I have been attending the Byzantine liturgy, now, since last May, I believe, and with the exception of Pentecost, I have yet to see the clergy in vestments that were not either white or gold, or white & gold, including today, the first Sunday of Lent. The vestments that the priest wore today were white & gold. Is that unusual? I would have expected purple today.
Some will wear red on Lenten Sundays others will continue with white/gold. Technically Sundays are always white/gold except for third Sunday of Lent and Sunday after Exaltation of the Cross which are Red, and Palm Sunday and Pentecost Sunday which are Green. Some will wear blue if a a Feast or post Feast of the Theotokos falls on Sunday. The Ruthenians tend toward red for Lent, the Melkites to purple, Ukrainians seem to be split.
Okay...so what does it mean when there are many concelebrating clergy who wear all sorts of different colors...white, purple, gold, red, blue...you name it. For example:
Okay...so what does it mean when there are many concelebrating clergy who wear all sorts of different colors...white, purple, gold, red, blue...you name it. For example:
?
They don't have enough matching vestments for all concelebrating clergy.
Really? I would think all the bishops in that video would have brought their own vestments. Do churches typically have so many bishop vestments in their sacristies?
I have often wondered seeing great big RC concelebrations like in Rome, etc where all the priests are wearing the exact same color and design vestments? Are all of these vestments "issued" or does every priest or bishop have to come up with the "uniform of the day"?
Really? I would think all the bishops in that video would have brought their own vestments. Do churches typically have so many bishop vestments in their sacristies?
The bishops probably did. Perhaps they didn't own purple and thought gold clashed less than red? It is just one of those things. I know in the Latin Church they would never mix colors but in the East it just isn't a big deal as the colors have never been as carefully defined.
Well, I'm sure at the Cathedral level of the various Eparchies, there probably might be a special part of the sacristy for the Bishop, then one for the rector/priest. Wouldn't surprise me. Haven't really looked at the sacristy of St. John the Baptist Cathedral here before, but I'm going on assumption.
I have often wondered seeing great big RC concelebrations like in Rome, etc where all the priests are wearing the exact same color and design vestments? Are all of these vestments "issued" or does every priest or bishop have to come up with the "uniform of the day"?
In the case of St. Peter's Basilica I believe the matching vestments are all provided for the concelebrants. You often see this at Roman Catholic cathedrals too. Many cathedral sacristies are equipped with a large number of matching chasubles in white for concelebration for grand occasions, such as the installation of a new bishop or a priestly ordination.
If you ask me, it's too matchy-matchy and much less interesting to look at than all the mixed colors seen in the magnificent Orthodox celebration shown in this video.
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