Roman Collar

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bjj said:
Is the Roman Collar only worn by Catholic Priest?
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It’s sometimes worn by non-Catholic clergy and it is sometimes worn by non-clergy including seminarians and those in formation for religious communities.
 
Why did Catholic priests start wearing it, if it was a protestant thing?
 
KendraDZ1902 said:
Why did Catholic priests start wearing it, if it was a protestant thing?
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This article in the Catholic Encyclopedia may be helpful:

newadvent.org/cathen/04419b.htm

The so-called “Roman collar” evolved from a regular man’s shirt collar. Priests wore the cassock, and they did have a collar on them as well. There are references to the late 1800s and early 1900s of Catholic priests wearing what amounts to a shortened cassock (due to the advent of the bicycle of all things), and the “Roman collar”.

If you look at pictures of priests and paintings of priests through the ages, the cassock, cassock and surplice, etc, all have some sort of collar. The Roman collar evolved from this.

The non-Catholic clergy did not wear the cassock, so they distinguished themselves another way.

The cassock became optional in the 1960s. Some priests still wear a cassock, but most wear black pants and a black shirt which retains the "collar’.
 
Photos of priests in the early 20th Century often show them in an all-white “dog collar” (no disrespect intended) type of collar, versus the black-with-white-tab collar we see today. Anyone know how that evolution took place, and what if anything it signified?
 
1ke said:
While I’m no expert, and have nothing to back this up, I would venture to guess that the white collar is an evolution of the amice.
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Perhaps so, but I doubt it. Whereas the amice is worn liturgically, the collar really is not. The amice was traditionally used to cover the collar of the soutane (or cassock, as one may prefer).
 
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