Liturgical colours
Liturgical colours are specific colours used for vestments and hangings within the context of Christian liturgy. The symbolism of violet, blue, white, green, red, gold, black, rose and other colours may serve to underline moods appropriate to a season of the liturgical year or may highlight a special occasion.
There is a distinction between the colour of the vestments worn by the clergy and their choir dress, which with a few exceptions does not change with the seasons of the liturgical year.
Roman Catholic Church
Current rubrics
In the
Color | Obligatory usage | Optional usage (in lieu of prescribed obligatory colour) |
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Green |
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Violet |
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Rose |
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White |
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Red |
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Black |
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On more solemn days, i.e. festive, more precious, sacred vestments may be used, even if not of the colour of the day. Such vestments may, for instance, be made from
Ritual Masses are celebrated in their proper colour or in white or in a festive colour. Masses for Various Needs, on the other hand, are celebrated in the colour proper to the day or the season or in violet if they bear a penitential character. Votive Masses are celebrated in the colour suited to the Mass itself or even in the colour proper to the day or the season.[4]
Regional and situational exceptions
Some particular variations:
- Office the Immaculate Conception is prayed[6] and on Marian feasts where there is a related custom. The privilege has been granted to Spain, to certain of its colonies, and former colonies in Latin America by a decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites on 12 February 1864.[5] It also extends to the Philippines, Guam, and the Mariana Islands, which were still under Spanish rule at that time.[7] There have also been uses of blue in place of violet for the season of Advent despite the fact that this practice is not authorized under liturgical rubrics.[8][5]
- Gold or silver may be worn on more solemn occasions in the dioceses of the United States.[3]
1960 rubrics
The rules on liturgical colours in the 1960
Colour | 1920–1955 usage | 1956–1960 Usage | 1961–1969 Usage |
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Violet |
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Rose |
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White |
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Red |
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Black |
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Pope Pius X raised the rank of the Sundays after Epiphany and Pentecost, so that on those that fell within common octaves, green was used instead of the colour of the octave, as had previously been the rule;[10] on Sundays after Pentecost that fell within privileged octaves (i.e., the octaves of Corpus Christi and of the Sacred Heart), the liturgical color of the feast was retained.
The rules on liturgical colours before the time of Pope Pius X were essentially those indicated in the edition of the Roman Missal that Pope Pius V promulgated in 1570, except for the addition of feasts not included in his Missal. The scheme of colours in his Missal reflected usage that had become fixed in Rome by the twelfth century.
Byzantine Rite
The
Slavic-use churches and others influenced by Western traditions have adopted a cycle of liturgical colours. The particulars may change from place to place, but generally:
Colour | Common usage | Other usage |
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Gold |
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Light blue |
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Purple or wine-red |
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Red |
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Green |
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Black |
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White |
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The colours would be changed before
Under Western influence, black is often used in the Slavic churches for funerals, weekdays of Great Lent, and Holy Week as a sign of penance and mourning, but in the second half of the 20th century, the ancient white became more common, as a sign of the hope of the Resurrection.
Russian liturgical colours
In the tradition of the Russian Orthodox Church, up to nine different liturgical colours may be used throughout the year.[12] Exact use of these colours varies, but the following are the most common uses:[11]
Colour | Common use | Uncommon or other use |
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Gold or Yellow (желтый) |
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Light blue (голубой) |
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Purple or Dark Red (фиолетовый или темно-красный) |
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Dark Blue, Indigo (синий, темно-синий) |
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Red (красный) |
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Green (зеленый) |
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Black (черный) |
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White (белый) |
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Orange or tawny (оранжевый) |
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Coptic Rite
The
Ethiopian Rite
The liturgical tradition of Ethiopia, followed by the
Lutheran churches
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) uses a similar colour scheme as that of the Anglicans and their Scandinavian Lutheran counterparts, with the use of gold only for the Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday services and Holy Week using scarlet rather than crimson. Blue is used for Advent. White is used for Christmas, Epiphany, Sundays of Easter, Holy Trinity, and Christ the King. For Lent, purple is used. During the time after Pentecost and the Epiphany, green is used. [14]
Both the
Anglicanism
Most
The Church's published Lectionary now makes detailed suggestions for liturgical colour throughout the year, which corresponds almost exactly with the above table of Roman Rite (post-1969 usage) usage with five minor exceptions, and one more significant one:
- there is no reference in Anglican usage to Masses of deceased popes and cardinals;
- no liturgical colour at all is suggested for Holy Saturday (the words "hangings removed" are printed);
- the recommendation of red for confirmation rites is extended also to ordination rites;
- Lenten Array (unbleached linen) continues to be listed as an alternative option to purple during Lent;
- the option exists for using red instead of green during the "Kingdom Season", the four last Sundays of the liturgical year, culminating in Christ the King, as is common is some Lutheran traditions (see above);
- finally, and more significantly, the Church of England provision suggests white throughout the Sundays after Epiphany as a distinct "Epiphany season", with ordinary time commencing the day after Candlemas.
The colour scheme suggested by the Church of England also indicates where gold vestments should be used in those churches that possess gold and white as distinct colours. The use of rose-pink vestments, as in the Roman Rite table above, was mentioned as an option in early editions of Common Worship,[15] and is a listed option in the annual published lectionary; however, later Common Worship publications have begun to refer to this practice as "traditional" reflecting its resurgence.[16]
Sarum Rite
The
Methodist churches
Reformed churches
The
Similarly, the United Church of Christ includes indications of which liturgical colour to use for each Sunday in its annual calendar. The general Western pattern is followed, with either purple or blue recommended for Advent.[18]
References
- ^ "Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani".; cf. "text for Australia" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 20, 2008.; "England and Wales" (PDF).; "United States".
- ^ The optional use of blue as a liturgical colour for feasts of our Lady is restricted to a few dioceses, as explained below.
- ^ a b c Moroney 2002, p. 346.
- ^ Moroney 2002, p. 347.
- ^ a b c McNamara, Edward (May 10, 2010). "Blue Liturgical Vestments". Zenit.
- ^ Heuser, Herman Joseph, ed. (1904). Sacred Vestments. Vol. 31. Catholic University of America Press. p. 584.
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ignored (help) - ^ Gihr, Nikolaus (1902). The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass: Dogmatically, Liturgically, and Ascetically Explained. B. Herder. p. 298.
n.1
- ^ Gary D. Penkala (December 2000). Advent Blues. CanticaNOVA Publications.
editorial
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ignored (help) - ^ "Missale Romanum". 1962.
- ISBN 88-209-2547-8.
1920 typical edition of the Roman Missal omitted the phrase "exceptis Dominicis infra octavas occurrentibus, in quibus color octavarum servatur" found in earlier editions beginning with Pope Pius V's edition of 1570 (page 21 of the facsimile published by Libreria Editrice Vaticana in 1998
- ^ a b c "Why Do We Do That? Liturgical Colors" (PDF). stnicholasoca.org. p. 2.
- ^ The cited information was taken from translation published in three issues of:
- "[no title]". The Messenger. Philadelphia, PA: St. Andrew's Russian Orthodox Cathedral. 1990 [June, July–August, September].
- which cites the original Nastol'naya Kniga Sviashchenno-sluzhitelia Настольная книга священнослужителя [Clergyman's Handbook]. Vol. 4. Moscow, RU. 1983.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - That 1983 edition is based on the handbook's 1913 third edition: Bulgakov, S.V., ed. (1913). "Chapter 15.5". ЦВЕТА БОГОСЛУЖЕБНЫХ ОБЛАЧЕНИЙ. СИМВОЛИКА ЦВЕТОВ. Kiev, UA.
The color scale of the liturgical vestments consists of the following basic colors: white, red, orange, yellow, green, light blue (голубой), dark blue (синий), violet/purple (фиолетовый), black.
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
- ^ "7.2 Colors and their Spiritual Meanings". Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church in Toronto.
- ^ "What is the meaning and use of liturgical colors?" (PDF). Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
- ^ The use of rose-pink vestments is suggested in the liturgical colour sequence notes of Common Worship of which an on-line version may be found here: "Rules to Order the Christian Year".
- ^ For example, see "Common Worship | Times & Seasons".
added to the Common Worship series in 2006, page 50, paragraph 1: "rose-pink vestments are traditionally worn"
- ^ "UMC Liturgical Colors / Parament Colors". Main Street United Methodist Church. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
- ^ "United Church of Christ Desk Calendar and Plan Book". 2016.
Bibliography
- Ordo missae celebrandae et divini officii persolvendi secundum calendarium romanum generale pro anno liturgico 2020 - 2021 (in Latin). Libreria Editrice Vaticana. 2020. ISBN 978-8826604176.
- Moroney, Msgr. James Patrick, ed. (2002). General Instruction of the Roman Missal (3 ed.). International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc.
Third Typical Edition
External links
- Christian Symbols, Crosses, Parament Colours; and their meanings—Trinity Lutheran Church, Billings, Montana
- Liturgical Colours, from Chuck Knows Church, a ministry of the General Board of Discipleship of The United Methodist Church
- Clergy Stoles and their Colors a related video to the above, from Chuck Knows Church, a ministry of the General Board of Discipleship of The United Methodist Church
- Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Liturgical colours". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- Protestant liturgical colours on-line
- Catholic calendar showing the liturgical colours for each day and feast