WEARING THE EUCHARISTIC GARMENT IN THE LITURGY OF SAINT JAMES

The Presiding Bishop or the Officiating Priest, Wearing the “Bright Garment” as Per the Ancient Canons, Before Washing Hands and Ascending to the Altar, to Offer the Holy Eucharist

ACCORDING TO THE USE OF THE ANCIENT CHURCH OF THE WEST AND CONFORMITY TO THE APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS

By Bp. Joseph (Ancient Church of the West) 

THE TESTIMONY OF THE APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS

Among the ancient rubrics of the Church that have endured through the centuries, few are as eloquent in their symbolism as the command that the bishop and clergy should “put on the bright garment” at the appointed moment of the Eucharistic sacrifice. This instruction, preserved in Book VIII of the Apostolic Constitutions, provides not merely a ceremonial detail, but an apostolic witness to the profound distinction between the Liturgy of the Catechumens and the Liturgy of the Faithful.

We read there:

“After all the catechumens and those unable to communicate have departed, let the deacons bring the offerings to the bishop; and let the bishop, having washed his hands, put on the bright garment for the offering of the Eucharist, and likewise the presbyters. Then let the deacon proclaim, ‘Let none of the catechumens remain…’ ” (Apostolic Constitutions VIII.12)

This ancient rubric locates the vesting for the Eucharist immediately after the dismissal of the catechumens and before the Offertory and Anaphora, signifying that the celebrant now enters into the holy work of offering the Sacrifice of Christ.

CONTINUITY IN THE ANCIENT CHURCH OF THE WEST

The Ancient Church of the West, celebrating the Ancient Western Recension of the Divine Liturgy of Saint James, has preserved this discipline in its original theological context. We keep the traditional sequence that the sacred Eucharistic vestment is donned not at the opening of the service, but only at the threshold of the Anaphora, after the proclamation, “Let all catechumens depart!”

This observance distinguishes our usage from many later medieval accretions in both Eastern and Western rites where the priest often appears fully vested at the very beginning of the service. By retaining the Apostolic order, we testify that the Eucharist is a mystery within the mystery, entered only when the Church, purified of distraction and gathered as the Baptized, proceeds to offer the oblation in fear and trembling.

THEOLOGICAL MEANING OF THE EUCHARISTIC GARMENT

The “bright garment” (τὸ ἱερατικὸν ἔνδυμα) is not merely an ornament. It represents the priest putting on Christ Himself, as Saint Paul writes, “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27). It recalls the “wedding garment” of the parable (Matthew 22:11-12), the raiment of glory given to Adam and Eve before the Fall, and the seamless robe of the Lord for which the soldiers cast lots.

Patristic voices support this mystical interpretation:

• St. Cyril of Jerusalem, in his Mystagogical Catecheses, associates liturgical vestments with the spiritual clothing of grace.

• St. John Chrysostom exhorts the clergy to remember that, when they vest for the Eucharist, they approach the altar not as men alone but as servants of the heavenly King.

Thus, the act of vesting at this particular moment proclaims both the dignity of the Eucharistic offering and the humility required of the celebrant.

A SIGN OF FIDELITY AND CONTINUITY

Our keeping of this ancient rubric demonstrates the greater fidelity and continuity of the Ancient Church of the West. While many contemporary liturgies have shifted or forgotten the distinction between the two halves of the service, we continue to uphold the Apostolic custom:

• The Liturgy of the Word remains open to all who seek Christ.

• The Liturgy of the Eucharist begins only after the Church has been gathered as the baptized faithful.

• The vesting for the Eucharist therefore marks a visible, sacramental boundary between hearing the Word and partaking of the Sacrifice.

In preserving the original order of the Divine Liturgy of Saint James, we affirm that liturgy is not innovation but inheritance, faithfully transmitted.

CONCLUSION: FIDELITY TO OUR APOSTOLIC PATRIMONY

To “put on the bright garment” at the moment appointed is more than the donning of a vestment; it is a confession that the Church’s worship is holy ground. It proclaims that the minister does not presume to offer the Body and Blood of Christ in his own strength, but as one clothed in grace and set apart for the mystery.

The Ancient Church of the West therefore holds fast to this apostolic ordinance, not for the sake of antiquarianism, but as a living witness that our Eucharistic celebration is one with that of the undivided Church: that the voice of the Apostles still directs our worship, and that the bright garment is a pledge of our obedience to their command.

“Let all mortal flesh keep silence, and stand with fear and trembling, and meditate nothing earthly within itself; for the King of kings and Lord of lords cometh forth to be sacrificed, and to be given for food to the faithful.”

Thus proclaims the holy Liturgy of Saint James at the dread moment of the Great Entrance. Therefore we vest in the bright garment at the appointed hour, not as pageantry, but as witness: that the same Lord Who once came in the flesh now cometh mystically upon the altar, and that His Church (ancient, apostolic, and undivided), yet stands before Him in reverence, silence, and joy, awaiting the Life of the world to come.

COLLECT

ALMIGHTY AND EVERLASTING GOD, who hast clothed Thy ministers with the bright garment of grace, that they may stand at Thine altar in the person of Thy dear Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, and minister the holy mysteries of His Body and Blood: Grant unto us, we humbly beseech Thee, so to be clothed with His righteousness, that we who behold these outward vestures may discern the inward glory of the Sacraments of Christ within His Church; that, being made partakers of His grace, we may be transformed into His likeness from glory to glory; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.