How did American churches come to wear robes?
Beginning in the 1830s, the Oxford Movement and the Cambridge Camden Society in England sought to take the Anglican Church back to the doctrines and forms of worship of earlier eras. The Camden Society was a principal driver of the Gothic Revival period in architecture. Its members advocated that, among other features, church buildings should return to having a chancel, a space around the altar that included a choir section. This feature is still common in church design today. Their influence also led to the introduction of choir robes.
Ideas from England spread to the Episcopal Church in America. A few churches in Philadelphia and Wisconsin started having vested choirs in the late 1850s. Trinity Church in New York introduced them in honor of a visit by the Prince of Wales in 1860. After the Civil War, robes were adopted in other Episcopal churches, then by Congregational, Presbyterian, Methodist and Baptist churches. Increasingly, choirs that had been located in a balcony were moved front and center in the chancel. Choral robes were adopted both for uniformity and to add to the pageantry of the church service. Choirs began to process from the back of the sanctuary to get to the chancel.
Many church choirs today wear robes when they sing in a service, and many do not. While there are exceptions, choir robes are more likely to be found in churches that are more formal, with an emphasis on liturgy, ritual, and following a church calendar. Individual churches make their decision while considering factors like the following:
· Will choir robes elevate the religious experience for congregants or choir members? Is the answer different on holidays or special occasions?
· Will some congregants view choir robes as stuffy or old-fashioned?
· Are services livestreamed?
· Is the choir highly visible to the congregation, or does it stay in a loft?
· Will robes be uncomfortably warm during some parts of the year?
· How important is uniformity in appearance? Could uniformity be achieved without robes, such as with concert black dress?
· Without robes, would some members dress in ways that leaders feel are inappropriate or distracting?
Church choirs are not the only choral groups to wear robes, of course. Perhaps because of their connection to church choirs, gospel choirs commonly wear robes. Some high school and college choirs also perform in choir robes.
Do you sing in a church choir? Do you wear robes? How do you feel about it?
(The picture shows Stan conducting the Choir of the American Church in Paris.)
Image credit: The Choir of the American Church in Paris