Posted on 07/05/2015 4:18:19 PM PDT by NYer
HAT IS THE PURPOSE of sacred vestments, and what is their origin? These are questions that most ordinary Catholics probably could not answer. A very good (and very concise) explanation of liturgical vesture is given by Fr. Mauro Gagliardi, consultor to the Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff (available from the Vatican webpage). His article is well worth a look.
The Roman Rite could have developed in such a way that the Sacraments are celebrated by priests who dress in the clothes common to their culture, but it did not. Instead, a system of sacred vestments worn only for worship arose. I would argue that this development has two major advantages over the wearing of profane clothing.
First, wearing sacred garments reserved for the liturgy helps the sacred ministers to adopt a sense of detachment from the secular sphere and the ordinary concerns of daily life. The external vesture, in other words, produces a positive interior effect.
Secondly, sacred vestments serve to emphasize the ministerial role of the one who wears them. As the above-mentioned Vatican webpage puts it:
One might say that the “camouflaging” of the minister’s body by the vestments depersonalizes him in a way; it is that healthy depersonalization that de-centers the celebrating minister and recognizes the true protagonist of the liturgical action: Christ. The form of the vestments, therefore, says that the liturgy is celebrated in persona Christi and not in the priest’s own name. He who performs a liturgical function does not do so as a private person, but as a minister of the Church and an instrument in the hands of Jesus Christ.
These are two of the strongest reasons why the Church adopted sacred vestments for the liturgy and continues their usage to the modern day.
Clerical vestments derive from the regular clothing of the ancient Greeks and Romans. In the earliest days of the Church, therefore, it was not the external form of the vestments that distinguished them from secular clothing; it was, rather, the quality of the garments. Only the highest quality fabrics and handiwork were used for liturgical vestments, and these vestments were used only for worship.
Later, after invasions, demographic shifts, and the simple passage of time, the common dress among Westerners underwent alterations. Clerical garb and liturgical vestments, however, remained unchanged. Secular clothing was thereby further distinguished from liturgical vesture.
Then, in the Carolingian period (circa 8th Century), new distinctions arose within the liturgical garments. These changes were meant to distinguish the three levels of Holy Orders (for example, chasubles as different from dalmatics). It was in this time that the sacred vestments reached their definitive form, remaining essentially unchanged in the centuries since.
Each of the vestments worn by the priest at Mass is accompanied by a prayer to be said as it is donned. These prayers are biblically, theologically, and spiritually quite rich. Over the coming weeks, I will present these vesting prayers along with a reflection on the prayer, itself, and the significance of the particular vestment.
Ping!
Thanks for the post.
Thumbs up for this post. Another example of profound beauty tossed in the dustbin by Bugnini.
Here’s a link to our practice:
http://www.stgeorgegreenville.org/OurFaith/Divine%20Liturgy/Divine%20Liturgy-Vesting.html
[not labeled caucus thread]
The costumes are beautiful, but non-Biblical.
but a NT priesthood is not biblical as a church office either... so I guess it doesn’t matter what they wear.
Thanks for that link!
Wedding rings are beautiful, but non-Biblical.
“Wedding rings are beautiful, but non-Biblical.”
No one is pretending wedding rings are Biblical.
Yet they are a major part of the ceremony. Strange.
“Yet they are a major part of the ceremony. Strange.”
It isn’t strange. It is just a category mistake of logic.
There is no Biblical marriage ceremony. No one purports rings are Biblical. No one prances around flashing the ring to try to identify themselves as a spiritual class of believer.
Against this...
5“But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. 6“They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, 7and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men. 8“But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers.
Nobody is purporting vestments as un-Biblical, except you. So when I see you railing against all the other un-Biblical things Christians do in church I might take your argument seriously.
“Nobody is purporting vestments as un-Biblical, except you”
These costumes are made up without Biblical foundation, apart from the Scriptures, for a made-up NT church office.
The costumes are quite beautiful and quite worldly.
That’s all.
Mmmkay.
There's nothing unscriptural about vestments. God commanded that they be used in the Old Testament. Look at Exodus 28:2:
For your brother Aaron you will make sacred vestments to give dignity and magnificence. You will instruct all the skilled men, whom I have endowed with skill, to make Aaron's vestments for his consecration to my priesthood. These are the vestments which they must make: a pectoral, an ephod, a robe, an embroidered tunic, a turban, and a belt. They must make sacred vestments for your brother Aaron and his sons, for them to be priests in my service. They will use gold and violet material, red-purple and crimson, and finely woven linen.
Nothing in the New Testament requires abolition of priestly vestments. Our Lord attacked the Jewish leaders for a number of sins, but he never condemned their priestly garb. It's true the early Church didn't use the Old Testament vestments, but this is because Christians didn't want to identify their leaders with the Jewish priesthood.
Priestly vestments are no more than stylized secular Roman garments which have accrued symbolic, liturgical significance over the centuries.
God commanded Jewish garments for the priests He commanded to exist in Aaron’s line. There is no NT office of priest, since every single believer is a priest.
As such, there is nothing biblical about this in a purported Christian church
Catholic costumes are of pagan origin, as history records.
Get a good dictionary, and look up where the English word "priest" comes from.
“Get a good dictionary, and look up where the English word “priest” comes from.”
You have this backwards.
I have several great Greek dictionaries. There is no church office of “priest” in the NT.
best.
You won't find an English word as an entry in a Greek dictionary (but I would have thought you knew that!). Consult an English etymological dictionary -- maybe the Oxford English Dictionary or the Century (if you can find an edition no later than 1914.
Don’t need an English dictionary.
I have an excellent Greek NT and excellent language tools. Priest isn’t a NT church office. Not there.
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