Academic Hood

13/8/09

I just wondered what people’s opinion is of wearing academic hoods a) during Mass / Eucharist and b) with a cotta as opposed to a surplice.

James, Essex

REPLIES

16/8/09

Academic hoods are part of "Choir" dress, hence their use by clergy and choir/organists for Morning and Evening Prayer. The 'dress' for the Mass or Eucharist (presumably as a server) was designed to cover our worldly attire. Our Lord knows our successes and failures without reminders. "We do not presume to come......"

David Jones - 16/8/09

Dear GSS,

I have always understood that the academic hood is optional vesture, to be used only with a black scarf and only over a surplice, for the choir offices. It is inappropriate for Mass, at any time. I have never seen it so used.

For Mass, I would expect that, if full vestments are not used, then only a stole must be used - essential for a sacrament - preferably over a cotta but over a surplice as a second choice. Indeed, in my church, if full vestments are not worn by the celebrant - and in any case, by the concelebrating priests - stoles are worn over albs, amices and girdles.

We, as lay Eucharistic ministers, wear cassocks and surpluses. I think that cottas would be more appropriate - but surplices have become the norm. Also, some LEMs are also in the choir, so the surplices match the choir vesture, which is normally and properly cassocks and surplices

David Jones
[Last surviving MC to Father E.C.R. Lamburn, author of Ritual Notes]
Lay Eucharistic Minister
Lay Intercessor
Lay Lector
Church of the Good Shepherd, Burke, Virginia.
Episcopal Church of the USA.

Home:
4936 Andrea Avenue,
Annandale. VA. 22003. USA
Tel: 703-978-8564 Fax: 703-978-8014

Eddie Bestwick - 16/8/09

Another view: academic hoods worn in church are, frankly, unnecessary and can be elitist show. In these days when we can easily check whether a person has the right to take a service etc we do not need a visible show of their qualifications or training location. Indeed, some clergy are drawn from the Trades and Professions and do not have academic hoods from those and are just as qualified to be in leadership in church, if not more so from the 'qualifications point of view'.
Eddie Bestwick
Leicester.

David Jones - 17/8/09

Dear GSS,

I agree with Eddie Bestwick. Academic Hoods must be considered as completely optional, for choir offices only, in any case. They have no distinction as to an authority to take services. There is, of course, a long tradition of use of them. They do no harm, it would seem!

However, the taking of services, by priests or deacons, in a particular church, evolves from ordination and institution. A bishop's license (normally of the ordinary) grants that authority for lay-persons. These are, however, never distinguishable by academic hoods.

David C. Jones
Church of the Good Shepherd
Burke. Virginia USA

Tony Ralli - 20/7/10

How quickly we forget our history. Both Dearmer and Ritual Notes remind us that the Academic Hood (if entitled to one) is an integral part of Choir Habit under Canon 58 (I do not have access to current C of E Canons). It is always to be worn with Scarf (Tippet) over the surplice (not Cotta) at Choir Offices, never at the Eucharist. A Reader similarly wears an Academic Hood with the Blue Scarf over the surplice. By custom organists and choir masters wear a hood (if entitled) over their cassock and surplice (or winged rochet).

Clergy ministering at the Eucharist wear the appropriate Eucharistic vestments or alb, cotta, or surplice with stole. Lay persons wear albs, cottas, or surplices. Scarves (with or without the hood) should never be worn at the Eucharist or other sacraments.

In Australia we have developed an item of vesture commonly called the "cass alb" which being white does duty as a combined cassock and alb. In this case clergy wear the Eucharistic vestments, or stole only, over this. The cass alb should never be worn as choir habit, the normal black cassock with surplice being worn instead as above.

The wearing of the Cotta as choir habit is frequently seen in Anglo-Catholic churches but is strictly speaking incorrect since it precludes the use of the scarf and hood required by canon. Its use by choristers may perhaps be forgiven.

Tony Ralli

Stephen - 6/9/11

GSS is an Anglican organisation. I am therefore puzzled as to why several contributors are concerned about the Catholic Church's policy on gluten-free or low-gluten (effectively gluten-free) communion bread.

As for the person who posted anonymously on 31/5/08, his (or of course her) problem is not that he is unable to ingest safely the extremely small amount of gluten contained in low-gluten communion wafers, which are in fact perfectly acceptable to anybody with coeliac disease; his problem is that he has a wheat allergy (coeliac disease is an entirely different condition) and therefore cannot ingest the Codex wheat starch which is used to make many gluten-free products.

Stephen

Stephen - 6/9/11

Eddie Bestwick is in fact not quite correct. The requirement in canon law is for the minister to wear 'the hood of his degree', though I think that this would normally be understood to include academic qualifications that are not strictly degrees, such as certificates, diplomas, and membership of professional bodies. But even if a minister does not possess an academic qualification of any kind, he is required to be literate. In fact, if one reads the ordination lists one will still see from time to time a candidate described as 'literate', in place of a degree. Such a person is entitled to wear a literate's hood, a plain black cloth hood, which I am sure can be supplied by any purveyor of academic dress.

Stephen