Nowhere in scripture is wearing vestments forbidden for Christian clergy.
Where is the verse that forbids Christians from doing those things that aren’t found in scripture?
Catholic/Orthodox worship is founded on the imagery from the Book of Revelation and the sacrifice of the lamb.
Your POV is founded on Ockham’s Razor, not scripture.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occam’s_razor
Your quest is for a Christianity that never existed.
And I’m not going to try to prove it to you because you are asking me to prove a negative.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modus_tollens
And neither is selling pornography but by understanding the spirit of the Jesus’ commandments we can act with the principles and not have to have a law.
And that is what Jesus’ condemnation of Pharisees is at Matt. 23:1-12. A principle that was followed in the primitive Christian church.
As the the Catholic Encyclopedia comments on the development of priestly vestments:
“Four main periods may be distinguished in the development of the Christian priestly dress. The first embraces the era before Constantine. In that period the priestly dress did not yet differ from the secular costume in form and ornament. The dress of daily life was worn at the offices of the Church...”
Note well...that last sentence,
“The dress of daily life was worn at the offices of the Church.”
No buskins, burkas, albas or susplices, just everyday style of dress. All these are novelties, corruptions developed over time without foundation, corruptions that violated the tradition of the apostles and saints in the the early church.
Ockham’s razor? Do you even know who Ockham was? I'm not likely to follow a Franciscan monk.
And as Scripture makes clear there were no priests in the church of the apostle's day. That too is novelty, a corruption of the offices of service of overseers, elders and serving ministers.
So neither the office of priest nor any wearing of priestly vestments could be handed down from the apostles by command or tradition.
“Your quest is for a Christianity that never existed.”
Passing strange then I find it in Scripture, eh?