cassock cords

[YoungTradCath]

I really don’t understand why seeing a pants leg would bother you?

Socks are fine, but pants legs are bad? Seems totally a matter of taste.

God Bless

Yes, it just seems to be such a sartorial affront to me. I’ve never actually witnessed it and have only really heard of it being habitually done in times when pants and shirt were worn as street clothes but cassock as liturgical undergarment. =p It just seems so wrong!

Pope doesn’t wear pants with his, at least that we can see.
I’ve never seen a bishop wear pants with his, at least that we can see.
Priests part of groups like the FSSP, ICRSS and others, who habitually wear cassocks, do not wear pants under theirs, at least that we can see.
I’ve never seen a seminarian do it.

My question is mainly this: where are the rules governing what is worn under a cassock?

-ACEGC

I am not aware of any rules governing what is worn under a cassock except for the logical rules of at least some type of underwear and socks. I am not trying to be cynical, but this seems common sense to me. Pants have never, as far as I can tell, been part of the cassock outfit except when the clerical shirt and pants are worn as the house dress but the cassock for Mass, in which case the cassock is sometimes worn over the shirt and pants. I have never heard of or seen men who habitually wear the cassock as their house dress/street clothes with pants under it. The cassock is a garment of its own, not a piece to accessorize pants. If pants are worn then the cassock serves precisely no functional purpose.

For the US, the USCCB allows a priest to wear a clerical shirt and pants or, at his discretion, a cassock. That is all I can find on the matter from the bishops of this country.

 

[JeffersonD]

Firstly, the cord is called piping. It’s just for looks. They do not hold up the fascia in any way. Fascias are also rarely tied now and mostly use Velcro to attach one end to the other.

Secondly, what is worn under the cassock depends on the priest or seminarian. If the priest wears the cassock only in a liturgical manner then they usually wear pants. If they wear it as their dress then they usually go by weather; when it’s hot they wear shorts and cold they wear pants or something else to keep warm.

God bless

 

[Denho]

I cannot wear full trousers under a cassock for “house wear” or “liturgical wear.” They are too bloody hot. I don’t even think about it when in the winter, I have never been cold in one.

When you are dressed in full cassock and any vestments on top of it you are in no less than four or five layers of clothes (undershirt, shirt w/ french cuffs if needed, cassock, outer cassock for us Eastern folk or an alb/kutino/sticharion, and then any outer vestments such as stole/chasuble/cope/phaino/phelonion).

Unless a church is kept at industrial refrigeration temperatures a priest would die under such duress.

Gym shorts / full boxers and high socks are more than enough.

 

[bilop]

I cannot wear full trousers under a cassock for “house wear” or “liturgical wear.” They are too bloody hot. I don’t even think about it when in the winter, I have never been cold in one.

When you are dressed in full cassock and any vestments on top of it you are in no less than four or five layers of clothes (undershirt, shirt w/ french cuffs if needed, cassock, outer cassock for us Eastern folk or an alb/kutino/sticharion, and then any outer vestments such as stole/chasuble/cope/phaino/phelonion).

Unless a church is kept at industrial refrigeration temperatures a priest would die under such duress.

Gym shorts / full boxers and high socks are more than enough.

Sure, but that’s Liturgical use, when you’ll be vested.

For every-day wear, I’d imagine a cassock w/o trousers in a Chicago winter is going to be a bit drafty.

God Bless

 

[YoungTradCath]

Sure, but that’s Liturgical use, when you’ll be vested.

For every-day wear, I’d imagine a cassock w/o trousers in a Chicago winter is going to be a bit drafty.

God Bless

That is why there are different weights of fabrics used for cassocks. You have your tropical weights and your winter weights. This is similar to what is done with suiting: you have tropical basketweaves for the hotter months and heavier wools like flannels for the colder months.

I’m sorry, I’m a bit of a menswear nerd. =\

 

[Denho]

Sure, but that’s Liturgical use, when you’ll be vested.

For every-day wear, I’d imagine a cassock w/o trousers in a Chicago winter is going to be a bit drafty.

God Bless

I was walking in the chilly streets of Brooklyn on Saturday and the only part of me that was cold was my hands because I forgot my gloves. To each his own I suppose.

 

[YoungTradCath]

I was walking in the chilly streets of Brooklyn on Saturday and the only part of me that was cold was my hands because I forgot my gloves. To each his own I suppose.

You might try the greca
3.bp.blogspot.com/_cQ2xhpZfenk/S6qVU0graiI/AAAAAAAANhM/7lO5puVk6g8/s1600/greca.JPG
or the tabarro
3.bp.blogspot.com/_cQ2xhpZfenk/S18BlK9tAlI/AAAAAAAAMr0/HEPGhTS11Vk/s1600-h/tabarro.JPG
but that will not solve hand coldness.

 

[triumphguy]

When I wore a habit (Franciscan) we went sans trousers. And also without socks - unless it was winter and we were outside then we wore pants, socks, boots and a jacket too. It’s cold in Canada.

 

[Deo_Gratias42]

Yes, why not wear pants/trousers? Where else can they keep a handkerchief?

I don’t think priests don’t wear anything under their cassocks. That wouldn’t work for modesty purposes, especially the summer weight ones that are see-through if the sun catches them.

My theory is usually priests wear either cropped pants underneath, so that the pant leg isn’t visible below the cassock, or on those hot summer days, wear shorts underneath, which is blatantly obvious when they genuflect from the side and everyone can see their bare calves, all while preaching from the pulpit about it being immodest to wear shorts to Mass.

I have noticed priests wearing full pants on really cold winter days.

 

[Deo_Gratias42]

It’s cold in Canada.

Bah humbug! You guys are just not used to the winter with all your warm chinooks. “Oh, it’s -7°C today. Brrr! Why can’t it be 5°C like it was yesterday? It’s snowing outside. What an ugly day. Deerfoot is backed up for kilometers. Why can’t people drive without getting into accidents every three kilometers in the winter?” Whine whine whine.

Meanwhile in Saskatchewan…
“Hmm. -35°C. It’s a little nippy outside. Perhaps I should take a parka with me in case my bunnyhug isn’t warm enough when I have to go pull some guy in a Dodge out of the ditch with my Chevy, because the guy in the Ford doesn’t have enough power or torque, and is just getting himself stuck in the snow.”

 

[dshix]

Bah humbug! You guys are just not used to the winter with all your warm chinooks. “Oh, it’s -7°C today. Brrr! Why can’t it be 5°C like it was yesterday? It’s snowing outside. What an ugly day. Deerfoot is backed up for kilometers. Why can’t people drive without getting into accidents every three kilometers in the winter?” Whine whine whine.

Meanwhile in Saskatchewan…
“Hmm. -35°C. It’s a little nippy outside. Perhaps I should take a parka with me in case my bunnyhug isn’t warm enough when I have to go pull some guy in a Dodge out of the ditch with my Chevy, because the guy in the Ford doesn’t have enough power or torque, and is just getting himself stuck in the snow.”

lol!

 

[triumphguy]

Bah humbug! You guys are just not used to the winter with all your warm chinooks. “Oh, it’s -7°C today. Brrr! Why can’t it be 5°C like it was yesterday? It’s snowing outside. What an ugly day. Deerfoot is backed up for kilometers. Why can’t people drive without getting into accidents every three kilometers in the winter?” Whine whine whine.

Meanwhile in Saskatchewan…
“Hmm. -35°C. It’s a little nippy outside. Perhaps I should take a parka with me in case my bunnyhug isn’t warm enough when I have to go pull some guy in a Dodge out of the ditch with my Chevy, because the guy in the Ford doesn’t have enough power or torque, and is just getting himself stuck in the snow.”

You know envy is one of the 7 deadly sins

 

[triumphguy]

I really don’t understand why seeing a pants leg would bother you?

Socks are fine, but pants legs are bad? Seems totally a matter of taste.

God Bless

Pant legs under a habit looks weird, but under a cassock seems fine to me. A cassock and a habit are different items of clothing.

 

[Deo_Gratias42]

You know envy is one of the 7 deadly sins

What’s to envy? Ridiculous rush hour traffic jams? A football team that loses the Grey Cup to Toronto?? Excessive use of salt on the roads causing rust??? Constantly driving uphill regardless of where you go and burning out clutches from constantly starting on a hill at traffic lights??? Expensive car insurance that won’t even give you comprehensive car insurance if your car is too old??? Photo radar???

 

[triumphguy]

What’s to envy? Ridiculous rush hour traffic jams? A football team that loses the Grey Cup to Toronto?? Excessive use of salt on the roads causing rust??? Constantly driving uphill regardless of where you go and burning out clutches from constantly starting on a hill at traffic lights??? Expensive car insurance that won’t even give you comprehensive car insurance if your car is too old??? Photo radar???

Yeah you’ve got some good points.

But I lived in Lumsden for a year so I know what your summers and winters are like - hot and dusty followed by cold and dusty

 

[Deo_Gratias42]

Yeah you’ve got some good points.

But I lived in Lumsden for a year so I know what your summers and winters are like - hot and dusty followed by cold and dusty

Lumsden. Hmm, that where I learned to drive a standard starting on a hill. It’s hard to find hills in Saskatchewan to practice on.

 

[triumphguy]

Lumsden. Hmm, that where I learned to drive a standard starting on a hill. It’s hard to find hills in Saskatchewan to practice on.

It’s not really a hill…it’s a hollow in the bald prairie

 

[Deo_Gratias42]

It’s not really a hill…it’s a hollow in the bald prairie

It was enough of a slant that I needed to learn to control my clutch enough that I didn’t roll back into another vehicle, but at the same time, not slip the clutch.

 

[Aramis]

I’m not sure where you come from, but this is very unusual to me. It is strange NOT to wear something under your cassock, as it IS a piece of outerwear. When serving I normally wear black slacks underneath, which are invisible not only because the cassock covers them all the way to my feet, but also because they are the same color as the cassock.

I have known people to wear other clothing under the cassock, in which case they just made sure it was long enough to cover everything underneath.

The cassock is NOT outer wear in the sense that a jacket is.

The modern jacket is, in fact, a tunic, but one worn so as to flash one’s undertunic. The equivalent of the tunic is (depending upon which liturgical use and rite) the exorasson, cope, chasuble, surplice, alb, and/or dalmatic.

Historic illustrations usually show clergy with cassock, and then a surplice over it, and often a cope over that. And the cassock is usually covered almost completely if the illustration predates the protestant reformation.

When trousers are seen, it’s usually in cold climates… a matter of practicality

 

[Aramis]

Pant legs under a habit looks weird, but under a cassock seems fine to me. A cassock and a habit are different items of clothing.

Not for all religious orders. Many use a cassock as their habit.