The Meaning of the Sacred Vestments at the Divine Liturgy

Since we have had the occasion to meditate upon the significance of the clothing of Saint John the Baptist, it seems appropriate to turn our minds’ attention to the analogous custom in our own time and place of the Church using articles of clothing to signify certain things. As we mentioned at the beginning of the consideration of Saint John’s prophetic vestments, the idea that clothing has a deeper meaning is familiar to us, because it appears so often in the Scriptures. The vestments of the priests of the Old Law are one example, but they are only the beginning of what amounts to a very deep symbology. We think, for example of the hairy mantle of the Prophet Elijah that could be used to divide the river in half, so that the bearer could cross the river on dry ground, or the many-colored cloak that was given by the Patriarch Jacob to his favorite son, Joseph, or the “garments of skins,” which God Himself made to cloth our first parents Adam and Eve, when He expelled them from the Garden of Paradise into this world.

The Church too uses expressive garments in its Divine Services, and though it goes without saying that we do not have time to consider this subject in detail, we can perhaps say a few helpful things about the meaning of the garments of the priest at the Divine Liturgy. The meaning of these garments must be considered first of all in reference to the prayers with which the garments are assumed.

The lowest of these garments, which is worn directly over the priest’s pidriasnyk is the stichar. The stichar is the basic garment of all the ministers of the sanctuary, but priest’s stichar represents the grace of baptism. Thus, when the priest puts on the stichar, he says with the Prophet Isaiah, “My soul will rejoice in the Lord, for He has clothed me with a robe of salvation and has put on me a garment of gladness. He has put on me, as a bridegroom, a crown. He has adorned me, as a bride, with jewels.”

Next, is the epitrachil (a Greek word signifying that this garment is worn on the shoulders). The epitrachil represents the priesthood of Christ exercised through His sacrifice on the cross. That same priesthood has been poured out upon the ministerial priest, so that he can offer the same sacrifice in union with Christ, without the effusion of blood. For this reason, when the priest puts on the epitrachil he quotes from the Psalms saying, “Blessed be God, Who pours out His grace upon His priests like oil, running down upon the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down to the hem of his garment; like the dew of Hermon running down upon the mountain of Zion, always now and forever and ever.” Thus, we see that the epitrachil is an ambivalent symbol expressive of both suffering and joy. While the suffering of Christ is suffering indeed, nevertheless, it leads to true joy. So, taking up the cross is like an anointing that refreshes us like dew refreshes the earth.

Then, there is the poyas, the cloth belt that confines the stichar. As we said in reference to the clothing of Saint John the Baptist, the belt is emblematic of work and the strength that is necessary to accomplish work. For this reason, when the priest puts on the poyas, he says, quoting the Psalms, “Blessed be God, Who girds me with strength, Who makes my feet firm on the heights, always now and forever and ever.” The strength that is here being referred to is strength in battle, principally the spiritual battle against one’s own passions. The poyas is thus a reminder to us that we have to fight ourselves in a constructive way. Negatively, we have to destroy our passions, but positively, we have to grow in virtue. Growing in virtue is growing in the likeness of Christ, Who is Himself Virtue.

The preparation for battle metaphor continues with the right cuff, the narukavnyk, since the priest again quotes the Psalms, “Your right hand, O Lord, has been glorified in strength; your right hand, O Lord has shattered the enemy and in the fullness of your glory, You have crushed your adversaries.” The message is simple, our right hand can be God’s right hand if we strive to become like God. Yet the left hand corrects any pride that comes with the right hand, for as the priest puts on the left narukavnyk he says, “Your hands have made me and formed me. Give me understanding and I will learn your commandments.” We are God’s creatures. The question is never if God is on our side. The question is whether we are on God’s side in the battle. Our first duty is to conform ourselves to our Creator.

Finally, the priest puts on the felón, the outermost garment worn during the Divine Liturgy. As he puts it on, he prays, “Your priests shall cloth themselves with righteousness and your righteous will rejoice, always now and forever and ever.” The felón represents the virtue of charity, the love of God, which is the form of all the other virtues and, as the Holy Apostle Saint James says, “covers a multitude of sins.” To cloth ourselves in righteousness means to “put on” the love of God. The love of God has to be the motivation of our entire life, our every action. All covered up with the virtue of charity, our armor is complete to battle against our passions and with the Lord’s help to defeat our enemies.