Catechesis · Inquirer
Sacred Vestments
Catechesis · Inquirer
Sacred Vestments
The liturgical vestments are not costumes. They are a theological language. Each garment has a name, a Scripture verse attached to it at vesting, and a specific meaning. When a pr…
Question
Why do priests and deacons wear special garments?
The liturgical vestments are not costumes. They are a theological language. Each garment has a name, a Scripture verse attached to it at vesting, and a specific meaning. When a priest puts on his vestments, he is not dressing for a performance -- he is being clothed in the attributes of Christ, putting on the new humanity that he is called to manifest in the Liturgy.
The tradition of sacred vestments is rooted in the priestly garments of the Old Testament. God commanded the construction of the priestly vestments for Aaron and his sons in precise detail (Exodus 28). The beauty and cost of the vestments was intentional: they express the honour due to the One in whose service the priest stands. Beauty is not vanity in liturgical context -- it is an offering to God.
The teaching
Clothing as theology -- what each vestment proclaims
The prayer at putting on the sticharion: "My soul shall rejoice in the Lord, for He has clothed me with the garment of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness" (Isaiah 61:10). The priest is being clothed in Christ -- the garment of salvation. Every vestment is a putting on of what Christ accomplished. Liturgical vesting is a miniature baptism: "as many as have been baptised into Christ have put on Christ" (Galatians 3:27).
The epitrachelion -- the stole worn around the neck and hanging down in front -- is the most essential priestly vestment. Without it, no sacrament can be administered. Its name means "around the neck," and the prayer at putting it on speaks of Aaron's anointing flowing down to the beard and skirts of the garment (Psalm 133). It is the symbol of the grace of the priesthood -- the yoke of Christ that is easy and whose burden is light (Matthew 11:30).
The priest is clothed not in his own dignity but in the dignity of the one he serves. The vestments are not his -- they belong to the office, to the Church, to Christ. When he puts them on, he is hidden behind the beauty of the Lord.
The theological point of liturgical vestments is self-concealment for Christ's sake. The priest does not stand before the people as himself -- as this particular person with his particular personality and failings. He stands as the image of Christ the High Priest. The vestments are a veil that hides the individual in order to reveal the office. This is not theatre; it is the humility of the servant who wills to be transparent to his Master.
After the tradition of the vesting prayers
Orthodox Liturgical Tradition · ancient
Holy Scripture
"He has clothed me with the garments of salvation; He has covered me with the robe of righteousness."
Isaiah 61:10
"For as many of you as were baptised into Christ have put on Christ."
Galatians 3:27
Putting on Christ
What vesting before the Liturgy means for every Christian
Every baptised Christian has "put on Christ" (Galatians 3:27). The priest's vesting before the Liturgy makes this visible and concentrated: each vestment is a specific aspect of what Christ is for His Church. The garment of salvation -- His saving work. The robe of righteousness -- His own righteousness given to us. The zone of strength -- His power sustaining the weak. Vesting is a meditation on the grace of Christ, enacted with the body.