Why do priests wear black?

 

Fr Andrzej Przybylski
I have read in some biblical dictionary that black is the colour of sorrow
and mourning whereas white symbolizes joy and purity. Now I am wondering where
the custom of wearing black cassocks comes from? Why do priests wear cassocks
and why are they black, which is not the colour of joy and hope?
Stanislaw
The day when I received a priestly dress was a unique event for me. Although
I did not become a priest then (actually we received cassocks at our III year
of studies in the seminary), we belonged to clergy in the eyes of the world
and people. It was a marvellous day! Some people began greeting Christ when
they saw me, and they began sharing their problems. Thanks to the cassock I
became a visible sign of a special belonging to God. Therefore, I support the
defenders of clerical clothing and although I know that it is not true that
'clothes make the man' I miss the times when wearing a cassock was a normal and
daily habit. I like wearing my cassock very much.
Naturally, in the first centuries of Christianity (for over four centuries)
priests wore the same clothes as ordinary people. The tunics were normal
clothes. When it was fashionable to wear shorter robes some priests kept tunics,
and thus they stood out from other people. The Synod of Braga, AD 572,
ordered priests to wear different clothes when they went out. The tradition of
wearing cassocks was established over a very long period. At the turn of the 15th
and the 16th centuries there was a custom of wearing robes called 'révérend'
(the word derives from Romance languages). In those times men used to wear
robes, especially the gentry liked wearing long dresses: the zupan (a long
coat lined with cloth of gold) and the kontusz (an overcoat with split sleeves)
and belts. The clerical clothing was established in the 17th and the 18th
centuries. The colour of the cassock was connected with the hierarchy of clergy,
which has remained up till now: the pope wears a white cassock, cardinals
wear red (scarlet) ones, bishops wear amaranth red ones and priests wear black
ones. You are right that black is associated with sorrow but in the case of
priestly robe this colour has another symbolic meaning. A black cassock is to
remind a priest that he 'dies to the world' every day and immerses in
eternity. Blackness also symbolizes giving up bright colours and thus giving up what
the world brings, its glittering, honours and entertainment.
The clerical collar is an important item of clerical clothing. Our students
used to ask me: why is this white belt on you neck called a clerical collar
although it is not colourful (in Polish 'koloratka' means colourful)? The word
derives from Latin collare meaning a collar (also called a dog collar). A
white collar on a priest's neck should remind him of a ring and collar - his
marriage to Christ and to the Church and giving his freedom to Christ, thus
letting him control his life. We, priests, wear a collar because we want to be
directed by Christ in all things. Please notice that our collars are white as
opposed to our cassocks. In the background of a black robe it is a symbol of
the light of resurrection. We go through the world giving up baubles and
colours, living the hope of participation in the brightness of resurrection. This
white collar in the background of our black dress is actually a sign of our
desires and aspirations.
See how meaningful our robes are and therefore I am sad to see that priests
wear cassocks less and less frequently since a cassock itself has proclaimed
the most important truths of our faith. And by the way, we, priests, wear
trousers under the cassock and it is not a rule that every cassock has 33
buttons.