ON EUCHARISTIC VESTMENTS, CHALICE-VEIL AND BURSE
The Ornaments Rubric as it stands at the beginning of our Prayer-books has been an open field for controversy for many years. So much light has been thrown by this means upon customs and observances once almost forgotten and fallen into neglect (which obviously at the time of the Rubric were before the eyes or fresh in the memories of all Church-people), that we can now once more picture to ourselves, without effort, what our forefathers strove successfully to retain as permissible for the maximum (_if not absolutely commanded as the minimum_) of distinctive vesture and ritual to be used in the services of the Church of England.
For the Celebrant—the Amice, the Albe, the Girdle, the Stole, the Maniple or Fanon, and the Chasuble.
For the Epistoler and Gospeller—the same vestments, except that instead of the Chasuble a Dalmatic or Tunicle is worn.
For the Altar itself—a Frontal, Fair linen cloth, two Corporals (or Corporal and Chalice-veil, or Corporal and Pall), Purificators, and Corporal-case or Burse.
The symbolism of the vestments may be considered in a two-fold aspect: both as signifying the garments worn by our Lord at His Passion (and so keeping before the eyes of the congregation the ‘continual remembrance’), and, secondly, as representing the virtues required in the ministers.
Thus we may see in the amice, first, the cloth with which our Lord was blindfolded when the Jews struck Him on the face, and, secondly (as it is first placed on the head), ‘Hope—the Helmet of Salvation.’ In the albe, first, the white garment in which He was arrayed by Herod, and secondly, Innocence of Life, or a ‘conscience void of offence toward God.’ And so, of the others, the girdle, stole, and maniple may represent the cords and bands with which He was bound and scourged, and, secondly, purity or chastity, and the yoke of Christ. While in the chasuble we see the royal robe in which He was mocked as king, and, secondly, covering and embracing all, the glorious grace of charity.
The amice, albe, &c., will be more particularly described in the chapter on Linen-work. The altar-frontal we have already spoken of. In this place we will consider the stole, maniple, chasuble, and dalmatic.