Bishops wear certain regalia which are distinctive of the Order of the Bishop, the fullness of the Sacrament of Holy Orders — the pectoral cross, ring, mitre, crozier (staff) and, for archbishops, the pallium.

 

The regular regalia, which identify a bishop, are the pectoral cross and the ring. The pectoral cross (crux pectoralis) is worn by the Holy Father, cardinals, bishops, and abbots. The word pectoral derives from the Latin pectus, which means "breast." This cross is attached to a chain (or cord) and is worn on the chest, near the heart. In the earliest times, the pectoral cross contained a relic of the True Cross, or even a saint. While not all the pectoral crosses today continue to contain a relic, the tradition remains.

Interestingly, in 1889, the Holy See recommended that the pectoral cross of a deceased bishop, which contained a relic of the True Cross, be given to his successor.

 

When putting on the pectoral cross, traditionally the bishop says, "Munire me digneris," asking the Lord for strength and protection against all evil and all enemies, and to be mindful of His Passion and cross.

Bishops also wear a ring. In the past, a distinction was made between the pontifical ring (which would have a gemstone, traditionally an amethyst), and the ordinary ring (which would have the bishop’s coat of arms or some other design engraved on it).

 

The ring, like a wedding band, symbolizes that the bishop is "wedded" to his diocese. Also, the ring would be used, at least in days ago, to make the important imprint of the bishop’s seal in hot wax to authenticate documents. Moreover, in Catholic tradition, to reverence or "kiss" the ring of the bishop, as a sign of respect for his authority, is still proper; interestingly, a partial indulgence was attached to the reverencing of the bishop’s ring.

 The other regalia — the mitre, crozier and pallium — are used for liturgical functions.

The mitre is a "headdress." The word mitre derives from the Greek mitra, which signifies a headband or diadem. In the Old Testament, the high priest and other priests wore a distinctive garb which included a mitre: "For Aaron and his sons, there were also woven tunics of fine linen; the mitre of fine linen; the ornate turbans of the fine linen; drawers of linen (of fine linen twined); and sashes of variegated work made of fine linen twined and of violet, purple and scarlet yarn, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

 

The plate of the sacred diadem was made of pure gold and inscribed, as on a seal engraving: ‘Sacred to the Lord.’ It was tied over the mitre with the violet ribbon, as the Lord had commanded Moses," (Ex 39:27-31; cf. Lv 8:7-9).

 Exactly when the Church adopted the mitre as part of the vesture of bishops is hard to pinpoint. One tradition holds that the mitre’s usage dates to the time of the Apostles; other traditions place its first usage at about the eight or ninth centuries. Of course artists have taken the liberty to depict the apostles and earliest saints who were bishops as wearing mitres.

 

The first written mention of the mitre is in a bull issued by Pope Leo IX in the year 1049, when he granted Bishop Eberhard of Trier "the Roman mitre" as a sign of his authority and of the primacy of the Diocese of Trier. By 1100, a bishop customarily wore a mitre.

 

 

In the Latin Rite, the mitre originally was a headband with a veil, and eventually appeared more in its present triangular form pointing upward with two infulae or fans (two strips of cloth from behind). Some suggest that the influae originated from the sweatband that Greek athletes wore, which was wrapped around the forehead, tied behind the head in a knot with the two ends hanging down from the back.

 

 

To be continued ………………………