How Sewanee expresses the vestments on campus

Having Sewanee hold the title as the only school to be owned by an Episcopal church has a lot of history to carry throughout the years. When Sewanee opened its doors in 1868, many students were Catholics and were aware of the religion and what it meant to attend an Episcopalian university. Soon, women were allowed to attend as full-time students. Now that we are in 2017, the United States has become a very diverse country where people of all religions are welcome to attend Sewanee, but how do we keep the tradition of the Episcopal church on campus when everyone isn’t aware?

Speaking from a personal point a view, I had no idea what an Episcopalian church was, that is until I chose to attend Sewanee. The only reason to how I got to learn about the Episcopalian church was the fact that Sewanee does a great job of keeping the heritage still rooted with the school. Although the opening of the school was a really long time ago, the traditions of the Episcopalian church are still very much present.

How they still keep the heritage and the traditions alive are mainly through All Saint’s Chapel and the vestments they wear. When the Vice-Chancellor had his address, he was wearing the cope, which is a very formal, ceremonial vestment. When I saw the Vice-chancellor wearing such a fancy robe, I was curious to why and what it could mean. Another way Sewanee has been able to express the vestments of the church on campus is through the church’s choir. Members of the choir wear traditional white robes called cassocks.

Services every Sunday, along with choir is a way that Sewanee has been able to express the Episcopalian heritage on campus. Whenever significant events would take place on campus, All Saint’s would host special services. The primary way that Sewanee expresses the Episcopalian culture is through the clothing and textiles. Since it is so different and bold from other types of churches, it can easily be identified just based on the vestments the bishop is wearing.

 

The Vice-Chancellor does not only wear a fancy robe when it is a special occasion but has different types of robes depending on the holiday and seasons. For example, specifically to Sewanee, the Vice Chancellor will wear purple for when it’s lent or white when there is a wedding or a funeral. There are also matching tablecloths that will be set up before the service happens so that the people are aware what holiday or service might be going on.

All Saint’s Chapel is just one significant place that Sewanee has where the clothing and textiles are heavily expressed. When walking around campus, and into buildings like convocation hall; there are paintings of important people that are wearing cassocks or surplice which helps people get a sense of who they were and what they did.

All in all, the vestments of the church have been expressed on campus through various ways. Whether it’s through what the Vice Chancellor is wearing, and his many different robes or maybe through the choir. The vestments of the church can give a more in-depth and better understanding what exactly their role may be. Without it being expressed on Sewanee, the importance of the Episcopalian church it has could have slowly diminished. However, since it is rooted in the school, each year when incoming students come they are educated on what exactly the Episcopalian church is, and the understanding is made more accessible through the clothing of the church.

Vestments

• Purple or blue – Advent
• Purple – Lent
• White – Christmas and Easter, Major Feast Days, Weddings and funerals
• Green – the Seasons after the Epiphany and after Pentecost
• Red – the Day of Pentecost, saint’s days, confirmations, ordinations

There are several vestments in the church in accordance with the role individuals play in the church. The highly ranked people have their particular garments as well as those without ranks. These ranks are obtained through the process called Ordination. It is through ordination that we get Episcopal polity, which is the hierarchy of power in the church.  All the vestments in the church go with a specific identity of the people using them.

 

The following are the common Church vestments for different stratas.

1. Laity

Though they are not ordained, members of the laity, known as lay people, serve the church in various members. According to Romulus Stefnut, the librarian for the school of theology, members of laity may teach groups of youth, read sculptures, or be the altar servants like the altar boys. They can also be in choir and do other activities like church volunteering.  It is through that service that lay people can put on their liturgical vestments, which are Albs–also known as the cassock, and they can add a surplice which is a fabric that goes above the alb. An alb has a long and interesting history because it is originally from the first century introduced by Romans, and it was first used as an undergarment (Corston, 2016). The alb is not a garment for laypersons only because priests other ordained people wear at as the base before adding on other special clothing.

    

A surplice above an alb the University Choir in albs and surplices.

1. Deacons

Unlike laypersons, deacons are ordained and are aspiring to be priests (The Episcopal Church). As their identity is different from other church members, deacons have their own dressing style even if they wear almost the same vestments as the rest of the church. Deacons put on a cassock (or alb) and a stole but the stole has to be laid on the left shoulder and tied under the right arm.

Two deacons in their liturgical vestments.

III. Priests

The priesthood is the next rank in the church after deaconhood. Priests have more liturgical duties than deacons. They offer sacraments and lead parishes. Their garments are not different from those of deacons, but they wear them differently and add more ceremonial garments. Priests wear cassock–alb, surplice, depending on the time and situation, and a stole. However, unlike deacons, stoles of priests pass across all shoulders and their ends hang down on the left and right side. While celebrating the Eucharist, the priest adds a chasuble. Like an alb, chasuble is rooted in Romans. According to the Episcopal church website, chasuble “Derived from the ‘Casula’ of ancient Rome which was an outer traveling garment, similar to a poncho” (Corston, 2016). Does it happen that priests can celebrate Eucharist without a chasuble? St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church Mentions that “chasubles are optional on “green Sundays” during the months of June through September” (2017).

This picture (two priests from the left and a deacon on the right) was taken while celebrating 40 years for women priesthood in the Episcopal church. http://rapidcityjournal.com/lifestyles/faith-and-values/celebrating-years-of-episcopal-women-priests/article_63a3b946-e4c4-5a9a-a7ae-fdf8a4683f37.html

Apart from the bishop (the second from the left) others are priests out of the Chasuble. https://www.google.com/search?q=episcopal+priest&rlz=1C1GCEB_enUS765US765&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjBv5nQuPvWAhVIOCYKHXY1DugQ_AUICigB&biw=1920&bih=974#imgrc=KR3LyRUWaYifSM:

1. Bishops

In Episcopal polity, bishop comes at the top. Bishops govern regions, known as dioceses, that are composed of several parishes. Bishops are the ones who ordain priests and deacons. With their enormous power, bishops have some similar vestments with priests and deacons, but they have extra vestments that are designed for them.

The first one is the mitre. A miter is a hat or a headdress designed for bishops. They wear it while celebrating Eucharist. Like other vestments, Mitre also originated from the Romans.

The picture retrieved from http://www.aquinasandmore.com/catholic-gifts/damascene-bishops-mitre/sku/9121

Other vestments for the bishops are Rochet and Chimere. Rochette is nearly like an alb but it has long sleeves that are more tight on the wrists. A rochet is worn over a cassock.

 

Bishop-General Leonidas Polk in the above picture is in the rochet (the white robe with long sleeves: photo retrieved from the Sewanee Purple 2016. https://thesewaneepurple.org/2016/03/22/sewanee-polk-and-the-old-south/

 

Like rochet, chimere is another special garment for bishops. Interestingly, Corston says that “the Chimere, is the evolution of the medieval riding cloak”. He also adds that both rochet and chimera are ceremonial garments for the Anglican bishops including Episcopal too.

Chancellor of the University of the South, on the right side, has a Rochet and a Chimere on. Photo retrieved from https://www.iesabroad.org/study-abroad/news/sewanee-university-south-honors-dr-mary-m-dwyer-honorary-doctor-civil-law-degree#sthash.Y6tyEsIg.dpbs

Vestments for special occasions

 

As shown in the history section of this blog, the Episcopal Church began in 1585. It has been around for awhile. Undoubtedly, there might be some changes in the vestments of the church over the history. Though it may seem surprising, there has not been a lot of changes in the fashion of the church. Only the quality of the garments has changed. In a conversation and a tour with Kasey Taylor, the office coordinator in the All Saints Chapel, we found out that the old garments were thin, light and cheap while the new ones are thick, heavy, and expensive. We also found out that the materials in which the vestments are made in are different though we could not tell what kind of materials they are.

On the left, that is the old chasuble (light, thin, and more transparent). On the right side, that is the current chasuble that is thick, heavy, and not transparent. Photo was taken from the All Saints Sacristie room.

Pictured above is a clergy wearing a tippet which is a large black scarf and is usually worn at funerals.

The cope is a large cape worn by bishops, deans and can be worn by all ranks of clergy when appropriate. Copes are very formal and are worn for Holy Communions. There is no connection with the cope, only that if the Bishop is wearing it then the clergy can too. However, if the bishop is not wearing it, then the clergy cannot.

Clericals:

Clericals are other clothes that clergies wear in streets or while doing other daily routines. The most common clericals are the tab collar shirts and neckband shirts. Clericals carry clergy identity off the church to the secular world. With a tab collar or a neckband shirt, a clergy can be identified from the rest of the people around him.

A neckband shirt for clergies.

Gender and the vestments in the Church

It is worth noticing that in 1963 the Episcopal Church made a tremendous improvement by allowing women to be ordained. While this change happened in the church, the vestments did not church. All laypeople, deacons, priests, and bishops wear the same liturgical garments.

Both men and women bishops in the same vestments. The Episcopal Church: Holy Trinity Fayetteville.

The bishop would wear different colors based on the season:

• Purple or blue – Advent
• Purple – Lent
• White – Christmas and Easter, Major Feast Days, Weddings and funerals
• Green – the Seasons after the Epiphany and after Pentecost
• Red – the Day of Pentecost, saint’s days, confirmations, ordinations

History of the Church

Located at the center of Sewanee’s beautiful campus lies the Episcopal Church is also known as All Saint’s Chapel. All the components within the church have to mean. Such as the images in the windows. The focus for this entry will be the history of the Episcopal church overall and the history that is specific to Sewanee.

First off, what does Episcopal mean? Episcopal is the Greek term for “bishop.” A bishop is the primary ruler of the organization. Above priests, deacons, and other members of the church. What’s unique about the Episcopal church is the clothing and textiles that these members wear. From Cassocks to surplices, there are various types of clothing that the bishop wears when doing services.

The Episcopal church originated in England and came to the United States through settlers. In America, the Episcopal church’s history goes back to 1607. During the first English settlement in Jamestown, Virginia. From there on, the Episcopal church grew.

Sewanee was founded in 1857 by clergy and lay delegates from Episcopal dioceses throughout the south. The University officially opened in 1868 with the help of benefactors in America and England who supported the idea of an Episcopalian church in the south. Sewanee is the only university that the  Episcopalian church owns in the United States.