Liturgical Colours
Liturgical Colours are the colors assigned by approved liturgical law and custom to sacred vestments and, secondarily, to other appointments in order to express the character of a celebration, season, or mystery.
Overview
Liturgical colours are specific colours used for vestments and hangings within the context of Christian liturgy. The symbolism of violet, blue, 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.
There is a distinction between the colour of the vestments worn by the clergy and their choir dress, which with a few exceptions does not change with the seasons of the liturgical year.
Roman Rite system
In the ordinary Roman Rite discipline, white is used in the Christmas and Easter seasons and for celebrations of the Lord other than his Passion, the Blessed Virgin Mary, angels, and saints who were not martyrs. Red marks the Lord's Passion, Pentecost, apostles, evangelists, and martyrs. Green belongs to Ordinary Time. Violet or purple belongs principally to Advent and Lent and may be used for the dead. The General Instruction also permits rose where customary on Gaudete and Laetare Sundays and makes provision for black or festive vestments according to law and conference adaptations.[1]
Color follows the liturgical celebration actually observed. It does not independently determine precedence, create a feast, or express the celebrant's mood. A memorial impeded by a higher day does not lend its color to the principal celebration. Ritual, votive, funeral, and Masses for Various Needs follow their proper rubrics. When legitimate options exist, pastoral judgment operates within them rather than inventing a symbolic palette.
White, red, green, and violet
These four colors carry stable but not mathematically exhaustive associations: white with light, joy, and glory; red with fire, blood, and the Holy Spirit; green with the ordered course of Christian life; violet with expectation, penance, and preparation. The meaning comes from the Church's received use. It should not be reduced to secular color psychology or used to attach novel messages to every shade and fabric.[2]
Rose, black, and festive vestments
Rose is optional, not mandatory, where it is customary on two specified Sundays. Black has a legitimate though locally regulated place in liturgies for the dead; it does not deny Christian hope. More precious festive vestments can be used on solemn occasions even when they do not match the ordinary color narrowly. Gold and silver customs depend on approved local provisions and should not erase the theological logic of the calendar.
Rites and local disciplines
The Roman color system is not universal in identical form. Eastern Catholic Liturgical Traditions possess their own received usage, often distinguishing bright and dark vestments without mapping every day to the Latin palette. Ambrosian, Mozarabic, religious-order, national, and historical uses can also differ. A Roman parish should not claim that its scheme is a dogma; an Eastern parish should not be measured by Latin rubrics.
Within the Roman Rite, an episcopal conference may establish adaptations that require confirmation, and a particular liturgical calendar can affect the celebration whose color is used. Parish decoration may echo the season, but altar cloth, flowers, banners, and lighting do not all have the same legal status as vestments. Their arrangement must preserve noble simplicity and the primacy of altar, ambo, chair, and sacred images.
Use and interpretation
Liturgical Colours teach chiefly by repeated corporate use. They help a congregation perceive the movement of the Liturgical Year before a word is spoken. The sign is weakened by careless mismatch, theatrical costume changes, or partisan claims that one option proves greater orthodoxy. Worn faithfully, color serves the rite without becoming its subject.
Historical charts should identify the missal, place, and period described. Medieval and early modern practice was less uniform than modern summaries suggest, and antiquarian evidence does not automatically govern current worship. The approved books in force determine the discipline of a celebration; historical research explains development and legitimate diversity without turning either novelty or age into a sufficient rule.[3]
Roman Catholic Church
Historical information
The rules on liturgical colours before the time of Pope Pius X were essentially those indicated in the edition of the Roman Missal that Pope Pius V had promulgated in 1570, except for the addition of feasts not included in his Missal. The scheme of colours in his Missal reflected usage that had become fixed in Rome by the twelfth century.
Pius X raised the rank of the Sundays after Epiphany and Pentecost, so that on those that fell within common octaves, green was used instead of the colour of the octave, as had previously been the rule;[4] on Sundays after Pentecost that fell within privileged octaves (i.e., the octaves of Corpus Christi and of the Sacred Heart), the liturgical colour of the feast was retained.
In its Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, the Second Vatican Council referred only once to liturgical colours, stating that for funeral services, "the circumstances and traditions found in various regions" should be honoured.[5]
Roman Rite
In the Roman Rite, the following colours are used, in accordance with the rubrics of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM), Section 346.[6] Bishop Conferences have approved local variations of the GIRM, and thus region deviations from the table below exist. For example, white is permitted to be used for funerals, Requiem Masses, and Offices for the Dead in the dioceses of America.[6] The table shows what colours are used in the Bishops Conference of England and Wales:[6]
On solemnities, more precious vestments may be used, even if not exactly of the colour of the day. Such vestments may, for instance, be made from cloth of gold, silver, yellow, or golden brown. Moreover, the Conference of Bishops may determine and propose to the Holy See adaptations suited to the needs and culture of peoples.[9]
There is no obligatory colour to be used for funerals, Requiem Masses, and Offices for the Dead, with either violet or, where it is the practice, black used.[7]
Ritual Masses are celebrated in their proper colour or in white or in another festive colour. Masses for Various Needs, on the other hand, are celebrated in the colour proper to the day or the season or in violet if they bear a penitential character. Votive Masses are celebrated in the colour suited to the Mass itself or even in the colour proper to the day or the season.[9]
Regional and situational exceptions
Some particular variations:
- Blue, a colour associated with the Virgin Mary. While blue vestments are common in some Eastern churches, in the Latin rite, blue as a vestment colour may only be used pursuant to a special privilege granted.[10] The permission, sometimes called "Cerulean Privilege", or "Cerulean Indult" is of two kinds: one pertains to particular Marian shrines and specifies when blue vestments may be worn. The other type of permission is that accorded to various countries. In Spain, an apostolic indult was granted for the feast of the Immaculate Conception and its octave as well as for votive Masses and Saturdays, when the Office for the Immaculate Conception is prayed[11] and on Marian feasts where there is a related custom. The privilege has been granted to Spain, to certain of its colonies, and former colonies in Latin America by a decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites on 12 February 1864.[10] It also extends to the Philippines, Guam, and the Mariana Islands, which were still under Spanish rule at that time.[12] The use of blue is also observed in Portugal during certain Marian feasts,[13] although no special indult has been granted. There have also been uses of blue in place of violet for the season of Advent despite the fact that this practice is not authorized under liturgical rubrics.[14][10]
- Gold or silver may be worn on more solemn occasions in the dioceses of the United States.[15]
Permitted use of the 1960 Code of Rubrics
Observance of the rules on liturgical colours contained in the 1960 Code of Rubrics is still permitted in the circumstances indicated in the 2007 document Summorum Pontificum on use of the 1962 Roman Missal, which incorporates them.[16] These rules differ from the current rubrics in the following respects:
| Colour | 1920–1955 usage | 1956–1960 usage | 1961–1969 usage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violet | Ember days Rogation days Vigil of St. Andrew Vigil of St. Thomas Vigil of Christmas Holy Innocents (when this falls on a weekday) Purification (Blessing of Candles and Procession) Vigil of St. Matthias (in leap years only) Septuagesima, Sexagesima, and Quinquagesima Palm Sunday (Blessing of Palms, Procession, Mass) Holy Saturday (pre-Mass blessings and rites) Vigil of Pentecost (pre-Mass blessings and rites) Vigil of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist Vigil of St. James Vigil of the Assumption Vigil of Sts. Simon and Jude Vigil of All Saints All Souls (during the Forty Hours' Devotion only) Sacrament of Baptism (Introductory rites and Exorcism) |
Ember days Rogation days Vigil of Christmas Holy Innocents (when this falls on a weekday) Purification (Blessing of Candles and Procession) Septuagesima, Sexagesima, and Quinquagesima Palm Sunday (Mass only) Good Friday (Distribution of Holy Communion only) Easter Vigil (pre-Mass blessings and rites) Vigil of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist Vigil of the Assumption All Souls (during the Forty Hours' Devotion only) Sacrament of Baptism (Introductory rites and Exorcism) |
Ember days Rogation days Vigil of Christmas Septuagesima, Sexagesima, and Quinquagesima Palm Sunday (Mass only) Good Friday (Distribution of Holy Communion only) Easter Vigil (pre-Mass blessings and rites) Vigil of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist Vigil of Sts. Peter and Paul Vigil of St. Lawrence Vigil of the Assumption All Souls (during the Forty Hours' Devotion only) Sacrament of Baptism (Introductory rites and Exorcism) |
| Rose | Gaudete Sunday Laetare Sunday |
Gaudete Sunday Laetare Sunday |
Gaudete Sunday Laetare Sunday |
| White | Octave of the Immaculate Conception Octave of St. John Vigil of the Epiphany Octave of the Epiphany Octave of the Solemnity of St. Joseph Vigil of the Ascension Octave of the Ascension Octave of Corpus Christi Octave of the Sacred Heart Octave of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist Octave of the Assumption Octave of All Saints Sacrament of Confirmation |
Vigil of the Ascension Sacrament of Confirmation |
Vigil of the Ascension Sacrament of Confirmation |
| Red | Octave of St. Stephen Octave of the Holy Innocents Octave of Pentecost Octave of Sts. Peter and Paul |
Palm Sunday (Blessing of Palms and Procession) Octave of Pentecost |
Palm Sunday (Blessing of Palms and Procession) Octave of Pentecost |
| Black | Good Friday All Souls (except during the Forty Hours' Devotion) Requiem Masses |
Good Friday (main liturgy) All Souls (except during the Forty Hours' Devotion) Requiem Masses |
Good Friday (main liturgy) All Souls (except during the Forty Hours' Devotion) Requiem Masses |
Byzantine Rite
The Byzantine Rite, which is used by all the member churches of the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Byzantine Lutheran Churches and the Eastern Catholic Churches of Byzantine Rite, does not have a universal system of colours, with the service-books of the Byzantine tradition only specifying "light" or "dark" vestments. In the Greek tradition, 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.[17]
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:
| Colour | Common usage | Other usage |
|---|---|---|
| Gold | When no other colour is specified | |
| Light blue | Feasts of the Theotokos Feasts of the Holy Archangels |
Churches dedicated to the Theotokos may use light blue for the default, instead of gold. In some places, blue is also used for Holy Theophany. In many places, blue is used for the Dormition Fast (except from the Transfiguration to its afterfeast (August 6–13), when either gold or white is used). |
| Purple or wine-red | Saturdays and Sundays during Great Lent (Slavic Churches) | In many places, purple or dark red are only worn on the weekdays of the Great Fast, while bright colours (gold, gold/white) are used on Saturdays and Sundays. |
| Red | Holy Thursday Feast of the Cross Beheading of St. John the Baptist Feasts of Martyrs Nativity Fast Apostles' Fast |
Pascha (Mount Athos and Jerusalem) Nativity (Mount Athos and Jerusalem) Feasts of the Holy Theotokos (Mount Athos) In some places, red is used for the Dormition Fast (except from the Transfiguration to its afterfeast (August 6–13), when either gold or white is used). |
| Green | Palm Sunday Pentecost Feasts of Venerable (Monastic) Saints |
Feast of the Cross in some places (such as Jerusalem) |
| Black | Weekdays during Great Lent Weekdays during Holy Week (except Holy Thursday) |
Black is far more prevalent in the Slavic traditions than the Greek tradition, especially in the United States. |
| White | Pascha Nativity Theophany Other Great Feasts of the Lord |
Funerals (Throughout the year, even during Holy Week.) |
The colours would be changed before Vespers on the eve of the day being commemorated. During Great Feasts, the colour is changed before the vespers service that begins the first day of a forefeast, and remains until the apodosis (final day of the afterfeast).
Under Western influence, black is often used in the Slavic churches for funerals, weekdays of Great Lent, and Holy Week as a sign of penance and mourning, but in the second half of the 20th century, the ancient white became more common, as a sign of the hope of the Resurrection.
Russian liturgical colours
In the tradition of the Russian Orthodox Church, up to nine different liturgical colours may be used throughout the year.[18] Exact use of these colours varies, but the following are the most common uses:[17]
| Colour | Common use | Uncommon or other use |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow (желтый, zheltiy) |
Feasts of the Lord Jesus Christ Feasts of Prophets Feasts of Apostles Feasts of Holy Hierarchs When no other colour is specified |
|
| Light blue (голубой, goluboi) |
Feasts of the Theotokos Presentation of the Lord Feast of the Annunciation Feasts of Bodiless Powers Feasts of Virgins |
Fifth Friday in Lent Dormition Fast until Elevation of the Cross, or even Advent (Carpatho-Russians) |
| Purple or Dark Red (фиолетовый, fioletoviy; темно-красный, temno-krasniy) |
Cross of Our Lord Great and Holy Thursday Weekends of Lent |
|
| Dark Blue, Indigo, Navy (синий, siniy; темно-синий, temno-siniy) |
Weekends of Lent | |
| Red (красный, krasniy) |
Feasts of Martyrs Feast of Saints Peter and Paul Advent Feasts of Angels Elevation of the Cross |
Pascha (Mount Athos and Jerusalem) Nativity (Mount Athos and Jerusalem) |
| Green (зеленый, zelyeniy) |
Palm Sunday Pentecost Holy Spirit Day Feasts of Monastic Saints Feasts of Ascetics Feasts of Fools for Christ Feasts of Prophets Feasts of Angels |
Pentecost until Saints Peter and Paul (Carpatho-Russians) |
| Black (черный, cherniy) |
Weekdays of Lent | Weekday funerals, memorials, and liturgies (Carpatho-Russians) |
| White (белый, beliy) |
Theophany Transfiguration Paschal season Funerals |
Theophany Christmas Day |
| Orange (оранжевый, oranzheviy) |
Saints Peter and Paul fast Feast of Saints Peter and Paul until Transfiguration |
Coptic Rite
The Coptic tradition, followed by the Coptic Orthodox Church and the Coptic Catholic Church, only uses white vestments, with gold and silver being considered variations of white.[17] The only exception is during Passion Week when black is used. Nonetheless, trimmings of red, gold or blue may be found on some vestments.
Ethiopian Rite
The liturgical tradition of Ethiopia, followed by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and the Ethiopian Catholic Church, embraces a wide variety of liturgical colours. In Eritrea, similar traditions are followed.[19]
Lutheran Churches
The United Lutheran Church in America (ULCA), a predecessor of The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), prescribed the following colour scheme for its paraments in the Common Service Book (CSB) of 1917:
White from and with Vespers of the Eve of the Nativity through the Epiphany season (except the Day of St. Stephen, Martyr), from Easter Day to the Vespers of the Saturday before Whitsunday, on the Festival of the Transfiguration, on the Presentation of our Lord, on the Festival of the Holy Trinity and its Octave, on the Days of the Annunciation and the Visitation, and on the Day of St. Michael and All Angels.
Red from and with Vespers on the Saturday before Whitsunday to the Vespers of the Saturday before the Festival of the Holy Trinity, on the Festival of the Reformation and the Sunday after, on the Apostles' Days and on all Evangelists' Days (excepting St. John, Apostle, Evangelist), on Martyrs' Days, on All Saints' Day, for the Dedication of a Church, for all Church Anniversaries, for the Harvest Festival, and on Thanksgiving Day.
Green from and with Vespers of the Saturday before Septuagesima to Vespers of the day before Ash Wednesday, beginning with the second Sunday after the Festival of the Holy Trinity and throughout the Trinity Season to Vespers of the Saturday before Advent Sunday (except on such Festivals and Days for which there is a special appointment).
Violet from and with Vespers of the Saturday before Advent to Vespers of the Eve of the Nativity, from and with Vespers of the day before Ash Wednesday and throughout Lent (excepting Good Friday) to Vespers of the Eve of Easter.
Black for Good Friday and any Day of Humiliation called for by ecclesiastical authority.[20]
This differs from the Roman and Anglican Uses in that it has white prescribed for the Epiphany Season, green for the period from Septuagesima until Lent, violet for Maundy Thursday, red for All Saints' Day, red for the Dedication of a Church and its annual anniversary, and red also for the Harvest Festival and Thanksgiving Day. One can presume that this is similar to the colour scheme historically used in the Protestant Church in Germany due to the heavy German influence in the ULCA.
| Colour | Common usage | Other usage |
|---|---|---|
| White | Easter Sunday Epiphanytide Feast of the Transfiguration Feast of the Holy Trinity Feast of the Annunciation Feasts of Angels |
Maundy Thursday |
| Red | Vespers before Pentecost Feasts of martyrs Anniversaries |
Reformation Day |
| Scarlet | Palm Sunday Holy Monday Holy Tuesday Holy Wednesday Maundy Thursday |
|
| Green | Pre-lenten season Trinity season |
When no other colour is specified |
| Violet | Advent Sundays of Lent |
Holy Monday Holy Tuesday Holy Wednesday |
| Black | Good Friday | Ash Wednesday Days of humiliation |
| Gold | Vigils before Easter | Easter (in some places) |
| Blue | Advent |
The ELCA presently uses a similar colour scheme as that of their Scandinavian Lutheran counterparts, with the use of gold only for the Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday services and Holy Week using scarlet rather than crimson. Blue is used for Advent. White is used for Christmas, Epiphany, Sundays of Easter, Holy Trinity, and Christ the King. For Lent, purple is used. During the time after Pentecost and the Epiphany, green is used.[21]
Both the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS) and the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) 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 Catholic Church). In the WELS, the use of red is also done during the Period of End Times, a period of the Church regarding 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 31, when Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses onto the door of Wittenberg Castle Church.
Anglicanism
Most Anglican churches use the colours appointed in the Lutheran Churches and those of the Roman Rite, usually in its post-1969 form, with the exception of Sarum Blue replacing violet for Advent, but some use the earlier form, with, for instance, black in place of red on Good Friday.[22] Some churches use black at Masses for the dead, but more commonly white or purple is used. For historical reasons much of the worldwide Anglican Communion takes a noticeable lead from the practice of the Church of England. Since the 1980 Alternative Service Book, liturgical colours have been recommended for seasons, with more detailed advice offered as part of the Common Worship series of liturgies, including colours for all Sundays and festivals printed in the 'core volume' next to collects.
The Church's published Lectionary now makes detailed suggestions for liturgical colour throughout the year, which corresponds almost exactly with the above table of Roman Rite (post-1969 usage) usage with five minor exceptions, and one more significant one:
- there is no reference in Anglican usage to Masses of deceased popes and cardinals; no liturgical colour at all is suggested for Holy Saturday (the words "hangings removed" are printed); the recommendation of red for confirmation rites is extended also to ordination rites; Lenten Array (unbleached linen) continues to be listed as an alternative option to purple during Lent; the option exists for using red instead of green during the "Kingdom Season", the four last Sundays of the liturgical year, culminating in Christ the King, as is common is some Lutheran traditions (see above); finally, and more significantly, the Church of England provision suggests white throughout the Sundays after Epiphany as a distinct "Epiphany season", with ordinary time commencing the day after Candlemas.
The colour scheme suggested by the Church of England also indicates where gold vestments should be used in those churches that possess gold and white as distinct colours. The use of rose-pink vestments, as in the Roman Rite table above, was mentioned as an option in early editions of Common Worship,[23] and is a listed option in the annual published lectionary; however, later Common Worship publications have begun to refer to this practice as "traditional" reflecting its resurgence.[24]
Sarum Rite
The Sarum Rite was a medieval liturgical rite used in England before the Reformation which had a distinct set of liturgical colours. After the Anglo-Catholic Revival of the 19th century, certain Church of England churches began adopting Sarum liturgical colours as an attempt to produce something that was an English expression of Catholicism rather than a Roman expression. One of the chief advocates behind this was Percy Dearmer. The exact colours used by the mediaeval Sarum rite are a matter of dispute, but colours adopted by contemporary churches claiming to use the Sarum scheme include in particular deep blue for Advent, which may be popularly referred to as "Sarum blue", and unbleached linen for Lent.
Methodist churches
Methodists who use liturgical colours follow a colour scheme similar to those used by Anglicans and Roman Catholics. 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, Holy Week and Reformation Sunday and green for the rest of the Pentecost season.[25]
Reformed churches
The Presbyterian Church (USA), or its predecessor denominations, has sanctioned the use of liturgical colours and promoted their use in The Worshipbook of 1970, the 1993 Book of Common Worship and the 2018 Book of Common Worship. Advent and Lent are periods of preparation and repentance and are represented by the colour purple. Blue can be used for Advent instead of purple. The feasts of Christmas Day and Christmastide, Epiphany Sunday, Baptism of the Lord Sunday, Transfiguration Sunday, Easter Season, Trinity Sunday, and Christ the King Sunday are represented by white. Green is the colour for periods of Ordinary Time. Red is for Pentecost Sunday, but may also be used for ordinations, church anniversaries, and memorial services for ordained clergy. Red or purple are appropriate for Palm Sunday. During Holy Week, purple is used until the church is stripped bare on Maundy Thursday; the church remains stripped bare on Good Friday and Holy Saturday, though in some places black might be used on those days.
Similarly, the United Church of Christ includes indications of which liturgical colour to use for each Sunday in its annual calendar. The general Western pattern is followed, with either purple or blue recommended for Advent.[26]
From the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia
By a law of her liturgy the Church directs that the vestments worn by her sacred ministers, and the drapery used in the decoration of the altar should correspond in colour to that which is prescribed for the Office of the day. The colours thus sanctioned by the Church in connection with her public worship are called the Liturgical Colours. Here it will be enough to examine (1) their number; (2) the drapery and vestments affected by them; (3) their obligation; (4) their antiquity, and (5) their symbolism.
I. Number
In the Roman Rite, since Pius V, colours are five in number, viz.: white, red, green, violet, and black. Rose colour is employed only on Lætare and Gaudete Sundays. Blue is prescribed in some dioceses of Spain for the Mass of the Immaculate Conception.
White is the colour proper to Trinity Sunday, the feasts of Our Lord, except those of His Passion, the feasts of the Blessed Virgin, angels, confessors, virgins and women, who are not martyrs, the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, the chief feast of St. John the Evangelist, the feast of the Chains and of the Chair of St. Peter, the Conversion of St. Paul, All Saints, to consecration of churches and altars, the anniversaries of the election and coronation of the pope and of the election and consecration of bishops; also for the octaves of these feasts and the Offices de tempore from Holy Saturday to the vigil of Pentecost; it is used for votive Masses when the feasts have white, and for the nuptial Mass; also in services in connection with the Blessed Sacrament, at the burial of children, in the administration of baptism, Holy Viaticum, and matrimony.
Red is used the week of Pentecost, on the feasts of Christ's Passion and His Precious Blood, the Finding and Elevation of the Cross, the feasts of Apostles and martyrs; and in votive Masses of these feasts. It is used on Holy Innocents if the feast occur on Sunday and always on its octave.
Green is employed in Offices de tempore from the octave of the Epiphany to Septuagesima, and from the octave of Pentecost to Advent, except on ember-days and vigils during that time, and on Sundays occurring within an octave.
Violet is used during Advent and from Septuagesima to Easter, on vigils that are fast days, and on ember-days, except the vigil of Pentecost and the ember-days during the octave of Pentecost. Violet is also used for Mass on rogation-days, for votive Masses of the Passion and of penitential character, at the blessing of candles and of holy water. The stole used in the administration of penance and of extreme unction and in the first part of the baptismal ceremonies must be violet.
Black is used in offices for the dead, and on Good Friday.
II. Affected Vestments
The drapery and vestments affected by the law of liturgical colours are (a) the antependium of the altar, and as a matter of appropriateness, the tabernacle veil; (b) the burse and chalice veil; (c) maniple, stole, chasuble, cope, and humeral veil; (d) maniple, stole, tunic, and dalmatic of the sacred ministers, and also the broad stole and folded chasuble when employed. All these must correspond with the rules prescribing the use of each colour. The rubrical prescriptions regard the main or constitutive portion of each vestment, so that the borders or other ornamental accessories do not determine the quality of colour. Neither does the lining, but the Roman practice is to have it in harmony with the vestment itself, yellow however being generally adopted instead of pure white.
III. Obligation
The obligation of using any particular colour begins with the First Vespers of the Office of which it is characteristic, or with the Matins if the Office has no First Vespers, and ceases as soon as the following Office begins. Vestments made of pure cloth of gold may be employed for red, white, and green colours (Decret. Authent., nn. 3145, 3646, ed. 1900); cloth of silver may be used instead of white. Multicoloured vestments cannot be used except for the predominant colour.
IV. Antiquity
Benedict XIV (De Sacro Sacrificio Missæ I, VIII, n. 16) says that up to the fourth century white was the only liturgical colour in use. Other colours were introduced soon afterwards. Innocent III (d. 1216) is among the first to emphasize a distinction. He mentions four principal colours, white, red, green, black (De Sac. Alt. Mys., I, lxv) as of general use, and one, viz. violet, as occasionally employed. This latter was regularly used from the thirteenth century. An "Ordo Romanus" of the fourteenth century enumerates five. Between the twelfth and sixteenth centuries blue and yellow were common but they may not be used without very special authorization (Cong. of Rites, Sept., 1837).
V. Symbolism
Outside of Rome uniformity of observance was effected in the second quarter of the nineteenth century by the abrogation of other uses. In the Western Church only the Ambrosian Rite (q.v.) retains its peculiar colours. Most of the Oriental rites have no prescribed liturgical colours. The Greek Rite (q.v.) alone has a fixed usage but even among them it is not of strict obligation. The Ruthenians follow the Roman regulation since 1891. The variety of liturgical colours in the Church arose from the mystical meaning attached to them. Thus white, the symbol of light, typifies innocence and purity, joy and glory; red, the language of fire and blood, indicates burning charity and the martyrs' generous sacrifice; green, the hue of plants and trees, bespeaks the hope of life eternal; violet, the gloomy cast of the mortified, denotes affliction and melancholy; while black, the universal emblem of mourning, signifies the sorrow of death and the sombreness of the tomb.
LEGG, Notes on History of Liturgical Colours (London, 1882); VAN DER STAPPEN, De Cebratione Missæ (Mechlin. 1902),120-133; MACALISTER, Ecclesiastical Vestments (London, 1896): pp. 223-28; BRAUN, Die liturgirsche Gewandung (Freiburg im Br. 1907), pp. 728-60; GIHR, The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass (tr., St. Louis, 1902), 297-312; ROCK, Church of Our Fathers (2nd edition, London 1904), II, 213 sq.; WILPERT, Gewandung der Christen (Freiburg, 1898).
References
- Back to citation General Instruction of the Roman Missal — Authoritative Roman Rite norms for the structure, ministers, signs, furnishings, colors, and celebration of Mass.
- Back to citation Catechism of the Catholic Church — Authoritative synthesis of Catholic doctrine, sacramental life, morality, and prayer.
- Back to citation Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy — Holy See principles for devotions and pious exercises in their proper relation to liturgy, Scripture, and ecclesial discipline.
- Back to citation Church, Catholic; Sodi, Manlio; Triacca, Achille M. (1920). Rubricae generales Missalis: XVIII – De Coloribus Paramentorum. Libreria editrice vaticana. ISBN 88-209-2547-8. “1920 typical edition of the Roman Missal omitted the phrase "exceptis Dominicis infra octavas occurrentibus, in quibus color octavarum servatur" found in earlier editions beginning with Pope Pius V's edition of 1570 (page 21 of the facsimile published by Libreria Editrice Vaticana in 1998”
- Back to citation Second Vatican Council, Sacrosanctum Concilium, paragraph 81, published on 4 December 1963, accessed on 18 July 2025
- Back to citation occurrence 6.0 Back to citation occurrence 6.1 Back to citation occurrence 6.2 "Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani"; cf. "text for Australia" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 20, 2008; "England and Wales" (PDF); "United States".
- Back to citation occurrence 7.0 Back to citation occurrence 7.1 Back to citation occurrence 7.2 The General Instruction of the Roman Missal, No. 346
- Back to citation The optional use of blue as a liturgical colour for feasts of our Lady is restricted to a few dioceses, as explained below.
- Back to citation occurrence 9.0 Back to citation occurrence 9.1 The General Instruction of the Roman Missal, No. 347
- Back to citation occurrence 10.0 Back to citation occurrence 10.1 Back to citation occurrence 10.2 McNamara, Edward (May 10, 2010). "Blue Liturgical Vestments". Zenit.
- Back to citation Heuser, Herman Joseph, ed. (1904). "Sacred Vestments". The American Ecclesiastical Review. 31. Catholic University of America Press: 584.
- Back to citation Gihr, Nikolaus (1902). The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass: Dogmatically, Liturgically, and Ascetically Explained. B. Herder. p. 298. “n.1”
- Back to citation "Cor". Secretariado Nacional para a Liturgia.
- Back to citation Gary D. Penkala (December 2000). "Advent Blues". Cantica Nova Publications. “editorial”
- Back to citation Moroney 2002, p. 346.
- Back to citation "Missale Romanum". 1962.
- Back to citation occurrence 17.0 Back to citation occurrence 17.1 Back to citation occurrence 17.2 "Why Do We Do That? Liturgical Colors" (PDF). stnicholasoca.org. p. 2.
- Back to citation The cited information was taken from translation published in three issues of: "[no title]". The Messenger. Philadelphia, PA: St. Andrew's Russian Orthodox Cathedral. 1990 [June, July–August, September]. which cites the original Nastol'naya Kniga Sviashchenno-sluzhitelia Настольная книга священнослужителя [Clergyman's Handbook]. Vol. 4. Moscow, RU. 1983. That 1983 edition is based on the handbook's 1913 third edition: Bulgakov, S.V., ed. (1913). "Chapter 15.5". ЦВЕТА БОГОСЛУЖЕБНЫХ ОБЛАЧЕНИЙ. СИМВОЛИКА ЦВЕТОВ. Kiev, UA. “The color scale of the liturgical vestments consists of the following basic colors: white, red, orange, yellow, green, light blue (голубой), dark blue (синий), violet/purple (фиолетовый), black.”
- Back to citation "7.2 Colors and their Spiritual Meanings". Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church in Toronto.
- Back to citation "Common Service Book of the Lutheran Church". A Collection of Prayers--Christian prayers, ancient and modern. January 2017. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
- Back to citation "What is the meaning and use of liturgical colors?" (PDF). Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
- Back to citation Robinson, Peter (August 2, 2012). "The Reformed Face of Anglicanism". The Old High Churchman. Retrieved February 3, 2020. “Cranmer's personal journey of faith left its mark on the Church of England in the form of a Liturgy that remains to this day more closely allied to Lutheran practice, but that liturgy is coupled to a doctrinal stance that is broadly, but decidedly Reformed.... The 42 Articles of 1552 and the 39 Articles of 1563, both commit the Church of England to the fundamentals of the Reformed Faith. Both sets of Articles affirm the centrality of Scripture, and take a monergist position on Justification. Both sets of Articles affirm that the Church of England accepts the doctrine of predestination and election as a 'comfort to the faithful' but warn against over much speculation concerning that doctrine. Indeed a casual reading of the Wurttemburg Confession of 1551, the Second Helvetic Confession, the Scots Confession of 1560, and the XXXIX Articles of Religion reveal them to be cut from the same bolt of cloth.”
- Back to citation The use of rose-pink vestments is suggested in the liturgical colour sequence notes of Common Worship of which an on-line version may be found here: "Rules to Order the Christian Year".
- Back to citation For example, see "Common Worship | Times & Seasons". “added to the Common Worship series in 2006, page 50, paragraph 1: "rose-pink vestments are traditionally worn"”
- Back to citation "UMC Liturgical Colors / Parament Colors". Main Street United Methodist Church. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
- Back to citation "United Church of Christ Desk Calendar and Plan Book". 2016.
External links
- Christian Symbols, Crosses, Parament Colours; and their meanings—Trinity Lutheran Church, Billings, Montana
- Liturgical Colours, from Chuck Knows Church, a ministry of the General Board of Discipleship of The United Methodist Church
- Clergy Stoles and their Colors a related video to the above, from Chuck Knows Church, a ministry of the General Board of Discipleship of The United Methodist Church
- Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Liturgical colours". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- Protestant liturgical colours on-line
- Catholic calendar showing the liturgical colours for each day and feast
Bibliography
- Ordo missae celebrandae et divini officii persolvendi secundum calendarium romanum generale pro anno liturgico 2020 - 2021 (in Latin). Libreria Editrice Vaticana. 2020. ISBN 978-8826604176.
- Moroney, Msgr. James Patrick, ed. (2002). General Instruction of the Roman Missal (3 ed.). International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. “Third Typical Edition”