Some comments on Vestments

"It is appropriate that the presiding minister wear a white vestment, an alb or surplice, and a stole  in the color of the day or season. He may wear a chasuble over the alb and stole at the Holy Communion." 1

Lutherans pastors have been wearing vestments since the very beginning of the Reformation, hearkening back to the earlier Roman Catholic practice. Consider the following quote from the Apology (Defense) of the Augsburg Confession:

At the outset we [Lutherans] must again make the preliminary statement that we do not abolish the Mass, but religiously maintain and defend it. For among us masses are celebrated every Lord's Day and on the other festivals, in which the Sacrament is offered to those who wish to use it, after they have been examined and absolved. And the usual public ceremonies are observed, the series of lessons, of prayers, vestments, and other like things. 2

OK, Pastor. I get it; vestments are nothing new. But what exactly are they? And why do we use them?

The word "vestments" comes the Latin 'vestimentum,' meaning "garment." In the Lutheran Church, vestments are worn by the pastor and other liturgical assistants such as assisting ministers, acolytes, and the like. Among their many purposes is the fact that they identify the person vested as a servant of the church and cover any individuality of clothing style which may be a distraction in the service of God's Word.

At the congregation where I service, acolytes wear a simple surplice without cassock for all services. The pastor wears cassock and surplice for non-communion services since "the cassock and surplice are the standard vestments for non-eucharistic services."3 For all communion services (which at Hope is every Sunday and all other major Church festivals), the pastor wears the alb and stole since these "are the primary eucharistic vestments of the Church of the Augsburg Confession."4


Glossary:

Alb:  from the Latin "alba tunica" (white garment) – This is the basic garment that may be worn by the pastor and any other assistants (deacons, acolytes, crucifers, etc.) serving with liturgical duties in the Divine Service or other orders (Matins, Vespers, etc.). This vestment covers the person and is white as a reminder of the righteousness of Christ and His forgiveness that covers our sin.  It provides a white background for clergy with a stole over the alb.

Stole – a scarf-like cloth in the color of the seasons of the Church Year often adorned with appropriately seasonal Christian symbols. Since the stole is usually placed on pastors for the first time in the rite of ordination, signaling that the wearer is an ordained pastor, the stole should not be worn by those who are not ordained (laity, vicars, acolytes, confirmands, etc.)

Cassock – a close-fitting, full-length black garment which was originally the street wear of clergy and academics in the Middle Ages. Its stark black color symbolizes the solemnity and humility of sinful man. The cassock was the fore-runner of the modern clergy shirt and white collar – the everyday uniform of pastors. Technically speaking, it is not a vestment but simply a daily clergy uniform over which vestments are worn. The blackness of the garment indicates death and sin, while the white collar indicates the holiness of the God's Word which is spoken.

Surplice – This white garment is simply a more flowing and looser form of the alb that is traditionally worn over the black cassock. It has the same symbolism as the alb. In the Lutheran tradition, the surplice is used for non-Communion services such as Matins and Vespers, for weddings and funerals, or sometimes for lay assistants in the liturgy (deacons, acolytes, choirs, etc.). Historically, it was first developed as a looser fitting version of the alb so as to allow a heavy fur coat to be worn underneath it in colder climates in Europe in times when there was no heating system invented yet.

1. Commission on Worship of The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, "Lutheran Worship: Altar Book," St Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1982, p.26 .
2. Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Article XXIV.1 (from Concordia: the Lutheran Confessions, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1995, p 246).
3. Pless, John T., "Lutheran Worship: History and Practice," Fred Precht- editor, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1993, p.223.
4. Ibid.