Dalmatic
Today the dalmatic is not the sort of garment you expect to see outside
of a church service, but when it first appeared in third century Rome,
senators adopted it as a sign of their rank. A calf-length tunic,
wide at the sleeves, worn without a belt, it caused some scandal before
bishops and deacons started wearing it a well. By the 11th
century, the church designated the dalmatic as a vestment proper to
them. Worn over the alb, the dalmatic looks a lot like a chasuble,
the outer vestment worn by the priest when he celebrates the
Eucharist. It adopts the same color and often the same material as
the chasuble. Many early examples sported two stripes from front
to back across the shoulders. But the big difference in these
vestments is sleeves. A chasuble is completely open from hands to
floor, but a dalmatic has sleeves.
Although the dalmatic is generally identified with deacons, it may be
worn by bishops as well. When a bishop vests for a solemn service,
he may wear the dalmatic under the chasuble and in fact was required to
do so for almost the past thousand years. Today he may omit the
dalmatic for a good reason, and many bishops have dispensed with it as
unnecessary.
During the ordination ceremony, the deacon formally receives his
dalmatic, and it is places on him by an assisting deacon or
priest. By this investiture, the garment becomes a symbol of his
role within the community.
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