Today's question comes from a recent ordinand who had a question about liturgical colors:
I was wondering if you could help me with a liturgical (perhaps liturgical history) question.
A priest gave me a graduation/ordination gift of a black stole. I had never heard of black stoles before and was wondering about its significance.
Thanks for any help you can provide.
Peace,
Bingham Powell
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Dear Bingham:
Black (or purple) stoles were used for funerals prior to the 1960s, when clergy began to switch to white stoles. My 1965 edition of the Parson's Handbook (13th edition) still recommended Black or Blue for funerals for adults, but added the possibility of white for a child's burial. By the mid 1970s black stoles had pretty much disappeared, and white was used for everyone. The rationale usually given was that white was the color of resurrection, and that it was more appropriate than the penitential dark colors.
What that would mean in practical terms for you would be that the black stole would not be used currently, but would be kept as an historical object. My guess is that there are very few of them left at this point.
Elaborate colors schemes for vestments date to the 19th century for the Anglican Church, though there are certainly pre-Reformation precedents for multiple colors. From the 16th to the 19th century Anglican parish clergy wore a black scarf or tippet, rather than a colored stole. Some 19th century liturgical innovators in the Episcopal Church intentionally created confusion about the difference between a tippet and a stole as a means of introducing more catholic vesture. I even have come across the designation "fool-the vestry" vestments, which involved a series of shrinking tippets of changing shades that eventually reached the size of a stole.
3 comments:
the church of st John the evangelist in boston, where i once was, has a stunningly beautiful set of mass vestments in black, with stunning golden orphreys. they are perhaps one of the most beautiful sets the parish owns: all in the sacristy, not worn in many years, and brought out now and then at acolyte training sessions so people can admire them.
we have so many lovely things in our past, and there is for me a special smile that the integrity of the liturgy in that place was not compromised just for the sake of a particularly beautiful set of clothes: a sure sign that the clothes are serving the rite, rather than the other way round.
Bob:
I look forward to reading your posts. I think that the 79 Book has proved to be a kind of Trojan's Horse bequeathing a pre-reformation theology and utter confusion - to say the least.
Jim Basinger
I have a full set of black mass vestments with gold cloth orphreys including a maniple and an amice orphrey which I inherited from my father, Dr. Nelson Rightmyer. But the use of black stoles goes back before the Civil War. They were a high church replacement for the black scarf or tippet commonly used. At St. Mary's College, Raleigh, NC, are two portraits of the founder and his son. Father has on a black stole; son a white one. I encourage your questioner to seek advice from a textile expert at the local museum about the age of his vestment.
Tom Rightmyer in Asheville, NC
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