Episcopal gloves

Pontifical gloves in theliturgical colorviolet

Theepiscopal glovesorpontifical gloves(chirothecœ,called also at an earlier datemanicœ, wanti) are aRoman Catholicpontifical vestmentworn by abishopwhen celebratingSolemn Pontifical Mass.They are worn from the beginning of the Mass until theoffertory,when they are removed. They can be elaborately embroidered and generally match theliturgical colorof the Mass. They are not worn forGood FridayorRequiem Masses.While normally reserved for bishops, otherprelatesentitled to usepontificals,includingabbots,may also use them without a special papalprivilege.

The gloves are considered symbolic of purity, the performance of good works and carefulness in procedure.

Use

TheCaeremoniale Episcoporum,as revised in 1984, omits all mention of episcopal gloves. They are very rarely seen today except in celebrations of the 1962 form of theRoman Riteor yet earlier forms by sometraditionalist Catholics.Anglo-CatholicandOld Catholicbishops also sometimes make use of the Episcopal gloves.

Episcopal gloves are used only at aPontifical Mass,and then only up to the washing of the hands before the Eucharistic Sacrifice. In the pre-Vatican II rite ofconsecrationof a bishop, the consecrator, aided by the assisting bishops, put the gloves on the new bishop just after the blessing.

Material

As of 1909,Episcopal gloves are knitted by machine or hand-woven from silk thread. They are normally ornamented on the back with a cross; the border of the opening for the hand is also, as a rule, embellished. The colour of the gloves must correspond with theliturgical colourof the feast or day in the services of which they are worn; episcopal gloves, however, are never black, as they are not used onGood Fridaynor at aRequiem.

History

The use of episcopal gloves became customary in Rome probably in the tenth century, outside of Rome they were employed somewhat earlier. Apparently they were first used in France, as the earliest traces of the custom are found in this country, from where it gradually spread to other parts and eventually to Rome. The chief reason for the introduction of the usage was probably the desire to provide a suitable adornment for the hands of the bishop, rather than practical considerations such as the preservation of the cleanliness of the hands or something as such. Episcopal gloves appertained originally to bishops, but at an early date their use was also granted to other ecclesiastics, thus no later than 1070 the abbot of themonasteryofSan Pietro in Cielo d'OroatPaviareceived this privilege, the first certain instance of such permission.

In theMiddle Agesthese gloves were either knitted or otherwise produced with the needle, or else they were made of woven material sewed together; the former way seems to have been the more usual. Gloves made by both methods are still in existence, as for example, in Saint-Sernin atToulouse,atBrignoles,in S. Trinità atFlorence,in the cathedrals ofHalberstadtandBrixen,in New College atOxford,ConflensinSavoyand other places. In the later Middle Ages it became customary to enlarge the lower end, giving it the appearance of a cuff orgauntlet,and even to form the cuff with a long joint which hung downwards and was decorated with a tassel or little bell. The back of the glove was always ornamented, sometimes with an embroidered medallion or some other form of needlework, sometimes with a metal disk having on it a representation of theLamb of God,a cross, theRight Hand of God,Saintsetc., the disk being sewn on to the glove, or, at times, the ornamentation was ofpearlsandprecious stones.The gloves were generally made of silk thread or woven fabric, rarely of woollen thread, sometimes of linen woven material. Up to the end of the Middle Ages the usual colour was white, although the gloves at New College, Oxford, are red; apparently it was not until the sixteenth century that the ordinances as to liturgical colours were applied to episcopal gloves. Even in the Middle Ages the occasions on which the gloves were worn were not many, but their use was not so limited as later, for in the earlier period they were occasionally worn at the pontifical Mass after Communion, at solemn offices and during processions.

External links

• Episcopal glovesDiscussion and photographs