What’s with the Robes?
What’s with the Robes?
If you attend the upcoming ordination service on June 11, you’ll notice that there will be many people wearing robes. This element of Anglican worship may be new or even strange for some of us, so I wanted to give a little primer on why robes are sometimes worn in Christian worship.
One of the principles that governs historic Christian worship is that the Word was made Flesh (John 1:14). That is, the invisible became visible; that which we could only hear became someone we could see. Thus, Christian worship involves not only the spoken word but also visible signs and symbols. The sacraments (Baptism and the Lord’s Supper) are chief examples of this; they are outward and visible signs of inward and invisible grace. The Church also makes use of lesser signs that communicate meaning: the Cross, the Lord’s Table, the pulpit, liturgical colours, and so on. At St Pete’s, we have beautiful pulpit and altar hangings reflective of the colours of the Church Year, lovingly made for us by our very own Julie Blaney. In the Anglican tradition, these visible signs include robes or vestments.
Coming out of the Reformation, the Anglican Church retained the use of a simple white linen robe called a surplice for all her official services. The surplice grew out of an even older garment called an alb (“alb” comes from the Latin for “white”). These vestments reflect the white robes used in Scripture for both Old and New Covenant worship. Here are just a few examples:
• When David and the Levites carried the ark into Jerusalem, they were all clothed in a robe of fine linen (1 Chronicles 15:27).
• In John’s vision of heavenly worship in the Book of Revelation, the twenty-four elders (presbyters/priests) were clothed in white garments (Revelation 4:4).
• The great multitude of the redeemed from every nation standing before the throne are clothed in white robes (Revelation 7:9).
• The martyrs under the altar interceding for the Church are each given a white robe (Revelation 6:11).
• The armies of heaven are arrayed in fine linen, white and pure (Revelation 19:14). • Those who overcome tribulation are clothed in white garments (Revelation 3:5).
• The Church is granted the right to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure (Revelation 19:8).
The early church understood her weekly worship to be both a fulfilment of temple and synagogue worship, and a real participation in the eternal worship of heaven. Thus, the ancient Canons of Hippolytus exhorted the bishops, priests and deacons to be clad in white as they minister the Holy Mysteries.
The white linen surplice used in Anglican worship has no intrinsic specialness of its own (it’s not magic), nor does it signify any intrinsic holiness on the part of the wearer. On the contrary, it is a visible sign that we have spiritually washed our robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb (Revelation 7:14).
Our righteousness is not innate; it comes from an external source, and that source is Christ! Putting on the white surplice for worship is a visible sign that we have put on the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 13:14). Under the surplice, I’m black with sin (the colour of my clergy shirt!). But the Lord has covered me with the white of his righteousness.
Traditionally, the surplice is not just worn by clergy but by anyone taking a role in the service, including readers, musicians, and servers. In addition, the baptismal candidates are traditionally vested in a white robe after they are baptized.
Clergy also wear a black scarf called a tippet or a coloured stole to signify their ordination. Bishops and priests wear stoles over both shoulders (they’re yolked under Christ and his Church), while deacons wear them over just one shoulder to keep their right arm free for serving (“deacon” means “servant”). As Elijah cast his cloak upon his successor Elisha, so clergy receive ordination; they do not take it upon themselves (1 Kings 19:19). Clergy do not serve on their own authority, but under the gentle yolk of Christ and his Church.
We no longer wear robes in daily life, but that is part of the point. The white robes mentioned in Scripture were not common everyday garments; they were given, or washed, or put on; they were cleaner and whiter and different than everyday wear, symbolic of spiritual realities. When worn, vestments signify that our weekly worship is sacred (set apart) from other things we do. Worship is not a lecture, or a backyard barbecue, or a concert. Nor is it simply a random gathering of individual believers. The ever-present Lord Jesus is present in a special way when we gather as the Body of Christ. Our hearts burn within us as He is revealed in Scripture and we recognize Him in the breaking of the bread (Luke 24). Of course, He is not absent in our daily life! He is always present, whether at work, at home, or in the midst of our daily tasks. But our weekly Eucharist is a special, set-apart participation in Christ through Word and Sacrament, the means of grace. Vestments are meant to visibly communicate this sacred reality.
Finally, vestments are a visible reminder that we are part of a Body that stretches back through the centuries and forward into eternity. I love plaid shirts and Levi’s. One of our pastors says that he thinks the plaid shirt is the official vestment of St Pete’s. I get it! They’re great! But they are very much of this present time and place. Robes have a timeless quality to them; they transcend the fashions and concerns of this fleeting age, and signify that we’re not making our worship up as we go. They hide the street clothes of the wearer, emphasizing their office over their personal expression. They non-verbally communicate that we are reading the same Scriptures and preaching the same gospel and celebrating the same Eucharist as the saints through the ages, and we will continue to do so until we take our part in that great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes (Revelation 7:9).
I should mention that Anglicans in history have argued for and against the appropriateness of using robes in worship. The outcome of the Vestments Controversy in the 16th century was that robes were deemed to be “things indifferent” (not expressly commanded in Scripture and therefore of secondary importance), but they were also deemed to be “edifying” (useful for pointing us to important truths). Thus, they were officially retained in the Anglican tradition, but for some the argument continues to this day.
I hope this helps when you see all those folks in robes on June 11!
