Friday, 22 March 2013

The Purpose Of The Clergy Robe

By Christi Larsen


Each clergy robe has significant meaning. There are Catholic priest, the different denominations in the church, who wear various scared clothing. Every religious order has specific things that they use.

The Catholic Church blesses their garments and sets them apart as sacred. If they are used for their services they call them vestments. This word is a Latin word and is simply means clothing.

It is hoped that they will inspire devotion by the parishioners who see them. The vestments are worn by a priest, when they are serving in the capacity of their office. When the priest is not ministering, the clothing they wear is not called vestments.

The traditional garments were worn by the ancient Romans, and they have never changed the style, even up to this day. They still wear the exact same style as they did then.

There is a proper way to wear the sacred pieces. The first thing that the priest does is wash his hand. The next thing to do is to put on the Alb, which is a long white robe. This robe is white because it symbolizes purity, and that is what alb mean in Latin.

The stole, which symbolizes the yoke that was place upon Christ is the next piece. Another meaning for the stole is immortality. The final piece is the chasuble. It serves to also make men think about the love of Christ and the yoke that He carried.

There is really nothing unusual about robes. During the early period of the church it was the normal attire of the entire population. Everyone wore robes. This was not the way church leaders were recognized.

However, as time went by those who were followers started recognizing them as leaders and the clothing that they wore became sacred. They came to see them as having a special calling on their lives.

Even with this decision the meaning goes deeper. Today, when people see individuals wearing robes they see it as a form of identification. It tells everyone that this person has a special calling on their lives, and that represent God.

They also serve another purpose. They keep person always striving to move toward the church and not world. It makes them aware that they are different and they should not be moved by what is going on in the world.

Making robes for the clergy is a important task. Only the best materials are used, and the skill level of those who make the garments is superior. They pain attention to the smallest detail.

It does not matter if it is a robe for a Catholic priest, or for a pastor, the same care is taken to ensure that they stand representing the calling on their lives. All denominations consider the clothing scared when they put them on.

This is just some of the types of clergy robes. There are other items and they are worn according to rank and position. However, the primary reason for this special clothing is to show that this individual serves God.




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