Choir dress is the dress of a Priest or Religious that they wear for all liturgies. This excludes the main celebrant, con-celebrants and Deacons. They wear what is called Eucharistic Vestments.
The term choir dress comes from the fact that the dress is worn for the Divine office (which is sung). Priest and Religious recently have generally abandoned choir dress and dress in lay or Eucharistic Vestments for the liturgies of the church. This is a bad practice. It blurs the line between clergy and the people and that of the Mass and other Liturgies(which also seem to have disappeared).
Now to reinforce my definition I will show you a few photos of choir dress.
To the right is Fr Columba, he is in his choir dress. The Pauline Choir dress for professed is the Habit and a white mantle (the cape).
Here is Br Dominic and Br Martin, they are professed O.A.T.H.. They are in their choir copes. Their choir dress consists of a cassock and choir cope.
Here we can clearly notice the priest in Choir (choir means be present at mass and not assisting or celebrating). The Priest here that is in front of the 3 sacred ministers and wearing the biretta (the hat). This appears to be a diocesan. The choir dress of a diocesan priest is the cassock, surplice and biretta.
Now to top this post off, we have a bishop in choir dress. Here is Archbishop Phillip Wilson the Archbishop of Adelaide. He is also the president of the episcopal conference of Australia. He is receiving the first blessing of a FSSP priest that he ordained. Now he is wearing the proper choir dress of a bishop, that consisting of a purple cassock, a band cincture, a rochet, a mozzetta and a purple biretta. Many bishop would do well to follow his example.
4 comments:
Where did you get that photo? I was there and is just out of the picture.
The new priest is Fr. Michael McCaffrey FSSP who had just celebrated his first mass.
The photo came from the FSSP main website, it's from the link to the first masses. Just out?, That usually happens to me.
Yes Fr. Michael McCaffrey FSSP , He had his first Missa Cantata up here, Great priest, but he still was very nervous. Also his biretta's tuff, is well dead.
Excuse me, what congregation is " O.A.T.H " ?
Thanks so much for this post. I have a real hard time figuring out what is really meant by choir dress, because, as you quite rightly say, most priests and religious just wear either con/celebrant vestments or their street clothes, or, God forbid, habit and stole or some other mixture.
The reason I need to know is that I am MC at a lot of liturgies for my community. I don't feel right vesting as if I were concelebrating when I am running around like an acolyte half of the time. So choir dress, is, I think, appropriate. For me, as far as I can tell, that means habit and surplice.
Thanks again.
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