Yesterday I went to see an old friend in Middlesex and we had a great time - we had a few Gin & Tonics, Chinese food, beer, and played fancy dress. The above photo is of me wearing my friend's polyester cassock-alb thingy. I later remarked that it was almost as traditional as wearing a lace cotta (he, too, despises lace ornamentation)...
Now this photo depicts the celebrated liturgist and Church historian Adrian Fortescue with his retinue of (mostly adult) Servers. Notice that they're all wearing the traditional Surplice (although some of them are quite short). Fortescue derides Dale for constantly using Italianisms such as predella, cotta, bugia etc. Similarly O'Connell says that if lace is to be used at all it is to be used with the greatest restraint. How many traditional parishes follow their advice I wonder?
Nobody has commented yet... :P
ReplyDeleteAlmost none. Though it seems that some places in Australia are doing the proper thing. (Using albs instead of surplices.)
ReplyDeleteI hate to point that by no means all of Fr Fortescue's servers are wearing 'the traditional Surplice'; the majority of the adults are in fact wearing the French-style, tie-neck, cotta.
ReplyDelete. . . and Joe; servers wearing albs are by no means 'proper' . . . unless you happen to be an Anglican disciple of Dr Dearmer, of course !
I thought O'Connell mentioned somewhere that it was monastic praxis for acolytes to wear albs? When acolytes wear tunicles, as was done in our English Uses, and is still done in some parts of the world like the Philippines they clearly wear albs too.
ReplyDeleteApparelled albs certainly look more attractive IMHO than cottas.
In the Philippines, we had several years of Roman style altar servers. Sacristans usually wore the Roman cassock. Seminarians serving as acolytes choose the normal surplice (without lace) but with some embroidery. Cathedral and parish church acolytes tend to wear more lace. Now, the shift is to more protestant style vestments such as slacks and a modified white dress shirt. God save the Pearl of the Orient!
ReplyDeleteDominic Mary,
ReplyDeleteIndeed I am! (Though I'm now on the other side of the Tiber.)
Julio,
ReplyDeleteI was referring to some photographs that appeared on Rorate Caeli showing tunicled acoyltes in the Philippines - a practice I understand, though becoming rarer, is basicially a Spanish custom that has survived. Tunicled acoyltes (wearing albs) on greater feasts was quite common praxis in the pre-Trent rites.
I am a fan of full English surplices for all. The clergy can have a collar gap to leave room for the preaching bands.
ReplyDelete