Group III

Heraldic:

Names, Initials, and Dedicatory Inscriptions:

In many vestments, especially among those of early date, the embroidery is of a distinctly Oriental character, which, if not actually Byzantine, is founded on Byzantine models. These were popularized throughout Europe by the Mohammedan weavers and their successors of the royal establishment in Sicily. Often vestments are found bearing Arabic or other Oriental inscriptions; these are sometimes meaningless, like the patterns formed with Arabic letters on many Eastern shawls and cloths of modern times, but occasionally they give important information as to the date and origin of the vestment which they decorate. The coronation vestments of the German Emperors, now at Vienna, are of entirely Eastern character, and the cope bears inscriptions in Cufic characters, telling us that it was made at Palermo in 1133. Occasionally the Eastern ornaments and inscriptions are forged (alas, for mediaeval morality!), in order to counterfeit the workmanship of the highly popular Eastern looms. Sometimes we find clumsy imitations of Arabic words treated ignorantly by the forger as ornaments, the word being written correctly, though in an obviously amateurish manner, from right to left, and a replica reversed set opposite to it, in order to balance it symmetrically!

No country excelled England in embroidered work in the middle ages. Matthew Paris's story of Pope Innocent IV's admiration of some English vestments is well known. His holiness, 'seeing some desirable orphreys in the copes and infulae of certain English ecclesiastics, asked where they had been made. "In England," was the answer. "Truly is England our garden of delights," said he; "truly is it a well inexhaustible; and where much is, thence can much be extorted." Whereupon the Pope, allured by the lust of the eyes, sent his sealed letters to nearly all the abbots of the Cistercian order in England (to whose prayers he had just been committing himself in the chapter-house of the Cistercian order) that they should not delay to send those orphreys to himself—getting them for nothing, if possible—to decorate his chasubles and choral copes.' Matthew Paris concludes his narrative by telling us that the London merchants were gratified enough, but that many were highly offended at the open avarice of the Head of the Church.[81]

This leads us to another point to be noticed with regard to mediaeval vestments—their value as articles of merchandise. In the 'Issues of the Exchequer,' 24, 25 Henry III (A.D. 1241-1242), there are several entries of expenses involved in purchasing vestments. Thus we find 4l. 19s. paid to Adam de Basinges 'for a gold cope purchased by our command and placed in our chapel at the feast of the Nativity of our Lord in the 25th year of our reign: also to the same 24l. 1s. 6d. for a cope of red silk given to the Bishop of Hereford by our command in the same year and day: also to the same 17l. 18s. 10d. for two diapered and one precious cloth of gold, for a tunic and dalmatican entirely ornamented with gold fringe purchased by our command and placed in our chapel the same year and day: also to the same 47s. 10d. for a chesable of silk cloth without gold purchased by our command and placed in our chapel: also to the same 7s. 2d. for an albe embroidered with gold fringe purchased by our command and placed in our chapel: also to the same 17l. 1 mark for two embroidered chesables purchased by our command and placed in our chapel.'[82] The same year the enormous sum of £82 was given by the King for a mitre.

It has been calculated that the present value of money is fifteen times greater than it was in the thirteenth century. Applying this principle, we obtain the following results, which give a clearer idea of the value of the vestments purchased by the King:

Even if we allow that these vestments, being royal gifts, or royal furniture, were of larger price than usual, it still remains evident that a set of vestments was an expensive luxury. And when we consider the enormous number of vestments which were existing in the different cathedral establishments, we can hardly wonder at the cupidity of Henry VIII being aroused. Mr St John Hope has calculated that in Lincoln (of which we possess perhaps the fullest set of inventories) the commissioners of 1536 found 125 red copes, 7 purple, 20 green, 36 blue, 9 black, 60 white, 2 yellow, 2 various, and perhaps 4 for choristers—265 in all; 16 red chasubles, 3 purple, 6 green, 11 blue, 5 black, 9 white, 1 yellow and 1 various—52 in all; 2 dalmatics, 94 tunicles, and 131 albs, not to mention other property in embroidered work, such as altar frontals, or in precious metal, such as chalices. It is, of course, impossible to assign an estimate of the value of this vestry, but even if we reckoned the copes at £50 of our money—a low estimate in the majority of cases—these vestments alone would be worth £13,250 together. But this is pure guesswork and of no practical value; of more importance is such an entry as the following, from the old Durham 'Book of Rites' (printed by the Surtees Society):

'Prossession of Hallowe Thursdaie, Whitsondaie & Trinitie Sonday, by the Prior and the Monnckes.—The next morninge, being Hallow Thursdaie, they had also a generall Prossession, with two crosses borne before theme, the one of the crosses, the staff and all, of gould, the other of sylver and parcell gilt ... with all the riche Copes that was in the Church, every Monnke had one, and the Prior had a marvellous riche cope on, of clothe of ffyne pure gould, the which he was not able to goe upright with it, for the weightines thereof, but as men did staye it and holde it up of every side when he had it on. He went with his crutch in his hand, which was of sylver and duble gilt, with a rich myter on his head.'

In the private account-book of the last prior but one of Worcester[83] is given the following interesting bill for a mitre:

'Item to John Cranckes gold smyth of london for al maner of stuff belongyng of the new mytur, with the makyng of the same as hit apereth by parcelles foloyng:
In primis for v grete stonesxvis viijd.
Item for xx⁄iiij & vj stones prece viijd apeece to the fronteslvijs iiijd.
Item for xxj stones sett in golde, weyng di. vncesxiijs iiijd.
Item for xl medyll stones, prece vjd a stonexxs.
Item for xx⁄iij & xv smale stones prece iiijd a stone, to garnesshexxvs.
Item for iij vnces & a quarter of fyne peerll, at iij li. the vnceiij[84] li xvs.
Item for xij vnces of medull peerll, at xs the vncevj li.
Item the selver warke weys, in all xx⁄iiij xiij vnces, which is with the fassheon & allxiiij li xvjs.
Item to the broderar vj wokes (? wekes) xijd a day, besydes mete & drynckexxxvjs.
Item payd for lynnen cloth to cowech ytt on with perllvijd.
Item for sylke to thred the seid perll & steche the peerll j vnce & dixvd.
Item for yalow thredjd.
Item for Rybande of iiijd brede ij yeardsviijd.
Item for Reband of ijd brede A yeardeijd.
Item for Rownde selk about the bordurejd. ob.
Item for red selke to sow hytt with all, di. quarter the vnceijd ob.
Item for pastiiijd.
(Item) for a quarter of sarcenett to lyne hyttxiiijd.
Item for a case to the mytur of lethuriiijs.
Summa xlixli. xvs. the coste of the mytur.'

Before parting with the ancient vestments of the Western Church, let us spend a few moments on another, and to the antiquary a melancholy, subject, namely, the fate which has befallen them.

The number of actual vestments which survive to our own day is comparatively small. Notwithstanding the scrupulous care with which they were kept, the action of time and probably of moths could not but destroy the perishable material of which they were made; and as so sacred were they regarded that when a vestment was worn out it was burnt, and the ashes thrown into and washed down the drain of the piscina, or font; so, at least, it was ordered by the ninth canon of the Synod of Dublin, 1186.[85] In France and in England, however, far the greatest havoc was wrought in the religious and political troubles of the eighteenth century in the former case, of the two centuries preceding in the latter.

The destruction of churches and church property in France at the hands of the atheistical mobs of the Revolution was incalculable. Monuments, glass and fabrics were broken and ruined, if not utterly destroyed, and the vestments and Processional crosses were torn from the treasuries and heaped up in the streets to be burnt in bonfires. In England the damage was perhaps even more considerable, though it was executed in a quieter and more deliberate manner. In the reaction after the revival of the Roman faith under Queen Mary, orders were sent to the churchwardens of the different parishes requesting returns from them as to the relics of popery, if any, which remained in the churches under their care, and the manner in which such superstitious objects had been disposed of, whenever they had been removed. A very perfect series of these returns exists for Lincolnshire, and they have been edited by Mr Edward Peacock, F.S.A., in a highly-interesting volume entitled 'English Church Furniture and Decorations,' published in 1866. In each return is a note describing what was done with the vestments and other pre-Reformation furniture of the church to which the return relates. From them we extract the following entries, which may serve as specimens of the varied fate of vestments, not only in the county of Lincoln, but throughout the country:

So we find at Braceby an alb made a covering for the font. At Castlebytham we find 'one cope one vestment and one albe' were 'sold to Thomas Inma for the some of Vs. Vpon sondaie was a sevenighte wc̃h he haith defaced and cutt in peces.' Elsewhere, a vestment was made into a 'dublett,' others into 'clowtes for children,' or 'hangings for a bedd.' Some churches had lost their vestments in the Edwardian Reformation, and consequently, when they were required again in Queen Mary's reign, substitutes had to be borrowed from private owners. These were 'restored' to their possessors; in a few cases the churchwardens thoughtfully cut them in pieces before doing so.

Fig. 21.

There is one other series of vestments which deserves a passing notice—the vestments in which the newly-baptized were clothed. In the sixth or seventh century these consisted of the alba, the sabanum, the chrismale, and the garland. The alba was probably similar to the clerical alba; the form of the sabanum (σάβανον) is uncertain, but it was possibly not more than its name implies—simply a towel. The chrismale was a piece of white linen tied on the head, intended to keep the chrism in its place during the week in which these vestments were worn. The garland was a chaplet of flowers with which the baptized were crowned after baptism.

There is a rite in the Armenian Church in which the priest twists two threads, one white and one red, lifts them up under the cross, and then lays them on the person to be baptized. The white and red is obviously symbolical of the mingled blood and water which flowed from our Lord's side, but there are obscure traces in early writers which seem to indicate that this observance was of more general acceptance, and that the present rite is a corruption of something quite different. Durandus, in the 'Rationale Div. Off.,' vi, c. 82, speaks of the alba of baptism having upon it a red band like a 'corona,' and elsewhere we find a combination of red and white mentioned in connection with the robes of the neophytes.

These vestments were worn throughout the week after baptism, and put off on the Sunday following, hence called Dominica in albis depositis. They were either retained after baptism as a memorial of the sacrament—and often used as shrouds after death—or else presented to the church by the baptized.

In the mediaeval church this comparatively elaborate suit was reduced to one cloth, the chrysome, or chrism cloth, in which the body of a newly-baptized infant was swathed. This cloth was kept upon the child for a month, and if it died within the month the child was buried in it as a shroud. Several monumental brasses are extant in which children are represented in their baptismal robes; we reproduce an example in Chesham Bois Church, Buckinghamshire. In the modern Roman Church the white cloth is merely placed on the head; it is now too small to cover the body.

The chrism cloth was taken off if the child survived till the end of the month, and returned to the church, in whose custody it was kept. These cloths were used for the reparation of vestments and altar hangings, and other sacred textile fabrics connected with the church. Thus in the Treasurer's Rolls for Ripon we read (1470-71) the following entries:

'Est de ccᵐᵃlxvj vestibus crismalibus de reman. ultimi compoti praedicti. Et de cᵐᵃiij vestibus crismalibus rec. de tot pueris baptizatis hoc anno. Summa ccciiijˣˣix.[86] De quibus.

'In sepultura puerorum viij. Et in reparacione vestimentorum, xiiij. Et liberantur pro manutergiis inde fiendis, ordinatis pro expensis ecclesiae, ix. Et liberantur pro calicibus involvendis et aliis necessariis ejusdem ecclesiae, vj. Summa xxxvij. Et reman. cccᵐᵃlij vestes crismales.'[87]

Fig. 22.—A Cope Chest, York Minster.

[76] This word is a curious hybrid. The muce is the Teutonic for a cap or hood (cf. Scottish mutch, German Mütze). The word mozetta is connected with this. The al is the Arabic article, probably attached to it at some time in Spain.

[77] Both objectionable terms, as they lead to confusion with the amice, the sound of all these words being practically indistinguishable.

[78] Rock.

[79] For example, the lamb (besides its more sacred significance) may possibly be taken as symbolical of St Agnes, the dragon of St George or St Margaret, the lion of St Jerome, the lily, sun, moon, stars, or rose of St Mary the Virgin, and so on indefinitely.

[80] Examples of an entire name occurring on copes are extremely rare. I only know of one—the brass of Thomas Patesley (1418), at Great Shelford, Cambridgeshire. Initials are common in almost every county; rebuses not quite so common, though we have the famous maple-leaves (alternating with M's) in the cope of a priest called Mapleton, as shown on his brass at Broadwater, Sussex; while heraldic devices are fairly frequent, either as complete shields or selections from the charges borne by the priest's family. The brasses of Wm. de Fulbourne, at Fulbourne, Cambridgeshire, and of Thos. Aileward, at Havant, Hampshire, give us examples of both these methods of ornamentation.

[81] Eisdemque diebus dominus papa videns in aliquorum Anglicorum ornamentis ecclesiasticis, utpote in capis choralibus et infulis aurifrisia concupiscibilia, interrogavit ubinam facta puissent. Cui responsum est In Anglia. At ipse, Vere hortus noster deliciarum est Anglia; vere puteus inexhaustus est; et ubi multa abundant de multis multa possunt extorqueri. Unde idem dominus papa concupiscentia illectus oculorum literas suas bullatas sacras misit ad omnes fere Cisterciensis ordinis abbates in Anglia commorantes quorum orationibus se nuper in capitulo Cisterciensi commendaverat ut ipsi aurifrisia ac si pro nihilo ipsa possent adquirere mittere non different pracelecta ad planetas et capas suas chorales adomandas. Quod mercennariis Londoniae qui ea venalia habebant non displicuit, ad placitum vendentibus: unde multi manifestum avaritiam Romanae ecclesiae detestabantur.—M. Paris, 'Chronica Majora' (Rolls Series), vol. iv, p. 546.

[82] 'Issues of the Exchequer' (ed. Dover), p. 16.

[83] Quoted in the Builder, 7 July 1894.

[84] Sic., should be viiij or ix.

[85] Worn-out vestments were also found useful for the interment of ecclesiastics, as we have seen, supra p. 101.

[86] There is an error of twenty somewhere in this calculation.

[87] 'Memorials of Ripon,' vol. iii, p. 219 (Surtees Society).

CHAPTER V.
THE VESTMENTS OF THE EASTERN CHURCHES.

The proverbial conservatism of the unchanging East, which is felt in all ecclesiastical as well as in social matters, will make our task in the present chapter much lighter. The action of evolution, which makes the history of the Western vestments so complex, is hardly felt in the East. The mediaevalism, or, rather, primaevalism, which shuts out instrumental aid from the musical portions of the Eastern service acts upon vestments in minimizing the profusion of ornamentation which plays such an important part in the externals of Western ritual.

One of our earliest authorities on the subject of Eastern vesture is St Germanus of Constantinople (circa 715 A.D.). In his treatise Μυστικὴ Θεορία he enters at considerable length into a discussion of Ecclesiastical Vestments and also of Monastic Costume, giving details, which are curious, but of little or no value, concerning the alleged symbolic meanings which they bear.

In the present chapter we have to discuss the vestments of the principal Eastern Churches—the Orthodox 'Greek' Church, so called, the Armenian Church, and the remote body of Christians on the coast of Malabar. The general appearance and style of the vestments of these churches is similar; there are, however, minor differences, which will appear as we proceed.

The vestments and personal ornaments of the Orthodox Greek Church are as follows:

  1. The στοιχάριον.
  2. The ἐπιμανίκια.
  3. The ἐπιτραχήλιον.
  4. The ὠράριον.
  5. The ζώνη.
  6. The φαινόλιον.
  7. The ἐπιγονάτιον.
  8. The ὠμοφόριον.
  9. The μάνδυας.
  10. The χαμαλαύχη.
  11. The ἐξωχαμαλαύχη.
  12. The πατέρεσσα.
  13. The ἐγκόλπιον.
  14. The σάκκος.

The Armenian vestments are as follows:

  1. The Vakass.
  2. The Shapich.
  3. The Poor-ourar.
  4. The Kodi.
  5. The Pasbans.
  6. The Shoochar.
  7. The Sagavard.

Fig. 23.—Armenian Priest.

The Malabar vestments are:

  1. The Cuthino.
  2. The Orro.
  3. The Zunro.
  4. The Zando.
  5. The Phaino.
  6. The Cap and Shoes.

Fig. 24.—Malabar Priest.

I. The στοιχάριον was, and is, identical with the Roman alba. The word is of uncertain etymology, and none of the guesses which have been made are at all satisfactory. Like the alba, it was originally a garment of secular use; this we infer from the Apologia contra Arianos,[88] where we read that one charge (among others) which was brought against Athanasius was that he had required the Egyptians to furnish linen στοιχάρια. Germanus says of the vestment, 'being white, the στοιχάριον signifies the glory of the Godhead and the bright citizenship of priests. The stripes of the στοιχάριον on the sleeve signify the bonds of Christ; the stripes which run across signify the blood which flowed from Christ's side on the cross.' Setting aside the symbolism, we learn that the vestment in the time of Germanus was white, ornamented with stripes, probably red, upon the sleeves and across the body. At present, while the vestment is still white on ordinary occasions, on certain days coloured στοιχάρια are worn, as will be shown in the chapter on Ritual Use. The λωρία, or stripes, are now confined to the στοιχάρια of bishops. In Russia, and elsewhere to some extent, the στοιχάρια are often made of silk or velvet, though linen remains the proper material; here we see a notable correspondence with Western usage.

Fig. 25.—Deacon in στοιχάριον, ὠράριον, and ἐπιμανίκια.

The shapich of the Armenians and the cuthino of the Malabar Christians correspond to this vestment and do not differ from it. It goes by other names in other parts of the Eastern Church; these are set forth in the appendix. Deacons, members of the minor orders, and choristers wear the shapich ungirded.

II. The ἐπιμανίκια. These correspond to the Western maniple, but they differ from it in several notable respects. First, one is provided for each arm instead of for the left arm only. Secondly, they are not worn pendant on the arm, but are drawn round, so that they rather resemble cuffs than napkins suspended on the wrist. In some early mosaics they are shown not so much as cuffs, as large false sleeves. Something similar seems to have been worn in the Gallican Church, if we may accept the testimony of the MS. already referred to on p. 135.

Fig. 26.—Priest in στοιχάριον, ἐπιτραχήλιον, φαινόλιον, ζώνη and ἐπιμανίκια.

This vestment—for the two pieces may be said technically to form one vestment—was for a long time restricted to bishops only, but priests and, since 1600, even deacons have had the right to wear it. Bishops only, however, are allowed to have the ἐπιμανίκια embroidered with the εἴκων of Christ.

The ἐπιμανίκια are alleged to signify the bands with which Christ was bound.

The Armenian pasban corresponds to the ἐπιμανίκιον; so does the zando of the Malabar Christians. Both pasban and zando are worn one on each wrist; but whereas the Armenian vestment is more like the Western maniple, the zando is a false sleeve, fitting the arm tightly and extending some way above the elbow.

Fig. 27.—Archimandrite in φαινόλιον, ἐπιγονάτιον, ἐγκόλπιον, etc.

III. The ἐπιτραχήλιον is in essence identical with the stole of the Western Church, but in form it differs widely. Instead of being a long narrow strip passed behind the neck, it is a short broad band with an aperture at one end, through which the wearer's head is passed, so that instead of two ends pendant, one at each side, there is but one, hanging down in the middle. It is probably the richest of all the Eastern vestments; it is made of silk or brocade, and in large churches is ornamented with jewels and precious metals. A seam runs conspicuously down the middle, dividing the band into two; this gives the vestment a more stole-like appearance than it would otherwise possess.

The Armenian poor-ourar and the Malabar orro are the equivalents of this vestment, and resemble it in appearance. Both names are evidently corruptions of the Greek ὠράριον.

IV. The ὠράριον is the Diaconal substitute for the ἐπιτραχήλιον. It is identical with the Latin stole, and, like that vestment when worn by deacons, is carried on the left shoulder. St Germanus informs us that it typifies the ministry of angels, in that it resembles a pair of wings; this, like many other similar statements, may be taken for what it is worth. The sole difference between the ὠράριον and the stole lies in its ornamentation; the latter is ornamented in a perfectly unrestricted manner, the former bears embroidered upon it the τρισάγιον,

ΑΓΙΟϹ ΑΓΙΟϹ ΑΓΙΟϹ,

and the Armenian Church as a general rule dispenses even with this inscription.

Fig. 28.—Bishop in φαινόλιον, ἐπιγονάτιον, ὠμοφόριον, etc.

V. The ζώνη is simply a girdle which keeps the στοιχάριον and ἐπιτραχήλιον in place. To it answers the Armenian kodi and the Malabar zunro. The Armenians suspend a large white napkin to the kodi on the left-hand side, which is used to wipe the hands or the vessels when necessary during the service, and thus takes the place of the old Western maniple.

VI. The φαινόλιον answers in all respects to the Western chasuble; and it is evident that we are to see in its appellation the old name paenula. The Malabar Christians have a vestment called the phaino, which in appearance corresponds to the cope; but its use assimilates it to the φαινόλιον, as we should expect from the identity of name. The phaino is made of more or less costly materials, it is square (not semicircular) in shape with rounded corners. A button and loop answer the purpose of the Western morse. It may be here stated that the embroidery and material of the zando usually corresponds with that of the phaino with which it is worn. The priests of the Armenian Church also wear a cope-shaped chasuble. Small bells are sometimes hung round the lower edge. The φαινόλιον of bishops was formerly distinguished from that of priests by being covered with crosses; hence called φαινόλιον πολυσταύριον.

VII. The ἐπιγονάτιον is a lozenge-shaped ornament, made of brocade, and suspended by one corner on the right side of the ἐπιτραχήλια of bishops. It is ornamented with embroidery on its surface, and with tassels attached to the three free corners. It was originally a handkerchief, and it remained in this form for some considerable time; in fact, it remains a handkerchief in the Armenian Church. Although properly peculiar to bishops, certain other ecclesiastics wear it as a special privilege.

VIII. The ὠμοφόριον is equivalent to the Western pall (though it is worn by all prelates, not by archbishops only), and similar to it in shape; it is, however, rather wider, and is worn round the neck in a knot. It is said to symbolize the lost sheep—presumably from its being carried on the shoulder.

IX. The μάνδυας is a vestment similar to the cope, worn on certain occasions by Archimandrites and the higher orders of the Hierarchy. The difference between it and the Western cope consists in its being rather fuller, and fastened at the lower ends in front as well as at the top. Small bells are hung round its lower edge. The μάνδυας of an archimandrite is not ornamented; that of a prelate is decorated with wavy stripes called πόταμα καὶ πώματα, 'rivers and cups'[89]—a fanciful method of expressing the 'rivers of grace which flow from him.'[90]

X, XI. The χαμαλαύχη is a cap, the ἐξωχαμαλαύχη a hood worn over it. The ἐξωχαμαλαύχη of a Metropolitan is white, signed in front with a black cross, that of other prelates black.

XII. The πατέρεσσα corresponds to the pastoral staff, but it is shorter and is used as an ordinary walking-stick, which it resembles in every particular. The handle is usually an ornamental modification of the crutched or tau cross. The bishops of the Eastern Church wear no ring.

XIII. The ἐγκόλπιον is a pectoral cross, worn in the East, and similar in all respects to the cross worn in the West.

XIV. The σάκκος is the equivalent of the Western dalmatic: it is now worn by all metropolitans.

The Armenian vestments which have not been described in the above conspectus are (i) the sagavard, or priest's cap; (ii) the vakass, a vestment which corresponds to the Western amice, and is nowhere else worn in the East. It differs from it in the collar standing upright instead of being turned down. Attached to the vakass of high dignitaries is a breastplate of precious metals and stones, bearing the names of the twelve apostles. This is as obviously borrowed from the Jewish 'breastplate of the Ephod,' as the vakass itself is borrowed from the Western amice; but the Armenians deny any Western influence in the dress, asserting the entire vestment to be of Jewish origin; (iii) the shoochar, which answers in every respect to the cope; and (iv) the sandals, which are worn during service, are kept in the church, and may not be used on other occasions.

Vartabeds (i.e., priests especially entrusted with the work of preaching and instructing the ignorant in the principles of the religion) and bishops substitute a mitre for the sagavard, and wear a pectoral cross hanging by a gold chain round the neck. The copes of bishops are ornamented by two strips of brocade, usually embroidered with figures of saints; these are survivals of the infulae of the mitre, but are attached to the shoulder of the cope. Vartabeds are distinguished by a staff of which the head consists of a cross with two serpents turned round it.

The Armenian Church permits clergy to remain married if the marriage hath taken place before ordination. The ordinary dress of unmarried priests consists of a black or dark purple cassock with a broad belt, over which is worn a gown, and (at the recital of the offices) a cope. In Persia and Armenia they wear a cap with fur border called the kulpas. Married priests wear a blue cassock, a black gown, and a blue turban.

The vestments of the Nestorian Church are perhaps the simplest of the forms of dress in vogue in the various non-reformed Churches. They are six in number, and are respectively called the prazôna, peena, zunnâra, hurrâra, estla or shorshippa, and msâne. These correspond respectively to breeches, surplice, or alb, girdle, stole, chasuble, and shoes, but they differ in some degree from the analogous vestments in use elsewhere. They are all made of white linen or calico, the only colour employed being in the girdle and stole, which (to use the convenient heraldic terms) are checky in squares white and blue, bearing crosses of the same colours counter-changed. The chasuble, too, has a Latin cross worked on the back. The latter is a clumsy vestment, being simply a square cloth, thrown over the shoulders and held in position with the finger and thumb. The stole does not reach below the waist, and is kept in its place under the girdle. It is remarkable that the vestments of the different orders of clergy differ only in the quality of the material, and not in elaboration or form; and that they are, as a general rule, only worn during the celebration of the Holy Eucharist or the administration of Baptism. At other services the priests usually wear their ordinary costume, which differs only slightly from that of laymen.

The following list will show the parallelism existing between the vestments of the East and of the West; it is useful as showing that the differences between them consist entirely in matters of detail, and not in essentials:

Thus, the ἐπιγονάτιον, μάνδυας, χαμαλαύχη, and ἐξωχαμαλαύχη have no exact equivalent in the West; while, on the other hand, the amice is only represented in one provincial church, and the tunicle, dalmatic, gloves, ring, stockings and sandals, have no Eastern vestments to correspond with them. This is just what we might expect, for these vestments are all, comparatively speaking, of mediaeval invention or application, and the Eastern Church, as we said in other words at the commencement of this chapter, preserves many of the primitive rites and usages in a condition much less altered by time than does its Western sister.

[88] 'Patrol. Graec.,' xxv, 358.

[89] The assonance cannot be satisfactorily preserved in translation. Perhaps 'rivers and lavers' is the nearest approximation our language affords.

[90] Neale.

CHAPTER VI.
THE VESTMENTS OF THE REFORMED CHURCHES.

One of the main differences between a church unreformed and a church reformed lies in this: that in the former the externals of public worship are magnified in importance even to the minutest detail, while in the latter the weight attached to such matters is diminished in a greater or less degree.

Considerable variety is apparent in the importance attached by different reformed churches to these matters, and, in consequence, considerable variety is apparent in the extent to which they are elaborated. Those churches which at the Reformation retained the episcopate, retained with it, in a more or less modified form, many of the old usages; while those churches which abolished the hierarchical and restored the democratic system of church government, for the most part abolished the customs of their pre-reformation predecessors. Perhaps among no bodies of Christians are the externals of worship so little heeded as among the English dissenting sects; these, being composed of seceders from a reformed church, may be said to have undergone a double reformation, which has had the effect of expunging the last traces of ritual from their services. In the consequent neglect of order, the wearing of robes of office has become entirely optional, not only with the different sects, but even with the individual ministers; and where a gown is worn, as no definite shape of gown is prescribed, the choice of robe remains optional. Hence, these bodies need not concern us further, as the discussion of their vestments would be merely an uninteresting and monotonous account of the practice of isolated modern congregations.

The four churches whose usage must occupy our attention in the present chapter are the Lutheran churches of Germany and Scandinavia, the Episcopal churches of England and of Spain, and the Presbyterian churches, with especial reference to the church of Scotland.