surplice, as do members of the choir.
Anglican bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
s usually wear a purple cassock. Over this, instead of the surplice, they wear the rochet
Rochet
A rochet is a white vestment generally worn by a Roman Catholic or Anglican Bishop in choir dress. It is unknown in the Eastern Churches. The rochet is similar to a surplice, except that the sleeves are narrower...
with red or black chimere
Chimere
A chimere is a garment that was formally worn as part of academic dress, or by Anglican bishops in choir dress.A descendant of a riding cloak, the chimere resembles an academic gown but without sleeves, and is usually made of scarlet or black cloth. In modern English use the garment is worn as part...
and matching cuffs, black tippet, and sometimes an academic hood. At the Eucharist they typically wear the alb, stole and chasuble if it is the tradition of the parish; or they may wear a cope (a floor-length vestment with a hood) and mitre (a hat often silk and even embroidered, with two ribbons [or falls] down the back). In evangelical dioceses and parishes they wear the choir dress (rochet, chimere and tippet).
For street wear, an Anglican clergyman in clerical clothing may wear a clergy shirt either with or without a black suit coat. Anglican bishops may wear a purple clergy shirt. Anglican bishops normally wear a pectoral cross, usually on a chain, which may be adorned with jewels, and the episcopal ring.
External links
- Dress of Roman Catholic Clergy
- The Mozzetta Information and photos
- The Mantelletta
- Canons
- Chaplains of His Holiness detailed information on the choir dress of prelates of the papal household both before and after Vatican II