What color vestments should the priest wear and what color altar cloths should the Holy Altar have on it, during the celebration of the sacraments of the Orthodox Church?
First of all, we should emphasize that color has its place in divine worship. Its harmony aesthetically helps the person present to concentrate better and devote himself to the celebration of the mystery, while the lack of harmony distracts his attention, and does not generate in the soul the feeling of the heavenly order that is depicted in divine worship. Psychology has proven the effect that certain colors have on a person’s mental state. Modest and aesthetically pleasing colors evoke similar feelings. Moreover, each color also hides a symbolism, not only in divine worship, but also in everyday life. Black symbolizes mourning and destruction. White, joy and purity. Red is the color that reminds of blood and sacrifice. The church must use all of these to better achieve the purpose of the sacred services. All the senses – sight, hearing, smell, touch, even taste – cooperate in the glorification of God and the purification of man.
The issue of the color of the vestments has not been historically studied and we do not know whether there were any relevant traditions and what they were during the Byzantine era. Nor whether there was a unified tradition or whether different customs prevailed in different places. Only from rare testimonies of ecclesiastical writers or testimonies of liturgical manuscripts can we draw some conclusions. While it seems that there were no strict rules determining the color of the vestments, as later in the West, it also seems that there was a relevant tradition of colors. Thus, during the celebration of baptism, the bishop or priests wore white vestments. During the Lenten period, they wore vestments with dark colors. Some vestments, on the other hand, had a certain color, such as the vestment of deacons, which was white, the vestment of bishops, which was red or white with red lines.
In the Western church, there were formal provisions that precisely determined the color of the vestments according to the symbolism of each color, which was combined with the character of each feast. Thus, white vestments were worn on the feasts of Christ, the Theotokos and saints who did not martyr themselves. red on the feasts of the passions of the Lord, the Holy Spirit, the apostles and the saints who martyred, green on the Sundays before Christmas and after the lights, purple during Lent and in processions and black during Great Lent, at funerals and memorial services.
In our church today there are no certain rules that determine the color of the vestments. At this point, one could say that we are rather distinguished by an anarchy, which is also seen in the mass during which each priest wears whatever color he likes. Thus, we witness the most incredible, often multi-colored, costumes, without any combination or a trace of harmony. The vestments of the holy table have a different color, the covers of the precious gifts have a different color, the vestments of the bishop have a different color, the vestments of each priest have a different color, and the vestments of the deacons have a different color. Often the priestly vestment itself consists of a mosaic of colors and shades.
Certainly, economic reasons will be put forward, which prevent our priests from having many vestments of various colors, and force them to dress, especially in poor places, as they please. Without wishing to overlook the correctness of this objection, one cannot help but admit that most of the time we are guilty of negligence and lack of attention rather than a victim of our poverty. We are also burdened by the legacy of the work, the traces of which still remain in many manifestations of our divine worship. We must of course admit that the situation has somewhat improved. In large churches in particular, many priests are trying to have many uniform priestly and deaconry vestments, which are in harmony with the altar cloths, and the new priests avoid polychrome and make their vestments with more taste than the older ones.
Nevertheless, there is still a tradition today that determines the color of the vestments and which, as you can see, has its roots in the old order of our church. During the celebration of baptism, for example, it is customary for priests to wear white vestments. White again prevails during the Easter period, while during the weekdays of Lent in all places they use black uniforms. Priests also wear black or white during funeral services, depending on local tradition or the age of the deceased. On the Holy Mount, where ancient traditions have been preserved with great reverence, the priests wear white during the reading of the resurrection gospel on Sundays and red during the feasts of the Mother of God. During the period of Great Lent and Easter, the clothing of the holy table and the coverings of the holy intention follow the color of the vestments worn by the priestesses, that is, they are black or white respectively.
For other great feasts and other periods of the liturgical year there is no tradition that determines the color of the vestments. Nor does the color of the vestments of the holy table change during the celebration of sacraments or other services. Only priests wear bright or mourning vestments, depending on the occasion. The same applies to the celebration of funeral services or memorial services. The church and the altar should never be decorated with mourning colors, no matter how great the deceased was in the eyes of the world. Such tears should not be shed in a Christian church, not only because they are contrary to the evangelical spirit of equality, but also because excessive mourning is not in accordance with the meaning that Christianity gives to death, which it considers “sleep”. From the temple, mourners come to draw comfort and hope, not mourning and despair.
Ioannou M. Fountoulis
Professor of Theological School
From the book ΑΠΑΝΤΗΣΕΙΣ ΕΙΣ ΛΕΙΤΟΥΡΓΙΚΑΣ ΑΠΟΡΙΑΣ
Publications apostolic ministry of the church of Greece
