 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Baptismal clothing" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(April 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Baptismal clothing is apparel worn byChristian proselytes (and in some cases, byclergy members also) during the ceremony ofbaptism. White clothes are generally worn because the person being baptized is "fresh like the drivenmanna".[1] In certainChristian denominations, the individual being baptized receives across necklace that is worn for the rest of their life, inspired by theSixth Ecumenical Council (Synod) of Constantinople.[2][3]
TheEastern Orthodox Church and theEastern Catholic Churches of theByzantine Rite, the baptismal garment is worn by the newly baptized for eight days, after which there is a special ceremony on the eighth day for the removal of the baptismal robe. For adults, the robe is a long, sleeved garment, similar to the Westernalb, tied at the waist usually with a white cloth belt or rope. A woman may also cover her head with a whiteveil (usually a simple kerchief). Forinfant baptisms, the robe may be a white gown and bonnet, and a white blanket.
These garments are placed on the newly baptized immediately after coming up out of the waters of baptism (the Orthodox baptize byimmersion, even in the case of infant baptism). As the robe is being placed on the new Christian, the priest says the prayer: "The servant of God,N., is clothed with the robe of righteousness; in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen." and the choir sings: "Vouchsafe unto me the robe of light, O Thou who clothest Thyself with light as with a garment, Christ our God, plenteous in mercy."
In Orthodoxtheology the baptismal robe symbolizes the "Garments of Light" (i.e., the fullness ofDivine grace) with whichAdam and Eve were clothed in theGarden of Eden before theFall of Man. Baptism is believed to cleanse the believer of all the sinful defilements both oforiginal sin andpersonal sins[4] and the white garment is symbolic of this. During theektenia (litany) before baptism, the deacon prays "That he (she) may preserve this (her) baptismal garment and the earnest of the Spirit pure and undefiled unto the deadDay of Christ our God...", referring not so much to the material garment as to the spiritual cleansing it represents.
The newly baptized will traditionally wear their baptismal garment for eight days, especially when receivingHoly Communion. These are special days of prayer and fasting,[5] at the end of which they return to the church for the "Removal of the Robe on the Eighth Day" andablutions (in many places today, this ceremony is performed on the same day as the baptism, immediately afterChrismation). During this ceremony, the priest loosens the belt on the baptismal robe and prays:
"O Thou who, through holy Baptism, hast given unto Thy servant remission of sins, and hast bestowed upon him (her) a life of regeneration: Do Thou, the same Lord and Master, ever graciously illumine his (her) heart with the light of Thy countenance. Maintain the shield of his (her) faith unassailed by the enemy [i.e., Satan]. Preserve pure and unpolluted the garment of incorruption wherewith Thou hast endued him (her), upholding inviolate in him (her), by Thy grace, the seal of the Spirit, and showing mercy unto him (her) and unto us, through the multitude of Thy mercies..."
He then sprinkles the newly baptized with water and washes all of the places thechrism was applied, and performs thetonsure.
Someone who has been baptized as an adult will often be buried in their baptismal robe, if they have not advanced to some higher ministry within the church.
In theRoman Catholic Church, most of those born into the faith are baptized as infants. The traditional clothing for a child being baptized into the Roman Catholic faith is a baptismal gown, a very long, white infants'garment now made especially for theceremony ofchristening and usually only worn then. They are in fact the normal, or at least "best", outer clothing of Western babies until about the 19th century. The moment of progression to shorter dresses (for bothboys and girls) was known as "shortcoating", which usually coincided with the beginning of crawling, which was difficult in a long robe, or at five to six months of age.[6][7] Christening gowns are usually made of fine whitelinen orcotton fabric, and may betrimmed withtucks,lace,whitework embroidery, and other handwork. Baptismal gowns often have matchingbonnets, and may become family heirlooms, used generation after generation.[8]
In theLutheran Churches, the baptismal gown worn by infants is white in colour. Babies of theSwedish royal family have worn the same christening gown since 1906.[9]
TheAnglican Communion grew from theChurch of England and includes theEpiscopal Church in the United States of America. It views itself as the unbroken continuation of the early apostolic and later medieval "universal church", rather than as a new institution.
Many of the early traditions are therefore the same as theRoman Catholics and an heirloom long white gown is still used by many families. Modern churches allow for much diversity, but usually the clothing is still white for an infant or young child.
Many mainstream Protestant Churches practice infant baptism, and thus make use of the christening gown, while others encourage or practice exclusiveadult baptism also known as believer's baptism. In some of the latter churches, special white clothing may be worn by both the person being baptized and the person performing the baptism.
Members ofthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints dress in white clothing to perform and to undertake baptism. Traditionally, theproselyte wears all white clothing, white socks and white underclothing. The person performing the ordinance wears either a white jumpsuit or white slacks and white shirt.[10] Historically, women and girls wore white dresses with weights sewn in at the hems to prevent the clothing from floating during the ceremony.
Children are short-coated when they begin to desire to use their legs freely—usually at about six months
The ordinary long dress of infants is a great impediment to freedom of motion, and it ought, therefore, to be curtailed about the fifth or sixth months...