Vestments for Priests: Where to find them?
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A vestment is a liturgical garment primarily with the Christian religion. It is the outermost garment worn by the priests, especially among the Eastern Orthodox, Catholics, Anglicans, and Lutherans.
A priest’s vestment is also called a Chasuble. A chasuble is typically worn during a liturgy. A liturgy is a form of public religious worship in the different Christian denominations, during which various colors are worn to signify different feelings and times of year
FACTORS TO CONSIDER WHEN CHOOSING VESTMENTS
There are many liturgical seasons within Christianity and different colors of the Priest’s vestments to match each season. Every season has its mood, meaning and type of prayer.
It is of great essence that a Priest should consider the various liturgical seasons and consult the church calendar when picking their vestment to ensure the color matches the season according to the church calendar.
The main colors in the liturgical calendar are green, red, white/gold, purple, and black. Each of these colors represents a different season, mood, and meaning. Ackermann liturgical vestments stocks vestments of every color for every season, you can find them on Vestments24.com.
LITURGICAL CALENDAR COLORS
Green: This is the color of what is considered the “ordinary time” or the ”time of the church.” This period is also known as “epiphany.” Any time of the year between Christmas and Lent and between Easter and Advent is referred to as ordinary time. The color green symbolizes life, hope, and anticipation.
Red: This color is worn during Pentecost and the Holy week; Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. The color red symbolizes God’s love, blood, fire, and celebration of martyrs. Red can also be worn for confirmation.
White/Gold: This color is worn during Christmas and Easter. It symbolizes purity, light, glory, and joy and also signifies the birth and resurrection of Christ. White is worn at baptisms, weddings, ordinations, even days of the Lord, the Blessed Mother, and Saints who are not martyrs. Sometimes, white is worn at funerals too.
Purple: This is the color worn during Lent and Advent and sometimes at funeral masses. The color purple symbolizes penance, sacrifice, and preparation. Purple is also sometimes worn during the Holy week.
Rose: This color is very similar to purple and is worn for only two Sundays every year – the third Sunday of Advent (Gaudete Sunday) and the fourth Sunday of Lent (Laetare Sunday).
Black: Black symbolizes death and mourning. It is sometimes used at funeral masses or death anniversaries. However, it is the standard color for the Priest’s everyday outfits.
CONCLUSION
It is necessary to put into consideration other factors other than liturgy seasons and colors when picking the vestment. The Priest should consider lighter fabrics, considering that the vestment would be worn on top of other layers of clothing, and can be worn for quite a long period in a day.