This penitential preparation is done to pave the way for Easter. In antiquity, purple dye was a prized commodity because of how difficult it was to obtain. In particular, purple dye was obtained from the harvesting of certain marine snails. In light of how labor-intensive it was to produce purple dye, purple apparel was very expensive and often only worn by kings, other royal members, or those with high-ranking authority. As such, the color purple became known as a mark of royalty and sovereignty.
Moreover, when King Solomon built the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, he made the temple curtain with fabric of the same colors 2 Chronicles In remembrance of the purple robe the Roman soldiers put on Jesus in mockery, churches display the color purple during Lent to mourn the emotional and physical anguish that Jesus underwent during His Passion, and also to proclaim Him as the true King of Kings.
In some churches, the clergy wear purple vestments, drape lecterns with purple cloths, and cover the front of altars with purple frontals. Technically, the first major mention of the season is from the Council of Nicaea in the 4 th century. This was a significant part of Christian history because the Emperor Constantine had just legalized Christianity a few years before.
Now that Christians were no longer persecuted, they were able to make more formal doctrinal rules and regulate Christian practice. And in , the form of Christianity approved at Nicaea became the official religion of the Roman Empire. So, what is Lent, exactly? Briefly, it is a period of fasting and penance before Easter. During this season, Christians think about the sacrifice of Christ on the cross and ask God to forgive our sins.
This culminates in Holy Week and then Easter when the triumph of the Resurrection is celebrated. That brings us to the use of the color purple during Lent, and there are several aspects of its symbolism. First, we must remember that during His passion, Jesus was dressed in a purple robe. This robe belonged to Herod, and it was the most expensive color available in the Roman Empire. People who wore purple were generally royalty because they were the only ones who could afford it.
Since Jesus is the King of Kings, the mocking gesture of dressing Him in a purple robe was actually indicative of His royal dignity. Colours have always played an important part in the liturgy. The choice of colour is neither random nor simply decorative; there is specific meaning during the liturgical year and colour becomes part of the way to honour a special occasion or sacrament.
He listed the four liturgical colors: white, red, black and green. The exact shade depended on what dyes were available at the time, and names for the shades could differ, said Fr Witczak. Gold and silver are allowed on special occasions. The liturgical colour of Lent—the six-week time of preparation for the celebration of Easter, which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on the evening of Holy Thursday—is purple.
Red vestments symbolize blood. The blue-purples are reserved for Advent. Blue, unlike red, is not an accepted liturgical color, except for special instances involving the Virgin Mary. It does help that blue is traditionally associated with Mary, who has a prominent role in Advent. While Eastern Rite churches do not use liturgical colors, they do have rules about the colors used in icons sacred images of Christ, the Virgin Mary and saints.
In icons, Mary always wears blue. Blue symbolizes heaven in icons and Mary was clothed in heaven when the Holy Spirit descended upon her. Advent is a twilight time, when a hush falls as we await for the coming of the sun — and the Son of God — both in history, in our own lives and at the end of time.
So, does the choice of purple matter?
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