Liturgical colours

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Liturgical colours are colours of vestments and paraments within a Christian liturgy. The symbolism of violet, 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.

Contents

[edit] Roman Catholicism

Generally, in the Roman Rite reformed by Pope Paul VI, the following colours are used.[1]

[edit] Table of Catholic Liturgical colours

Colour Symbolism Compulsory Usage Optional Usage
Green Life, Growth and Hope
Violet Penance, Atonement and Expiation
White Purity, Holiness, Joy, Innocence and Triumph
Red Fire and Blood
Rose Joy that half a penitential season is over. Or, in Advent, for the joy of expectancy
Black Mourning

Vestments made from cloth of silver or cloth of gold may be used on days of special solemnity. Historically, silver was permitted as a substitute for white, and gold as a substitute for white, red, or green.

In addition to the general rules, there are some exceptions.

  • White, in the United States, may be worn instead of violet or black at Funeral Masses expressing the hope of the Resurrection, especially in the funerals of children. This is also appropriate if white is traditionally the colour of mourning in a country, such as some Asian nations.
  • Blue, a colour associated with the Virgin Mary, is allowed for the feast of the Immaculate Conception in some dioceses in Spain, Mexico and South America. In some places there is an unauthorized use of blue for all feasts of the Virgin Mary. In the Philippines because of the persistence of local priests in using this colour, the Vatican has granted it special usage in all Marian feasts, replacing white. Blue has also become an unauthorized but common colour in some places for the season of Advent,[3] and in this case symbolizes expectation and hope - the blue of a new dawning day.
  • White or cloth of gold may be worn from the 16th to the 24th December, when celebrating a traditional novena. This Spanish custom was abolished in the 1950s, but through an error, it was only abolished in Spain, and therefore remains licit and common in the Philippines. Further, if not enough vestments of the proper colour are available (particularly in concelebrations), white may always be substituted.

The Roman Rite promulgated by Pope St. Pius V, which is still used by some priests, varies from the above uses in some minor aspects. Violet is worn on days of fasting (such as Ember days and Rogation days), on the Sundays preceding Lent, and on vigils. Black is used on Good Friday and is the only colour proper at Masses for the Dead.

[edit] Anglicanism

Many Anglican churches use the colours appointed in the Roman Rite. Others use the traditional colours associated with the Use of Sarum. In these churches, blue, rather than violet, is used during Advent and, especially among Anglo-Catholics, on Marian feasts. Crimson is used during Holy Week, or throughout Passiontide (Passion Week and Holy Week). Some churches replace violet during Lent (except the week or weeks during which crimson is used) with a Lenten array consisting of unbleached muslin cloth (varying in colour but usually ranging from off-white to beige) with accents of crimson or black. Other distinctions of colour exist, such as yellow for Doctors of the Church, but their use is now almost obsolete.

More traditional churches will use black on Good Friday and at requiem masses of adults. More commonly, White or Violet is often used for funerals and memorial services; white is always used at such services where a younger person has died. White is used at baptisms and weddings.

[edit] Table of Anglican Liturgical colours

Season or Day Common Worship Traditional Anglican
1st Sunday in Advent Purple Purple
2nd Sunday in Advent Purple Purple
3rd Sunday in Advent Purple Purple or Rose
4th Sunday in Advent Purple Purple
Christmas Day White or Gold White or Gold
1st Sunday of Christmas White or Gold White or Gold
Epiphany White or Gold White or Gold
1st Sunday of Epiphany White or Gold Green
2nd Sunday of Epiphany White or Gold Green
3rd Sunday of Epiphany White or Gold Green
4th Sunday of Epiphany White or Gold Green
5th Sunday of Epiphany White or Gold Green
Presentation White or Gold White or Gold
Septuagesima Green Purple
Sexagesima Green Purple
Quinquagesima Green Purple
Ash Wednesday Purple or Unbleached linen Purple or Unbleached linen
1st Sunday in Lent Purple or Unbleached linen Purple or Unbleached linen
2nd Sunday in Lent Purple or Unbleached linen Purple or Unbleached linen
3rd Sunday in Lent Purple or Unbleached linen Purple or Unbleached linen
4th Sunday in Lent Purple or Unbleached linen Purple or Unbleached linen
Passion Sunday Purple or Unbleached linen Purple or Unbleached linen
Palm Sunday Red Red
Maundy Thursday White White
Good Friday Bare Bare
Holy Saturday Bare Bare
Easter Day White or Gold White or Gold
1st Sunday in Easter White White or Gold
2nd Sunday in Easter White White or Gold
3rd Sunday in Easter White White or Gold
4th Sunday in Easter White White or Gold
5th Sunday in Easter White White or Gold
6th Sunday in Easter White White or Gold
Ascension Day White or Gold White or Gold
Whitsunday Red Red
Trinity Sunday White White or Gold
Sundays of Trinity Green Green
4th to 1st Sunday before Advent Red or Green Green
All Saints' Day White or Gold White or Gold
All Souls' Day Purple Purple
Remembrance Sunday Red or Green Purple (or Black for Requiem Mass)

[edit] Protestantism

Some Protestant churches, especially Lutherans and Methodists use a colour scheme similar to those used by Anglicans and Roman Catholics, although the practice is not universally followed. Many Protestant churches reject the idea of liturgical colours entirely.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, uses the same colour scheme as that of the Anglicans and their Scandinavian Lutheran counterparts, but with the use of gold only for the Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday services, with Holy Week using scarlet in place of crimson – congregations lacking scarlet vestments use purple from Palm Sunday through Holy Wednesday and white for Maundy Thursday. Black, traditionally use by the Anglican Communion for Good Friday and funerals, was used by the ELCA only for Ash Wednesday, but effective with the new Evangelical Lutheran Worship (ELW) book, which replaces the Lutheran Book of Worship (LBW), black is no longer suggested for Ash Wednesday or Good Friday – purple may be used for Ash Wednesday and no colour for Good Friday. In addition, the ELW suggests that blue, the traditional colour for Advent (with purple being the alternate), be used for the Advent season, reflecting the traditional use of blue in the Scandinavian Lutheran churches.

Both the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (LCMS) and the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), along with the United Methodist Church use a similar system, but with purple being the primary colour for both Advent and Lent (with blue being the alternate colour for Advent only), and the use of gold in place of white for both Christmas and Easter (in similar practice to the Roman Catholic Church). In the WELS, the use of red is also done during the Period of End Times, a period of the Church in regards to the teachings of the Book of Revelation, culminating in the creation of the New Jerusalem (corresponding to Christ the King in the ELCA). In all three churches, including the ELCA, red is also worn on the last Sunday of October, in celebration of the Reformation on October 31st, when Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses onto the door of Whittenburg Cathedral.

The United Methodist Church, prior to the early-1990s, used red solely for Pentecost, even including the Sundays after Pentecost Sunday, with the use of green being reserved for the season of Kingdomtide, which usually lasted from late August/early September until Christ the King (the last Sunday in Kingdomtide). Since the publication of the 1992 Book of Worship, the UMC has followed the ELCA practice of wearing red only for Pentecost and Reformation Sundays and green for the rest of the Pentecost season.

The Presbyterian Church (USA) has sanctioned the use of liturgical colours and promoted their use in the 1995 Book of Common Worship. The scheme follows the general usage of the Lutheran and Methodist churches. However, it should be noted that no liturgical aesthetic is either prescribed or proscribed by Reformed theology or the constitution of the Presbyterian Church (USA).

[edit] Orthodoxy

The Orthodox churches do not have a universal system of colours, but only specify "light" or "dark" vestments in the service books. In the Greek tradtion, maroon or burgundy are common for solemn feast days, and a wide variety of colours are used at other times, the most common of which are gold and white.

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:

Previously, black would often be used for funerals, as a sign of penance and mourning, but in the second half of the 20th century white became more common, as a sign of the hope of the Resurrection.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani, no. 346
  2. ^ The optional use of blue as a liturgical color for feasts of our Lady is restricted to a limited number of dioceses, as is explained in the text.
  3. ^ Cantica Nova Puplications, Advent Blues, an editorial by Gary D. Penkala bemoaning the use of blue in the liturgy, December 2000
  • Ordo missae celebrandae et divini officii persolvendi secundum calendarium romanum generale pro anno liturgico 2005-2006, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2005.

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liturgical_colours"
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