IN the past few years, the look of vestments used in Christian ritual has changed. Chief reason is the democratization of the Catholic Church. Vestments once had a hierarchic purpose: the presence of the priest at a raised altar, draped in a chasuble thick with gold and silver embroidery, stiff and heavy as oxhide, glittering in the taper light, symbolized the spiritual distance between God's minister and his people. Costume is a basic way of preserving differences. Moreover, since the priest stood between the faithful and the altar, mostly with his back to...
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