Telling the difference in clerical garb

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So…which order would this French missionary priest come from? Supposedly, he was the spiritual brother of St. Therese of Liseaux.

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So…which order would this French missionary priest come from? Supposedly, he was the spiritual brother of St. Therese of Liseaux.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oN5K_WcO5...JFL-XUEv0Wc/s400/French+Missionary+Priest.jpg
It looks like he’s in Asia. That could be any community or even a secular priest. Most Catholic missionaries wore Asian clothes even as late as the time of St. Maximilian Kolbe who was a missionary and superior in Japan.

The western habit is not commonly worn in Asia, unless it’s in very Catholic communities such as parts of Viet Nam, parts of Korea, Philippines, and Okinawa. Though today, it’s becoming more widely accepted by non-Catholic Asians.
 
So…which order would this French missionary priest come from? Supposedly, he was the spiritual brother of St. Therese of Liseaux.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oN5K_WcO5...JFL-XUEv0Wc/s400/French+Missionary+Priest.jpg
There are some details that can be known from captions in the photo. Firstly, the priest is French, as janeway529 pointed out. Secondly, he is the spiritual older brother (Chinese characters differentiate between elder and younger brothers) of St Therese. I’m not sure what the implications of this are, whether it is based upon religious seniority or merely age. Thirdly, he was a parish priest between 1902 to 1907. Fourthly, it gives the Mandarin phoneticisation of his name, but I am unable to trace it to a French name, so I can’t give an answer on what his name was.

There is no written indication of him being from any particular congregation or community. If I were to commit to a congregation, I would say he was from the Société des Missions Étrangères de Paris. They were a huge part of the vanguard of missionary work in Asia during the early years, and part of their approach involved adopting the dress of locals. It is also because of this dress (and the fact that the letter is written in Chinese) that leads me to think that he was working in China during that point in time.
It looks like he’s in Asia. That could be any community or even a secular priest. Most Catholic missionaries wore Asian clothes even as late as the time of St. Maximilian Kolbe who was a missionary and superior in Japan.

The western habit is not commonly worn in Asia, unless it’s in very Catholic communities such as parts of Viet Nam, parts of Korea, Philippines, and Okinawa. Though today, it’s becoming more widely accepted by non-Catholic Asians.
That’s not entirely true, good Brother. The missionaries in the Malayan Archipelago did not use local dress. They stuck to their cassocks or other items of Western dress. Part of the reason for this was that Westerners already had a large presence there, so they did not look too much out of place. Furthermore, there was more than one culture present in the area, each with their own distinctive dress, so there was no one ‘local dress’ that would have made the priests fit in better without excluding the others. I guess it worked to their favour, because the locals would take a Westerner more seriously if he dressed as a Westerner would and not some other cultural group he was obviously not a part of. 🙂
 
Observe what I’ve highlighted in what I said and what you said and tell me if there is a substantial difference.
The western habit is not commonly worn in Asia, unless it’s in very Catholic communities such as parts of Viet Nam, parts of Korea, Philippines, and Okinawa. Though today, it’s becoming more widely accepted by non-Catholic Asians.
That’s not entirely true, good Brother. The missionaries in the Malayan Archipelago did not use local dress. They stuck to their cassocks or other items of Western dress. Part of the reason for this was that Westerners already had a large presence there, so they did not look too much out of place. Furthermore, there was more than one culture present in the area, each with their own distinctive dress, so there was no one ‘local dress’ that would have made the priests fit in better without excluding the others.
In other words, it has been worn in communities such as Catholic communities or even non Catholic communities where there is a Western presence. One such example is Hong Kong. Hong Kong does not have as large a Catholic population as Viet Nam, but it is much more multicultural than was Viet Nam when the missionaries arrived.

When it comes to the MP’s or religious communities and missionaries, I know my facts and rules very well.
 
In other words, it has been worn in communities such as Catholic communities or even non Catholic communities where there is a Western presence. One such example is Hong Kong. Hong Kong does not have as large a Catholic population as Viet Nam, but it is much more multicultural than was Viet Nam when the missionaries arrived.

When it comes to the MP’s or religious communities and missionaries, I know my facts and rules very well.
I apologise for any offense, Brother. I only wished to mention a particular case regarding clerical dress in Asia. My simple-minded reading of your previous post suggested to me that you said that most Catholic priests in Asia did not retain their Western dress outside of well-established Catholic communities. In doing so, I was reminded of the Malayan Archipelago, which did not have a substantial Catholic community at all, but the missionaries still wore Western dress. I brought it up in order to discuss the reasons that led to this curiosity, as I thought this was an interesting exception to the principles that you have rightly stated to be the case. I did not realise that you had already incorporated that possibility into your previous post. I do not mean to suggest that you were mistaken about your facts or rules, and I certainly do not think that you are.
 
I apologise for any offense, Brother. I only wished to mention a particular case regarding clerical dress in Asia. My simple-minded reading of your previous post suggested to me that you said that most Catholic priests in Asia did not retain their Western dress outside of well-established Catholic communities. In doing so, I was reminded of the Malayan Archipelago, which did not have a substantial Catholic community at all, but the missionaries still wore Western dress. I brought it up in order to discuss the reasons that led to this curiosity, as I thought this was an interesting exception to the principles that you have rightly stated to be the case. I did not realise that you had already incorporated that possibility into your previous post. I do not mean to suggest that you were mistaken about your facts or rules, and I certainly do not think that you are.
There’s also a much earlier occurrence of Fr. Matteo Ricci, SJ in the 16th-17th century in China, which got him in trouble with some Franciscans. 😛

 
I don’t know that story. Why did he get into trouble with Franciscans? Didn’t they like his beard?😃
When Fr. Matteo Ricci, SJ and his companions first made contact with the Chinese culture and Confucianism, Fr. Ricci recognized the need for a lengthy and uncertain dialogue based on mutual respect which he understood that they could not impose on Chinese people a faith mixed with European values and customs. (Sound familiar? :D)
What followed became known as the “Chinese Rites Controversy.” Long story short, the Dominicans and the Franciscans disagreed with the Jesuits over the religiosity of certain Confucian practices which were considered by the Jesuits as compatible with Christianity. The Dominicans and Franciscans basically reported the Jesuits to Rome as “compromising or diluting the Faith.”

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Rites_controversy
 
When Fr. Matteo Ricci, SJ and his companions first made contact with the Chinese culture and Confucianism, Fr. Ricci recognized the need for a lengthy and uncertain dialogue based on mutual respect which he understood that they could not impose on Chinese people a faith mixed with European values and customs. (Sound familiar? :D)
What followed became known as the “Chinese Rites Controversy.” Long story short, the Dominicans and the Franciscans disagreed with the Jesuits over the religiosity of certain Confucian practices which were considered by the Jesuits as compatible with Christianity. The Dominicans and Franciscans basically reported the Jesuits to Rome as “compromising or diluting the Faith.”

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Rites_controversy
Yes, I know this story. The outcome of this is there emerged two definitions of grace. The Mendicants had one and the Jesuits had another. They got so angry at each other that they began to call each other heretics. The Jesuits argued that some of the local customs could mediate grace and the Mendicants said no way.

In the end, they asked the pope to decide who was right. They were shocked when the pope said that if either side called the other side a heretic, he would excommunicate every Franciscan, Dominican and Jesuit. They then asked him to please clarify. The pope said that he was not going to take sides in a theological debate between the three most powerful religious orders in the Church.

Since then, every pope has said the same thing. No one is going to take sides between the three most powerful and influential orders in the Church. The only thing that they Vatican would say is that both sides are right and left if at that.

Today, the three orders just laugh at those who came before us for being so goofy.
 
Is there a way to tell the difference between a Protestant pastor who wears a collar and the traditional collar our RC priest wear?
Ask him which church he’s a minister of. It’s the ONLY way.

The roman and/or french cassock is used by the Roman Catholics, the Anglicans, the French Orthodox, some Lutherans, some Russian Orthodox and Antiochian Orthodox clergy (those blessed to say the Western Rite liturgies), and a number of “independent Catholic” and “Old Catholic” jurisdictions.

The “Clerical Collar Shirt” in a variety of specific configurations is used by most protestant denominations. I’ve even seen Baptists wear it.

Likewise, I’ve seen a couple Catholic priests wear the Geneva Tab collar.

So, again, just ask. It’s the best way.
 
Aramis is correct.

Even habits are not a guarantee that the person who wears it is Catholic. Anglican and Lutheran religious wear the same habits that we do, especially Benedictine and Franciscan.
 
Aramis is correct.

Even habits are not a guarantee that the person who wears it is Catholic. Anglican and Lutheran religious wear the same habits that we do, especially Benedictine and Franciscan.
Not to mention that some may even be part of sede vacantist groups.
 
This evening, I’m assisting with an ecumenical service for the Week of Christian Unity. We’re expecting representation from the Catholic (Latin Rite), Orthodox (Greek Church), Lutheran (Missouri Synod), Episcopalian, and many Protestant denominations. I’ll try to make a mental note of who wears what, and post it here.
 
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