Church Vestments, Part II

By Don Palmer

When Fr. John was here for Miss Sue’s funeral, he checked out the name tag on the surplice I was already wearing. He thought I’d borrowed his surplice. I hadn’t. (I think he concluded he’d left his at home.) Why a surplice and not an alb? Recall that the alb is the white (hence the name) full length vestment with long, narrow sleeves, which is worn when the Eucharist is celebrated. The surplice (and its country cousin, the cotta…see later) are worn during other services. The surplice is a long white vestment, with full sleeves, worn over the cassock (the black vestment we talked about last issue.) The name, interestingly enough, comes from” superpelliceum”, which means “over a fur garment”, since. as we have mentioned before, churches were often without roofs, and very often cold. Cassocks were furlined. Surplices may be as short as just below the knees, or up till ankle length, which is more common in England.

Around the time of the Reformation, and perhaps because Protestants thought they were too “Romish”, some surplices were made shorter and shorter until in the 18th century the cotta appeared. This is white, short sleeved,  and is  a short vestment extending only to the waist. Acolytes, choir members, lay readers and even visiting clergy may wear cottas.

The mitre (or miter) is the insignia of the bishop. It is a double shield shaped hat. Mitres are made of satin and have two ribbons (“lappets”) hanging down the back. Bishop Duncan is quite adept at putting on his mitre and flipping the ribbons down the back instead of in his hair. The two points of the mitre signify the Old and New Testaments.

Mitres are the prerogative only of the bishop, but they are optional. Bishop Duvall did not choose to wear one. Bishop Carpenter, standing 6’6”, couldn’t wear one safely.

Another of the bishops’ vestments is the cope. This is an ornate cloak in the form of a half circle. It is full length and secured in front with a clasp. Copes are in the color of the liturgical season.

The bishop, as chief pastor of the diocese, carries a crozier, similar to and derived from a shepherd’s crook. It is also called his pastoral staff. Great symbolism! No attribute of the ministry is of greater importance than being a pastor, a shepherd. Croziers are often ornate, wooden, but sometimes at least partially of metal and bejeweled. Our bishop carries a genuine shepherd’s crook. The real thing. You can’t beat that.