Choir shirt
The term choir shirt describes a white linen robe with wide sleeves. In the non-Eucharistic liturgy of the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches it is worn by the priest over the cassock , in Holy Mass by the altar boys and communion helpers over the robe . While the choir shirt, which used to be often worn under a collar in the liturgical color of the day, reached down to the neck and was held together with a button, today it usually has a square neckline in which the gown is visible. The edges on the sleeves and at the bottom of the choir shirt can be embroidered or tipped.
Historically, the choir shirt developed from the alb. Where the alb was worn over a fur garment in the northern countries in winter, it required a wide cut, renouncing the belt and wide sleeves. The originally ankle-length dress became increasingly shorter over the centuries. It could be worn by all clerics . With the lower degrees of consecration , it was the liturgical garment for Holy Mass. This results in today's use as clothing for acolytes, who have taken on the duties of acolytes in the liturgy .
In the Evangelical Lutheran churches in Germany, however, this development was less pronounced. In addition to the long choir shirt with sleeves, a sleeveless shirt with slits for the arms was also used there. There was also the choir shirt, which was completely opened at the side and had no sleeves, and its appearance was reminiscent of the chasuble. The historical, if not entirely appropriate, name is Alba . Today the choir shirt is used both in the form of a chasuble-like, open cover and as a shirt with white sleeves in several Protestant churches in Germany, especially for sacraments (e.g. in Württemberg and Berlin-Brandenburg). As a rule, the stole is worn over the choir shirt today. A similar form of the choir shirt is worn in the Lutheran churches of the Czech Republic and Hungary.
The choir shirt is to be distinguished from the Rochett . The Rochett is usually more richly decorated, has closer-fitting sleeves than a choir shirt and its use is reserved for the higher prelates . In German usage, however, the altar boys' shirts are often called Rochett or Chorrock . A seldom used technical term is superpelliceum , that is, a garment that was worn “over the fur”.
See also
literature
- Joseph Braun : The liturgical garb in Occident and Orient. Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 1907 ( digitized version ).
- Joseph Braun: The Liturgical Paraments in the Present and Past. A manual of paramentics. 2nd, improved edition. Herder, Freiburg (Breisgau) 1924 (Reprographischer Reprint. Verlag Nova and Vetera, Bonn 2005, ISBN 3-936741-07-7 ), pp. 85-89.
Individual evidence
- ^ Choir shirt / choir skirt. kathweb, accessed on March 4, 2017
- ↑ Joseph Braun: The Liturgical Paraments in the present and past. 2nd, improved edition. Herder, Freiburg (Breisgau) 1924, p. 86f.
- ↑ Joseph Braun: Surplice . In: Catholic Encyclopedia , Volume 14, Robert Appleton Company, New York 1912. (English)