Vestments, which have a long and venerable history in liturgical practice, provide many opportunities for artistry and creativity. The following article outlines guidelines for the use of vestments, taking into account both the history of their use and the differences of a variety of worship traditions.
“And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. And you shall speak to all who have the ability, whom I have endowed with an able mind, that they may make Aaron’s garments to consecrate him for my priesthood.” … And of the blue and purple and scarlet stuff they made finely wrought garments, for ministering in the holy place; they made the holy garments for Aaron; as the Lord had commanded Moses. (Exod. 28:2–3; 39:1, RSV)
In Exodus is seen the beginning of a long tradition that is still with the church, that is, the tradition of wearing special garments for worship. The tradition affects the laity as they dress in their “Sunday best” to attend public worship services and the clergy as they wear various types of robes and other garments to lead public worship.
History Within Christianity
As the Christian church grew, special garments were adopted by its leadership in the style common to the upper lay classes of imperial Rome (Gregory Dix, The Shape of the Liturgy [London: Dacre Press, 1945], 399). This style was the linea (a long linen robe with long, close sleeves) above which was worn a tunica (a garment that ended at about the knees and had short sleeves), and above that was the chasuble (a round piece of cloth with a hole for the head in the center) worn on formal occasions or when one was outside (Dix, p. 400). This was the common costume of the clergy, civil servants, and senators and remained so even after lay styles had changed to the more military-style invading barbarians had brought to Roman territory in the fourth century.
The first recorded appearance of special liturgical vestments was in A.D. 330 when the emperor Constantine presented such a garment as a gift to the new cathedral in Jerusalem. The vestment was a robe, probably in the style of the common linea, tunica, and chasuble, made of gold tissue to be worn by the bishop when presiding over baptism during the Easter vigil (Dix, p. 399). We see in this development that the style remained that which was common to the upper lay classes, but the material of liturgical garments was becoming quite elegant.
The first move to a special liturgical garment was the adoption of the pallium near the end of the fifth century. The French clergy had sought to adopt the pallium, a scarf of secular-office, as a special badge of ministry, but they were rebuked by Pope Celestine I in a.d. 425. Celestine said that he wanted “ … bishops distinguished by life, not robes, by the purity of heart not by elegance.… ” (Dix, p. 401). Celestine’s opinion did not prevail; by the late fifth century, the pallium was adopted by clergy of all orders as the liturgical vestment of the church.
Soon other developments in liturgical vestments became popular. The maniple, which began in Egypt and reached Rome in the sixth century, was a sort of large handkerchief or napkin worn on the left arm or carried in the left hand. The tradition of it stayed with the church until the twelfth century, when the maniple became embroidered bands on the left sleeve of many vestments (Robert Lesage, Vestments and Church Furniture [New York: Hawthorne Books, 1960], 10). The traditional tunica also developed a slightly longer form with larger sleeves and was renamed dalmatic. The dalmatic was worn without chasuble. The dalmatic was accepted in the late sixth century as the distinctive vestment of deacons in the Western church (Dix, p. 402).
By the seventh century, a special costume had been adopted as the official clerical vestment of the church. In a.d. 633, the Council of Toledo ordered the restoration of alb (another form of the ancient linea), stole, and chasuble to a priest who had been unfrocked and was being restored to orders (Dix, p. 403). This account witnesses to the official acceptance of these garments as vestments strictly for the clergy.
During the fourth and fifth centuries, the unwritten policy of the church was to celebrate the liturgy in the garments of everyday life. These garments were perhaps made of finer material and were more colorful than much of the common lay clothing but in style and manner of wearing they were essentially the same. The use of symbolical liturgical vestments, like those of the Old Testament, was strictly avoided.
By the end of the eighth-century special vestments were developed largely due to the conservatism of the clergy. While much of lay society had turned to barbarian and military fashions during the sixth and seventh centuries, the clergy retained the old “civilized” fashions of imperial Rome. These fashions were later adopted and developed into official garments of the clergy. Three points may be made concerning the early history of Christian liturgical vestments:
- Prior to the fourth century, the “domestic” character of worship was asserted to prevent the church from adopting special ceremonial robes as was the practice of vestment common in pagan mystery religions.
- There was no real intention of creating a distinction of dress between clergy and the laity at liturgy.
- By the Middle Ages, such a distinction had appeared accidentally because the clergy kept the old costume long after the laity had discarded it, and eventually, the idea of special clergy dress was accepted as right and desirable in itself (Dix, pp. 404, 409–410).
When the church reached this third point of acceptance, many more elaborate liturgical costumes developed that were used to display clerical rank and distinguish clergy from laity.
With the coming of the Reformation, Calvinist and Lutheran groups reacted against the elaborate vestments of the Roman church and adopted the black Geneva gown. The Geneva gown was the proper garb of the educated men of the Reformation period and became the proper garb of the new Protestant clergy. It was a sign that these were scholarly and educated men. The black gown became a symbol of the importance of a rationalistic approach to Christianity. The only ecclesiastical garment borrowed from Catholicism was the stole, as a sign that the person wearing the stole was a minister conducting worship (Joseph A. Culpepper, “Clothed for God’s Glory,” The Disciple 8:3 (Feb.1, 1981): 13–14; Albert W. Palmer, The Art of Conducting Public Worship [New York: Macmillan, 1939], 97).
Current Fashion
In many traditions and congregations, the pastor chooses to wear, or as a congregation’s norms may dictate, a plain dark business suit in which to lead worship. The tradition behind this practice stretches back into the early church tradition of wearing the daily garb of the upper classes. Certainly in the United States, a strong case can be made that the business suit meets the requirement of common, everyday clothing, which does not separate clergy from laity. It points to the fact that the gospel relates to the everyday world and that the clergyperson is one of the priesthood of all believers.
The disadvantage of this style is that there is little celebrative mood conveyed by the business suit and less of a feeling that the pastor is putting on special garments for worship as a visible act of the service of God in the office of the ministry. As more women enter the ministry, some feel we must deal with the question of what they should wear in worship, what is proper, and whether radical differences in dress styles between male and female pastors emphasize sexist tendencies. Clearly, there are better choices for liturgical vestments.
The Geneva gown is still the prevalent style in much of the Reformed tradition. It is serious in appearance and is a symbol of the importance of the acts that occur during worship.
Major objections to the continued use of the Geneva gown are that its dark colors are somber and, thus, do not lend themselves to festivity in worship. For the majority of its history, it has been used more in academia than in the church and, thus, it is more properly an academic garment than a liturgical one. The use of hoods and the addition of doctoral bars place an even stronger emphasis on the academic side of the garment. Furthermore, the Geneva gown developed as a masculine garment. By using this gown as the liturgical vestment of the Reformed tradition, women in ministry are forced to adopt a traditionally male vestment. The Geneva gown is appropriate for worship in some instances, but other styles should also be considered.
The last of the current liturgical fashions to consider is the alb. It has an ancient tradition, which dates back to the linea of the early church in imperial Rome. It is usually a simply cut white robe with a great deal of versatility. In its original form in secular Roman society, it was the garment worn by both men and women. Current styles remain appropriate for either sex. The alb has widespread use today in Roman Catholic, Episcopal, and Lutheran traditions, and there is growing use of the alb in other traditions (Culpepper, p. 14).
The basic problem with the alb is the fact that it may not be readily accepted by some congregations—but this should not deter its adoption by the church.
The Future
Dressing in special ways can truly be another manner in which we glorify God. Furthermore, the tradition of dressing in some form of liturgical vestment is an ancient one, reaching back to the Exodus stories, and one which was rediscovered and reinterpreted by Christianity.
The alb is perhaps the most appropriate liturgical garment. In style, it is less sexist than other current fashions. The white color lends itself to joy and celebration. The simplicity of the garment allows it to be quite versatile, i.e., stoles and chasubles of various designs and colors may be added designate to the seasons of the church year and various liturgical celebrations.
The alb is used in many traditions and, thus, is a symbol of the oneness of the body of Christ. The Geneva gown, on the other hand, emphasizes the division of the body of Christ by reminding us of the violent reaction during the Reformation against the practices of the Roman Catholic Church. Simplicity and modesty should be guiding principles, along with the desire to aid the congregation in celebrative worship.
The Geneva gown is still a useful garment, especially in most Reformed churches, and should be considered as an important liturgical vestment. A pastor may possess a variety of special liturgical garb to be used at various times and places.
A final word must be said about the importance and use of color in liturgical garments. When used with a keen sense of what is right and pleasing to the eye in a given situation color can be one of the greatest liturgical aids. These same basic rules apply to the choice of textured and patterned material for vestments and linings. (See E. A. Roulin, Vestments and Vesture: A Manual of Liturgical Art [Westminster, Md.: Newman Press, 1930], 41-53.)
We are moving into an age with the most exciting possibilities for liturgical vestments. The changes ahead will lead to more practical, more celebrative, and more versatile garments. The changes, especially in Protestant traditions, will also help ground liturgical garments in the larger history of the entire Judeo-Christian tradition.