Liturgical colors

[pmcleanj]

I'm SURE there's no cannon law on the colours.....now as for the COLORS..

I thought of making that distinction myself! But I decided not to be pert!

 

[RobNJ]

I thought of making that distinction myself! But I decided not to be pert!

Well...SOMEBODY had to do it!!

 

[Albion]

I'm SURE there's no cannon law on the colours.....now as for the COLORS.. nothing I've seen in the '79 BCP..as far as I know, it's just tradition..if I'm wrong on that, rest assured someone will be more than happy to correct me

I wouldn't be so sure about that before investigating. Many churches do have such a statement in their canons, and I suppose that ECUSA would also. I might be able to find a copy around here, but maybe not. This has nothing to do with the BCP since it does not intend that there be such instructions but that doesn't mean that the ECUSA or ACC Constitution and Canons wouldn't. That's where you find all the technical stuff.

 

[Polycarp1]

Mmmm -- I don't have a clue whether the green/violet/red/white scheme is "official" in the sense that it's adopted by canon at any given level of the church -- but there are quasi-official publications, like the annual Episcopal Church Kalendar (the odd spelling is accurate), which describe the proper colors for a given day. It's in that sense that I meant that the four main colors plus black are "official" and royal and sky blue and pink are not.

 

[Albion]

Mmmm -- I don't have a clue whether the green/violet/red/white scheme is "official" in the sense that it's adopted by canon at any given level of the church -- but there are quasi-official publications, like the annual Episcopal Church Kalendar (the odd spelling is accurate), which describe the proper colors for a given day. It's in that sense that I meant that the four main colors plus black are "official" and royal and sky blue and pink are not.

Good point.

 

[pmcleanj]

This has nothing to do with the BCP since it does not intend that there be such instructions but that doesn't mean that the ECUSA or ACC Constitution and Canons wouldn't. That's where you find all the technical stuff.

The canons of the ACC certainly don't contain that level of liturgical minutae. The ECUSA canons, however -- at least by the the impression I've formed from my participation in the Liturgics-L mailing list, may be somewhat more prescriptive. And of course in England there may well be acts of Parliament regarding such things; but were not the use of liturgical colours and paraments in general part of the liturgical reform/restoration of the nineteenth century? In which case one would expect such acts to prohibit the use of paraments, rather than prescribe them.

The BCP does in fact contain one rubrical instruction I can think of regarding paraments, that being that "The Lord's Table, at the Communion time, shall have a fair white linen cloth upon it."