Cope

, Ghent There has been little change in the character of the cope since it was first worn by the clergy. It was made of a semicircular piece of silk or other material, its shape distinguishing it from the chasuble, which had straight edges sewn together in front. Both garments are similar in form and origin to the Orthodox phelonion. Modern copes no longer have a hood. Some early examples feature a triangular hood, which was intended to protect the head during processions, but over time the hood it came to represented by a shield-shaped piece of embroidery that sometimes adorned with a fringe or tassel. Early chasubles depicted in 8th- and 9th-century drawings, have a primitive style of hood, suggesting that the cope and the chasuble had a common origin. establishes that what in Gaul was styled cuculla (cowl) was known to the Cassinese monks as cappa. Moreover, the word occurs more than once in Alcuin's correspondence, apparently as denoting a garment for everyday wear. When Alcuin twice observes about a casula which was sent him, that he meant to wear it always at Mass, this suggests that such garments at this date were not distinctively liturgical owing to anything in their material or construction, but that they were set aside for the use of the altar at the choice of the owner, who might equally well have used them as part of his ordinary attire. In the case of the chasuble the process of liturgical specialization was completed at a comparatively early date, and before the end of the ninth century the maker of a casula probably knew quite well in most cases whether he intended his handiwork for a Mass vestment or for an everyday outer garment. But in the case of a cappa or cope, this period of specialization seems to have been delayed until much later. The two hundred cappae or copes which appear in a Saint-Riquier inventory in the year 801, a number increased to 377 by the year 831, were thought to be mere cloaks, for the most part of rude material and destined for common wear. It may be that their use in choir was believed to add to the decorum and solemnity of the Divine Office, especially in the winter season. In 831 one of the Saint-Riquier copes is specially mentioned as being of chestnut colour and embroidered with gold. This, no doubt, implies use by a dignitary, but it does not prove that it was as yet regarded as a sacred vestment. In fact, according to the conclusions of Edmund Bishop, who was the first to sift the evidence thoroughly, it was not until the twelfth century that the cope, made of rich material, was in general use in the ceremonies of the Church, at which time it had come to be regarded as the special vestment of cantors. Still, an ornamental cope was even then considered a vestment that might be used by any member of the clergy from the highest to the lowest, in fact even by one who was only about to be tonsured. "instead of the cappa scissa, the same cope not sewn up, is again and again enjoined on the clergy by synods and statutes during the late Middle Ages." ==Modern use==

Catholic Church by Pope Benedict XVI Under all these different forms, the cope has not substantially changed its character or shape. The cope is a vestment for processions worn by all ranks of the clergy when assisting at a liturgical function, but it is never worn by the priest and his sacred ministers in celebrating the Mass. At a Pontifical High Mass the cope was worn by the "assistant priest," a priest who assists the bishop who is the actual celebrant. In the Sarum Rite, the Cope was also prescribed for members of the choir at various times. of 30 November 1952 decreed that the train of the should be shortened by about half, from . The 1969 "Instruction on the Dress, Titles and Coats-of-arms of Cardinals, Bishops and Lesser Prelates" laid down that: The , always without ermine, is no longer obligatory; it can be used only outside of Rome, in circumstances of very special solemnity. It is hardly ever used, except in celebrations according to pre-1969 liturgical books, as when deacons of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest were ordained in 2009. The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem uses the ermine-lined winter , because he is bound by the complex and unalterable rules of the Status quo, an 1852 Ottoman firman which regulates the delicate relations between the various religious groups that care for the religious sites in the Holy Land. This anomaly is most evident at the Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve in Bethlehem. Lutheran Churches bishops of the Church of Sweden with crosiers wearing copes and mitres over albs, amices, stoles and pectoral crosses The cope is usually worn only for processions and services of the Divine Office (morning and evening prayers) in most Evangelical-Lutheran Churches. In the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, a cope is usually worn by the bishop when not serving as the presiding minister at Holy Communion. In the Church of Norway and the Church of Denmark the cope is reserved for use by bishops. It is infrequently worn by clerics in the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod or other Lutheran denominations, although its use has increased in recent decades. In the Church of Sweden, bishops regularly wear the cope together with a mitre, crosier and pectoral cross. A cope can also be worn by priests on solemn and ceremonial occasions, such as when presiding over baptisms, weddings and funerals. Copes are not worn as a eucharistic vestment by either bishops or priests, when the chasuble is instead prescribed for both. Anglican Communion The earliest Book of Common Prayer of the Church of England contemplated the continued use of the cope, with the post-English Reformation 1549 Prayer Book specifying that the priest at Holy Communion should wear "a vestment or cope". It was common, particularly in English cathedrals, for the priest or bishop to wear a cope for Holy Communion. In the contemporary Anglican Communion, the cope can be worn. Lay ministers, such as readers, are permitted to wear copes on certain occasions, and it is also a tradition for clergy to wear copes on diocesan occasions. A cope is worn by the Archbishop of Canterbury during the coronation of the Sovereign. Queen Elizabeth II presented a set of ornate copes to the Canons of Westminster Abbey as a coronation gift. Universities As part of academic dress, the University of Cambridge uses a cope known as a , made of scarlet superfine cloth with the cowl lined and the cape opening edged with white fur. This was once the congregation robe of a Doctor of Divinity, but has now come to be the Vice-Chancellor's official congregation dress when conferring degrees. Professors, chairs of degree boards, and their deputies also wear a cope presenting candidates for higher doctoral degrees. The only other place that uses a cope is the University of the South (United States), where the cape hem is edged in fur. ==See also==