Vestments

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VESTMENTS

The Sarum Blue Set
The 1979 Prayer Book restores the theme of expectation to the season of Advent and brings greater focus to the role of Mary, Mother of Jesus, in the Incarnation event. In keeping with this emphasis, the Sarum Rite (i.e., the traditions associated with Salisbury Cathedral, England) adopted the use of a dusty-blue color for Advent, rather than the violet which is associated with the season's former penitential nature. Our Sarum Blue set is traditional in style. It has the Tudor Rose brocade as its base fabric and is adorned by Y-cross orphrey bandings. The set was designed by the Rev'd Jerry D. Godwin and executed by the C. M. Almy Company.

The Festival Gold Set
This set of vestments is used for the festal seasons of Easter and Christmas and may be used any time that white is the liturgical color. It is a full, liturgical set which includes chasuble, dalmatic, tunicle, cope and stoles. The base fabric is gold Larino damask. The chasuble and dalmatic have traditional orphrey bandings, while the tunicle departs from tradition by moving the orphrey bands to the sleeves. The decoration of the cope echoes that of the chasuble as these are, in fact, descendants of the same outer-wear garment and can be used interchangeably in contemporary worship. The designer was Manuel Alvarez of the Holy Rood Guild.

The Lenten Array
This set of vestments, used throughout the season of Lent, calls to mind the sackcloth and ashes of the biblical penitent. The light brown color of the foundation fabric reminds us of the rough sackcloth fabric worn by penitents in biblical times, the orphrey bandings recall our Lord's blood shed for our salvation, and the black crosses remind us starkly of the crosses of Good Friday. The designer was Manuel Alvarez of the Holy Rood Guild.

The Holy Week Set
These vestments adopt the blood-red of the Lenten Array bandings as their base color. They are very plain, allowing the bold, but somber color of the season to dominate. Simple bands of black remind us of the darkness of Good Friday while subtle gold veins on a field of red hint of the glory that is to be revealed on the Day of Resurrection. The set was designed by the Rev'd Jerry D. Godwin and executed by the C. M. Almy Company.

The White Sets
The parish has three sets of vestments for use on festivals of our Lord, or white seasons. White is the color associated with purity. The first set was designed for use at the altar of the new church in 1970 and is of white brocade with red orphrey bandings. It is notable for the Agnus Dei, or Lamb of God, figures executed in fine needlework. These adorn the altar frontal and the backs of the chasuble and cope. The other set is made of off-white wool and is adorned by bands of Coronation Red Tapestry, the tapestry designed for the coronation of Elizabeth II. These coordinate with a full set of wool copes and one cope made fully of Coronation Red Tapestry. The Coronation Vestments are the work of the C. M. Almy Company.

The White Brocade Set
A New York Times article on dress designer turned vestment designer, Patrick Boylan, was the impetus for the parish's commissioning him to design a full set of white brocade vestments for altar and Sacred Ministers in 2002. The commission included a festival gold cope given the third rector in honor of his 30th anniversary of ordination to the priesthood.

The Green Sets
Two of our sets of green vestments are the design of Manuel Alvarez of the Holy Rood Guild. One set is of dark green wool, adorned with gold galloon bands. The other set is a wool-polyester blend and is our most contemporary set. Its base fabric is a much brighter green and is adorned by broad, angular bands of red and black. These vestments are used for the Sundays of Ordinary Time or those Sundays after the Epiphany and the Day of Pentecost. The theme of these Sundays is growth, symbolized by the color green.

A third green set was added to our collection in 1999. This set, designed by the Rev'd J.D. Godwin and worked by the C. M. Almy Company, features a background fabric of green bemberg Tudor Rose with orphrey bandings of green Verona tapestry outlined with dark green velvet.

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