www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life The Christian East & West Liturgical Colors: East and West

I have been attending Sunday liturgy at a nearby Ukrainian Catholic church lately, and I was surprised on Pentecost Sunday to see the celebrant vested in green as opposed to red vestments.

I would have to conclude from that surprise that liturgical colors in the Eastern Rite do not (or at least do not always) correspond with liturgical colors in the Latin Church.

In the Latin Church, red vestments are for Pentecost, feasts of martyrs, and I believe apostles, too. Violet vestments are worn during Advent and Lent (except on Gaudete Sunday and Laetare Sunday when Rose colored vestments are worn). Green vestments are worn on Sundays during Ordinary Time, and white vestments are worn during the Christmas season and from Easter until Pentecost, and are worn for feasts of Our Lord, of the Blessed Virgin, of virgins and for other things, such as funerals (although traditionally-minded clergy will still wear black vestments for funerals). Gold and Silver may substitute for white (and sometimes red), and often do on high solemnities.

What are the rules governing liturgical colors in the Eastern Rites, I wonder? Does it vary from Church to Church, or do the Orthodox and Eastern Catholics adhere to the same customs?

We have two liturgical colours: dark and bright. Dark colours are used for lenten services and observances of a penitential nature. They include deep purple, deep red and sometimes also black. Black is sometimes used at funerals for adults, as I have observed. Red is more commonly used for funerals of adults. Did you notice that red vestments were used by the Latin-rite concelebrants at the funeral of Bl. Pope John Paul 2, in 2005?

Bright colours are used for more joyfully festive liturgical occasions: Christmas, Pascha, "ordinary" Sundays, feasts of Christ, feasts of angels, saints and martyrs...these include white, silver or gold vestments.

Often blue vestments are used on feasts of the Theotokos.

Green is used at Pentecost to emphasize the belief that the Holy Spirit is the Giver of Life and revives that which has dried up or shrivelled away. Did you notice on Pentecost the church interior may have been decorated with green branches and/or plants?

"Did you notice that red vestments were used by the Latin-rite concelebrants at the funeral of Bl. Pope John Paul 2, in 2005?"

Yes, but that's traditional for the pope. A deceased pope is always buried in red vestments and the vestments for a pope's obsequies are likewise red. Otherwise white, black, and sometimes violet are used, black being the most traditional. One does, however, see gray nowadays used by clergy of a certain sort of more liturgically clueless or avante garde stripe.

"Did you notice on Pentecost the church interior may have been decorated with green branches and/or plants?"

Yes, now that you mention it. There was alot of greenery on the...pardon me, I do not know what it is called...on the table with an attached lectern in the front and center of the church (in front of the icon screen) where the priest stands to deliver his homily. There were also green candles on that table, and elsewhere.

The small table you mention is called the tetrapod. Usually the icon of the feast is on it for veneration; also 2 candles and a cross. it's a place where more solemn blessings are carried out and may have other functions as well.

I understand the use of red vestments at papal funerals; and funerals of Byzantine lay Christian adults, is an attempt to convey the idea that the Christian life is meant to be an on-going martyrdom. From what I myself have seen, white vestments are used at funerals for babies and small children. I suspect this notion is reflected in papal funerals because popes often have a very hard go of it as they strive to feed Jesus' sheep and be servants of the servants of God.

You can lead the sheep to water but you can't make 'em drink.

I think it's been a very long time indeed since any Pope has really enjoyed his office. It's a kind of slow martyrdom in most cases, I suspect.

Once upon a time...I'm fairly certain of this but I wouldn't rely upon it as absolute gospel...before the reforms of the Council, I think the popes wore only either red vestments or white. I seem to recall reading that, at least. And that, I believe, is why they are buried in red, as the only other color choice for a pope, back in the day, was white, and white was unthinkable for funerals before the 1970s.

Tetrapod. Thank you.

sielos,

Nice explanation of the colors!

RI,

You might appreciate this explanation [saintelias.com] of a typical temple's layout and furnishings on the site of St Elias UGCC in Brampton, ON.

Many years,

Neil

Irish Melkite:

Thanks for the link. But with every clarfication comes another question: what is a Plaschenytsia?


That's beautiful; I love that.

The plashchanitsa is the 'winding sheet' that represents Christ in the tomb. It is a cloth icon on board that is placed on the holy table for 40 days until Ascension. It is called in greek- epitaphios. I am sure you can find a better description on line.

John

[Linked Image]

Epitaphios / Plaschanitsa [orthodoxwiki.org]

Great and Holy Friday (MCI) [metropolitancantorinstitute.org]

Oh, yes, that. I saw it at the Greek Orthodox church I visited last week. It was lying flat on top of a very elaborate wooden table surmounted by a very elaborate, domed, wooden canopy. It was beautiful.