Roman collar

[Paris_Blues]

When priest wear the Roman collar, is it that black shirt with the white square in front of their throat in the front? Sorry this is a immature way but I’m just describing it.

 

[Deacon_Ed]

The “Roman collar” refers specifically to the collar portion – and may not even be a part of the shirt! The color of the shirt is irrelevant. The white band that shows through at the throat is what is significant about the Roman collar (as opposed, say, to the Anglican collar which is white all the way around the neck).

Deacon Ed

 

[Chalice]

Deacon Ed:

The “Roman collar” refers specifically to the collar portion – and may not even be a part of the shirt! The color of the shirt is irrelevant. The white band that shows through at the throat is what is significant about the Roman collar (as opposed, say, to the Anglican collar which is white all the way around the neck).

Deacon Ed

The Rev. Fr. John Trigilio, Jr. wears a collar that is “white all the way around the neck” on the show Web of Faith on EWTN. My guess is that if one were to dig deep enough into Church history, such collars existed long before our breathern separated themselves.

Also, while I don’t believe there is any directive that demands that Roman collared shirts be black, that certainly is a long held tradition and it’s something that I believe should be preserved.

 

[Chatter163]

Roman Catholic priests in England and the USA were wearing the white all the way around the neck collar qwll into the 20th century. Many pre-WWI pictures shopw this. The style might correctly be called English, and it was common for Anglicans, Catholics and other clergy who wore Roman collars.

 

[Iohannes]

Deacon Ed:

The “Roman collar” refers specifically to the collar portion – and may not even be a part of the shirt! The color of the shirt is irrelevant. The white band that shows through at the throat is what is significant about the Roman collar (as opposed, say, to the Anglican collar which is white all the way around the neck).

Deacon Ed

I have seen Roman Catholic priest wear white all around the neck.

 

[I_A]

I can’t cite my claim but I was under the impression that this came about because in Great Britian and its posessions (modern US and Ireland) it was illegal to be a Catholic Priest, punishable by death. Rather than wearing their cool looking monk looking cloaks and stuff (I know, precise talk) they adopted black suits. I don’t know about the collar things.

 

[mercygate]

I_A_:

I can’t cite my claim but I was under the impression that this came about because in Great Britian and its posessions (modern US and Ireland) it was illegal to be a Catholic Priest, punishable by death. Rather than wearing their cool looking monk looking cloaks and stuff (I know, precise talk) they adopted black suits. I don’t know about the collar things.

If you take a man’s normal suit jacket, turn up the collar and fold the lapels as if to button them, you will see that a little notch is left open. Back in the 19th Century, when men tied their foulards in bows and such, clergy, because of simplicity, did not. They just wore either a plain shirt or white foulard tucked tidly in place without a bow. Voila! the “Roman” collar as we recognize it today.

Clergy of most disciplines wore black because it was simple and less expensive than colors.

 

[Deacon_Ed]

Okay, let me make my comments a bit more accurate. The Roman Collar and the Anglican Collar are very similar – the difference is the width of the opening (Roman is narrow, Anglican is wide). The white band that goes all the way around the neck has a number of names. It appears to have originated with the Anglicans (their bishops wore them) but Catholic clergy can certainly wear them, or the Anglican collar. These designations are simply designed to show the differences, not that one is restricted to any particular style. Some of these collars come with a partial or full front – to be worn under other clothing.

Deacon Ed

 

[mercygate]

Deacon Ed:

Some of these collars come with a partial or full front – to be worn under other clothing.

Deacon Ed

Right, hooks in the back. It’s called a rabat.

 

[Chalice]

mercygate:

If you take a man’s normal suit jacket, turn up the collar and fold the lapels as if to button them, you will see that a little notch is left open. Back in the 19th Century, when men tied their foulards in bows and such, clergy, because of simplicity, did not. They just wore either a plain shirt or white foulard tucked tidly in place without a bow. Voila! the “Roman” collar as we recognize it today.

Clergy of most disciplines wore black because it was simple and less expensive than colors.

No. In the past, collars could be removed from shirts quite easily. One shirt might be worn long enough to wear-out several sets of collars.

At some point in time, clerics had their collars reversed on their shirts to show that they were clerics.

The tab collars (like the black shirts you accurately point out) are simply easier to maintain.

I have no idea why a priest would wear a shirt with a Roman collar in any color other than black – outside of the tropics of course…

FWIW, “foulard” is a woven or printed design in silk as it pertains to men’s clothing. I think maybe what you are trying to describe is a four-in-hand.

 

[Mummybee]

Chalice:

No. In the past, collars could be removed from shirts quite easily. One shirt might be worn long enough to wear-out several sets of collars.

At some point in time, clerics had their collars reversed on their shirts to show that they were clerics.

The tab collars (like the black shirts you accurately point out) are simply easier to maintain.

I have no idea why a priest would wear a shirt with a Roman collar in any color other than black – outside of the tropics of course…

FWIW, “foulard” is a woven or printed design in silk as it pertains to men’s clothing. I think maybe what you are trying to describe is a four-in-hand.

Your footer is creepy.

 

[Affirmed]

I second that.