Editing Liturgical colours

{{Short description|Properties of visual perception specified for religious festivities over the year}}
{{mdy|date=December 2021}}
[[File:Messgewänder MfK Wgt.jpg|thumb|[[Vestment]]s in different liturgical colours]]

'''Liturgical colours''' are specific colours used for [[vestment]]s and [[Antependium|hangings]] within the context of [[Christianity|Christian]] [[liturgy]]. The symbolism of violet, blue, white, green, red, gold, black, rose, and other colours may serve to underline moods appropriate to a season of the [[liturgical year]] or may highlight a special occasion.

There is a distinction between the colour of the vestments worn by the clergy and their [[choir dress]], which with a few exceptions does not change with the seasons of the [[liturgical year]].

==Roman Catholic Church==

===Current rubrics===
In the [[Roman Rite]], as reformed by [[Pope Paul VI]], the following colours are used, in accordance with the rubrics of the [[GIRM|General Instruction of the Roman Missal]], Section 346.<ref name="IGMR">{{Cite web |title=Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani |url=https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/institutio-generalis-missalis-romani-3rd-edition-2190 |number=346}}; cf. {{cite web | title = text for Australia | url=http://www.acbc.catholic.org.au/documents/200707031933.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080720091216/http://www.acbc.catholic.org.au/documents/200707031933.pdf | archive-date=July 20, 2008 }}; {{cite web | url = http://www.liturgyoffice.org.uk/Resources/GIRM/Documents/GIRM.pdf  | title = England and Wales}}; {{cite web | url = http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/roman-missal/general-instruction-of-the-roman-missal/girm-chapter-6.cfm  | title = United States}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto;"
|-
! style="text-align:center;"|Color!! style="text-align:center;"|Obligatory usage!! style="text-align:center;"|Optional usage (in lieu of prescribed obligatory colour)
|-
| style="background:green;"|{{white|Green}}||
*[[Lord's Day|Sundays]] and [[Feria]]s in [[Ordinary Time]]
||
|-
| style="background:#7f00ff;"|{{white|Violet}}||
*Sundays and Ferias of [[Advent]]
*Sundays and Ferias in [[Lent]]
*Liturgies on [[Holy Saturday]] (except for the [[Easter Vigil]])
*[[Sacrament of Penance (Catholic Church)|Sacrament of Penance]]
*[[All Souls' Day]]
*[[Requiem|Requiem Masses]] and [[Office of the Dead|Office for the Dead]]
||

|-
| style="background:#fbcce7;"|Rose||
||
*[[Gaudete Sunday]] (Third Sunday of Advent)
*[[Laetare Sunday]] (Fourth Sunday in Lent)
|-
| style="background:white;"|White||
*[[Christmastide]] (from [Vigil] of [[Christmas]] to the [[Baptism of the Lord]])
*[[Maundy Thursday|Holy Thursday]]
*[[Eastertide|Easter season]] (from the [[Easter Vigil]] up to the Vigil of Pentecost)
*[[Trinity Sunday|Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity]]
*[[Feasts of the Lord Jesus Christ|Feasts of Our Lord]] other than those of His Passion
*[[Marian feast days]]<ref name="blue">The optional use of '''blue''' as a liturgical colour for feasts of our Lady is restricted to a few dioceses, as explained below.</ref>
*Feasts of [[Angel|the Angels]]
*Feasts of non-martyred [[saint]]s or [[Confessor of the Faith|confessors]]
*Feast of [[John the Evangelist|Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist]]
*Feast of the [[Chair of Saint Peter]]
*Feast of the [[Conversion of Paul the Apostle]]
*The [[Nativity of St. John the Baptist]]
*Solemnity of [[Saint Joseph]]
*Other feasts of Saint Joseph
*[[All Saints' Day|Feast of All Saints]]
*[[Baptism|Sacrament of Baptism]]
*[[Marriage (Catholic Church)|Sacrament of Matrimony]]
*[[Ordination|Sacrament of Holy Orders]]
*[[Viaticum]]
*[[Anointing of the Sick|Sacrament of the Sick]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.mercaba.org/LITURGIA/Gestos/simbolo_07_los_colores.htm | title=Los Colores en Nuestra Celebración }}</ref>
|[[Votive Mass]]es and other Masses where Green is normally used.
|-
| style="background:red;"|{{white|Red}}||
*[[Palm Sunday]]
*[[Good Friday]]
*[[Pentecost]]
*Feasts of [[Passion (Christianity)|the Passion of the Lord]]
*Feasts of [[Christian martyrs|Martyrs]], [[Apostles in the New Testament|Apostles]], and [[Four Evangelists|Evangelists]]
*Passion of Saint [[John the Baptist]]
*[[Confirmation|Sacrament of Confirmation]]
*Funerals of [[Pope|Popes]]
||
|-
| style="background:black;"|{{white|Black}}||
||
*All Souls' Day
*Requiem Masses
|}

On more solemn days, i.e. festive, more precious, sacred vestments may be used, even if not of the colour of the day. Such vestments may, for instance, be made from [[cloth of gold]] or [[cloth of silver]]. Moreover, the Conference of Bishops may determine and propose to the Apostolic See adaptations suited to the needs and culture of peoples.{{sfn|Moroney|2002| page = 346}}

Ritual Masses are celebrated in their proper colour or in white or in a festive colour. Masses for Various Needs, on the other hand, are celebrated in the colour proper to the day or the season or in violet if they bear a penitential character. Votive Masses are celebrated in the colour suited to the Mass itself or even in the colour proper to the day or the season.{{sfn|Moroney|2002| page = 347}}

==== Regional and situational exceptions ====
Some particular variations:
[[File:Solemnidad de la Inmaculada Concepción, Valencia, 2014.png|thumb|The [[Feast of the Immaculate Conception]] in [[Valencia Cathedral]], 2014]]
*{{Color sample|#6495ed}} '''[[Marian blue|Blue]]''', a colour associated with the [[Blessed Virgin Mary|Virgin Mary]]. While blue vestments are common in some Eastern churches, in the Latin rite, blue as a vestment colour may only be used pursuant to a special privilege granted.<ref name="Zenit">{{Cite web |last=McNamara |first=Edward |date=2010-05-10 |title=Blue Liturgical Vestments |url=https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/blue-liturgical-vestments-4526 |website=Zenit}}</ref> The permission, sometimes called "cerulean privilege", is of two kinds: one pertains to particular Marian shrines and specifies when blue vestments may be worn. The other type of permission is that accorded to various countries. In Spain, an apostolic indult was granted for the feast of the [[Immaculate Conception]] and its [[Octave (liturgy)|octave]] as well as for votive Masses and Saturdays, when the [[Liturgical hours|Office]] for the Immaculate Conception is prayed<ref>{{Cite journal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MR9HAQAAMAAJ&dq=Cerulean+Indult&pg=PA584 |title=Sacred Vestments |journal=The American Ecclesiastical Review |publisher=Catholic University of America Press |year=1904 |editor-last=Heuser |editor-first=Herman Joseph |volume=31 |page=584}}</ref> and on Marian feasts where there is a related custom. The privilege has been granted to Spain, to certain of its colonies, and former colonies in Latin America by a decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites on 12 February 1864.<ref name=Zenit/> It also extends to the Philippines, Guam, and the Mariana Islands, which were still under Spanish rule at that time.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gihr |first=Nikolaus |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RkpIAAAAYAAJ&dq=Cerulean+vestments&pg=PA298 |title=The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass: Dogmatically, Liturgically, and Ascetically Explained |publisher=B. Herder |year=1902 |page=298 |quote=n.1}}</ref> The use of blue is also observed in Portugal during certain Marian feasts,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cor |url=https://www.liturgia.pt/dicionario/dici_ver.php?cod_dici=107 |website=Secretariado Nacional para a Liturgia}}</ref> although no special indult has been granted. There have also been uses of blue in place of violet for the season of Advent despite the fact that this practice is not authorized under liturgical rubrics.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gary D. Penkala |url=http://www.canticanova.com/articles/xmas/art1c1.htm |title=Advent Blues |date=December 2000 |work=Cantica Nova Publications |quote=editorial}}</ref><ref name="Zenit" />
*{{Color sample|gold}} '''[[Gold (color)|Gold]]''' or {{Color sample|silver}} '''[[Silver (color)|silver]]''' may be worn on more solemn occasions in the dioceses of the United States.{{sfn|Moroney|2002| page = 346}}

===1960 rubrics===
The rules on liturgical colours in the 1960 [[Code of Rubrics]], whose observance is still permitted in the circumstances indicated in the 2007 document ''[[Summorum Pontificum]]'' on use of the [[1962 Roman Missal]], which incorporates them,<ref>{{Cite web |year=1962 |title=Missale Romanum |url=http://www.sanctamissa.org/en/resources/books-1962/missale-romanum-1962-pdf.html}}</ref> differ from the current rubrics in the following respects:

{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto;"
|-
! style="text-align:center;"|Colour!!  style="text-align:center; width:350px;"|1920–1955 usage!!  style="text-align:center; width:350px;"|1956–1960 usage!!  style="text-align:center; width:350px;"|1961–1969 usage
|-
| style="background:#7f00ff;"|{{white|Violet}}||
*[[Ember days]]
*[[Rogation days]]
*[[Vigil]] of [[Andrew the Apostle|St. Andrew]]
*Vigil of [[Thomas the Apostle|St. Thomas]]
*Vigil of Christmas
*[[Massacre of the Innocents|Holy Innocents]] (when this falls on a weekday)
*[[Presentation of Jesus at the Temple|Purification]] (Blessing of Candles and Procession)
*Vigil of [[Saint Matthias|St. Matthias]] (in leap years only)
*[[Septuagesima]], [[Sexagesima]], and [[Quinquagesima]]
*[[Palm Sunday]] (Blessing of Palms, Procession, Mass)
*[[Holy Saturday]] (pre-Mass blessings and rites) 
*Vigil of [[Pentecost]] (pre-Mass blessings and rites)
*Vigil of the [[Nativity of St. John the Baptist]]
*Vigil of [[James, son of Zebedee|St. James]]
*Vigil of the [[Assumption of Mary|Assumption]]
*Vigil of Sts. [[Simon the Zealot|Simon]] and [[Jude the Apostle|Jude]]
*Vigil of [[All Saints' Day|All Saints]]
*[[All Souls' Day|All Souls]] (during the [[Forty Hours' Devotion]] only)
*Sacrament of [[Baptism]] (Introductory rites and [[Exorcism]])
||
*Ember days
*Rogation days
*Vigil of Christmas
*Holy Innocents (when this falls on a weekday)
*Purification (Blessing of Candles and Procession)
*Septuagesima, Sexagesima, and Quinquagesima
*Palm Sunday (Mass only)
*Good Friday (Distribution of [[Eucharist in the Catholic Church|Holy Communion]] only)
*[[Easter Vigil]] (pre-Mass blessings and rites)  
*Vigil of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist
*Vigil of the Assumption
*All Souls (during the Forty Hours' Devotion only)
*Sacrament of Baptism (Introductory rites and Exorcism)
||
*Ember days
*Rogation days
*Vigil of Christmas
*Septuagesima, Sexagesima, and Quinquagesima
*Palm Sunday (Mass only)
*Good Friday (Distribution of Holy Communion only)
*Easter Vigil (pre-Mass blessings and rites) 
*Vigil of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist
*Vigil of Sts. Peter and Paul
*Vigil of [[Lawrence of Rome|St. Lawrence]]
*Vigil of the Assumption
*All Souls (during the Forty Hours' Devotion only)
*Sacrament of Baptism (Introductory rites and Exorcism)
|-
| style="background:#fbcce7;"|Rose||
*[[Gaudete Sunday]]
*[[Laetare Sunday]]
||
*Gaudete Sunday
*Laetare Sunday
||
*Gaudete Sunday
*Laetare Sunday
|-
| style="background:white;"|White||
*[[Octave (liturgical)|Octave]] of the [[Immaculate Conception]]
*Octave of St. John
*Vigil of the [[Epiphany (holiday)|Epiphany]]
*Octave of the Epiphany
*Octave of the [[Saint Joseph's Day|Solemnity of St. Joseph]]
*Vigil of the [[Feast of the Ascension|Ascension]]
*Octave of the Ascension
*Octave of [[Corpus Christi (feast)|Corpus Christi]]
*Octave of the [[Sacred Heart]]
*Octave of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist
*Octave of the Assumption
*Octave of All Saints
*Sacrament of Confirmation
||
*Vigil of the Ascension
*Sacrament of Confirmation
||
*Vigil of the Ascension
*Sacrament of Confirmation
|-
| style="background:red;"|{{white|Red}}||
*Octave of [[Saint Stephen|St. Stephen]]
*Octave of the Holy Innocents
*Octave of Pentecost
*Octave of [[Feast of Saints Peter and Paul|Sts. Peter and Paul]]
||
*Palm Sunday (Blessing of Palms and Procession)
*Octave of Pentecost
||
*Palm Sunday (Blessing of Palms and Procession)
*Octave of Pentecost
|-
| style="background:black;"|{{white|Black}}||
*[[Good Friday]]
*All Souls (except during the Forty Hours' Devotion)
*[[Requiem|Requiem Masses]]
||
*Good Friday (main liturgy)
*All Souls (except during the Forty Hours' Devotion)
*Requiem Masses
||
*Good Friday (main liturgy)
*All Souls (except during the Forty Hours' Devotion)
*Requiem Masses
|}

[[Pope Pius X]] raised the rank of the Sundays after Epiphany and Pentecost, so that on those that fell within common octaves, '''green''' was used instead of the colour of the octave, as had previously been the rule;<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://www.sanctamissa.org/EN/resources/missale-romanum-pdf.html |title=Rubricae generales Missalis: XVIII – De Coloribus Paramentorum |year=1920 |isbn=88-209-2547-8 |quote=1920 typical edition of the Roman Missal omitted the phrase "exceptis Dominicis infra octavas occurrentibus, in quibus color octavarum servatur" found in earlier editions beginning with Pope Pius V's edition of 1570 (page 21 of the facsimile published by Libreria Editrice Vaticana in 1998|last1=Church |first1=Catholic |last2=Sodi |first2=Manlio |last3=Triacca |first3=Achille M. |publisher=Libreria editrice vaticana }}</ref> on Sundays after Pentecost that fell within privileged octaves (i.e., the octaves of Corpus Christi and of the Sacred Heart), the liturgical color of the feast was retained.

The rules on liturgical colours before the time of Pope Pius X were essentially those indicated in the edition of the Roman Missal that [[Pope Pius V]] promulgated in 1570, except for the addition of feasts not included in his Missal. The scheme of colours in his Missal reflected usage that had become fixed in Rome by the twelfth century.

==Byzantine Rite==
The [[Byzantine Rite]], which is used by all the member churches of the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], the [[Byzantine Rite Lutheranism|Byzantine Lutheran Churches]] and the [[Eastern Catholic Churches]] of Byzantine Rite, does not have a universal system of colours, with the service-books of the Byzantine tradition only specifying "light" or "dark" vestments. In the Greek tradition, [[Maroon (colour)|maroon]] or [[Burgundy (color)|burgundy]] are common for solemn feast days, and a wide variety of colours are used at other times, the most common of which are gold and white.<ref name="stnicholasoca" />

Slavic-use churches and others influenced by Western traditions have adopted a cycle of liturgical colours.  The particulars may change from place to place, but generally:

{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto;"
|-
! style="text-align:center;"|Colour!! style="text-align:center;"|Common usage!! style="text-align:center;"|Other usage
|-
| style="background:gold;"|Gold||
*When no other colour is specified
||
|-
| style="background:#6495ed;"|Light blue||
*Feasts of the [[Theotokos]]
*Feasts of the Holy Archangels
||
*Churches dedicated to the Theotokos may use light blue for the default, instead of gold.
*In some places, blue is also used for [[Baptism of Jesus|Holy Theophany]].
*In many places, blue is used for the Dormition Fast (except from the [[Transfiguration of Jesus|Transfiguration]] to its afterfeast (August 6–13), when either gold or white is used).
|-
| style="background:#88023c;"|<span style="color:white;">Purple or wine-red</span>||
*Saturdays and Sundays during [[Great Lent]] (Slavic Churches)
||
*In many places, purple or dark red are only worn on the weekdays of the Great Fast, while bright colors (gold, gold/white) are used on Saturdays and Sundays.
|-
| style="background:red;"|<span style="color:white;">Red</span>||
*[[Maundy Thursday|Holy Thursday]]
*[[Feast of the Cross]]
*[[Beheading of St. John the Baptist]]
*Feasts of [[Martyr]]s
*[[Nativity Fast]]
*[[Apostles' Fast]]
||
*[[Easter|Pascha]] (Mount Athos and Jerusalem)
*Nativity (Mount Athos and Jerusalem)
*Feasts of the Holy Theotokos (Mount Athos)
*In some places, red is used for the Dormition Fast (except from the Transfiguration to its afterfeast (August 6–13), when either gold or white is used).
|-
| style="background:Green;"|<span style="color:white;">Green</span>||
*[[Palm Sunday]]
*[[Pentecost]]
*Feasts of Venerable ([[Monastic]]) [[Saints]]
||
*[[Feast of the Cross]] in some places (such as Jerusalem)
|-
| style="background:black;"|<span style="color:white;">Black</span>||
*Weekdays during [[Great Lent]]
*Weekdays during [[Holy Week]] (except Holy Thursday)
||
*Black is far more prevalent in the Slavic traditions than the Greek tradition, especially in the United States.
|-
| style="background:white;"|White||
*Pascha
*[[Nativity of Jesus|Nativity]]
*[[Theophany]]
*Other [[Great Feasts]] of the Lord
||
*Funerals (Throughout the year, even during Holy Week.)
|}

The colours would be changed before [[Vespers]] on the eve of the day being commemorated.  During Great Feasts, the colour is changed before the vespers service that begins the first day of a [[forefeast]], and remains until the apodosis (final day of the [[afterfeast]]).

Under Western influence, black is often used in the Slavic churches for funerals, weekdays of Great Lent, and Holy Week as a sign of [[penance]] and mourning, but in the second half of the 20th century, the ancient white became more common, as a sign of the hope of the Resurrection.

===Russian liturgical colours===
In the tradition of the [[Russian Orthodox Church]], up to nine different liturgical colours may be used throughout the year.<ref><!--the information given does not agree with the source cited-->The cited information was taken from translation published in three issues of: 
:{{Cite magazine |year=1990 |orig-date=June, July–August, September |title={{grey|[no title]}} |publisher=St.&nbsp;Andrew's Russian Orthodox Cathedral |periodical=The Messenger |place=Philadelphia, PA}}
: which cites the original {{Cite book |title=Nastol'naya Kniga Sviashchenno-sluzhitelia |year=1983 |volume=4 |location=Moscow, RU |script-title=ru:Настольная книга священнослужителя |trans-title=Clergyman's Handbook}}
: That 1983 edition is based on the handbook's 1913 third edition: {{Cite book |year=1913 |editor-last=Bulgakov, S.V. |location=Kiev, UA |script-title=ru:ЦВЕТА БОГОСЛУЖЕБНЫХ ОБЛАЧЕНИЙ. СИМВОЛИКА ЦВЕТОВ |chapter=Chapter&nbsp;15.5 |quote=The color scale of the liturgical vestments consists of the following basic colors: white, red, orange, yellow, green, light blue (голубой), dark blue (синий), violet/purple (фиолетовый), black. |chapter-url=https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Pravoslavnoe_Bogosluzhenie/nastolnaja-kniga-svjashennosluzhitelja/15_5}}
</ref>
Exact use of these colours varies, but the following are the most common uses:<ref name="stnicholasoca" />

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!style="text-align:center;"|Colour!! style="text-align:center;"|Common use !!style="text-align:center;"| Uncommon or other use
|-
|style="text-align:center;background:gold;"| '''Gold''' or '''Yellow'''<br/>(желтый)||
*[[Feasts of the Lord Jesus Christ]]
*Feasts of Prophets
*Feasts of Apostles
*Feasts of [[Holy Hierarchs]]
*When no other colour is specified
||
|-
|style="text-align:center;background:#6495ed;"| Light '''blue'''<br/>(голубой)
||
*[[Marian feast days|Feasts of the Theotokos]]
*Presentation of the Lord
*Annunciation
*Feasts of Bodiless Powers
*Feasts of Virgins
||
*Fifth Friday in Lent
*Dormition Fast until Elevation of the Cross, or even Advent (Carpatho-Russians)
|-
|style="text-align:center;background:#88023c;"| <span style="color:white;">'''Purple''' or Dark '''Red'''<br/>(фиолетовый или<br/>темно-красный)</span>||
*Cross of Our Lord
*Great and Holy Thursday
*Weekends of Lent
||
|-
|style="text-align:center;background:#3f00ff;"| <span style="color:white;">Dark '''Blue''', '''Indigo'''<br/>(синий, темно-синий)</span>||
*Weekends of Lent
||
|-

|style="text-align:center;background:red;"| <span style="color:white;">'''Red'''<br/>(красный)</span>||
*Feasts of Martyrs
*Feast of Saints Peter and Paul
*Advent
*Feasts of Angels
*Elevation of the Cross
||
*Pascha (Mount Athos and Jerusalem)
*Nativity (Mount Athos and Jerusalem)
|-
|style="text-align:center;background:Green;"| <span style="color:white;">'''Green'''<br/>(зеленый)</span>||
*Palm Sunday
*Pentecost
*Holy Spirit Day
*Feasts of Monastic Saints
*Feasts of Ascetics
*Feasts of Fools for Christ
*Feasts of Prophets
*Feasts of Angels
||
*Pentecost until Saints Peter and Paul (Carpatho-Russians)
|-
|style="text-align:center;background:black;"| <span style="color:white;">'''Black'''<br/>(черный)</span>||
*Weekdays of Lent
||
*Weekday funerals, memorials, and liturgies (Carpatho-Russians)
|-
|style="text-align:center;background:white;"| '''White'''<br/>(белый)||
*Theophany
*Transfiguration
*Paschal season
*Funerals
||
*Theophany
*Christmas Day
|-
|style="text-align:center;background:#c50;"| <span style="color:white;">'''Orange''' or '''tawny'''<br/>(оранжевый)</span>||
||
*Saints Peter and Paul fast
*Feast of Saints Peter and Paul until Transfiguration
|}

==Coptic Rite==
The [[Copts|Coptic]] tradition, followed by the [[Coptic Orthodox Church]] and the [[Coptic Catholic Church]], only uses white vestments, with gold and silver being considered variations of white.<ref name="stnicholasoca">{{Cite web |title=Why Do We Do That? Liturgical Colors |url=https://stnicholasoca.org/files/Why-Do-We-Do-That---Liturgical-Colors.pdf |website=stnicholasoca.org |page=2}}</ref> The only exception is during [[Passion Week]] when black is used. Nonetheless, trimmings of red, gold or blue may be found on some vestments.{{cn|date=December 2024}}

==Ethiopian Rite==
The liturgical tradition of Ethiopia, followed by the [[Ethiopian Orthodox Church]] and the [[Ethiopian Catholic Church]], embraces a wide variety of liturgical colours. In [[Eritrea]], similar traditions are followed.<ref>{{Cite web |title=7.2 Colors and their Spiritual Meanings |url=https://stmaryeotctoronto.com/en/our-faith |website=Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church in Toronto}}</ref>

==Lutheran Churches==
The [[United Lutheran Church in America]] (ULCA), a predecessor of The [[Evangelical Lutheran Church in America]] (ELCA), prescribed the following colour scheme for its paraments in the [[Common Service Book]] (CSB) of 1917: <br />

'''White''' from and with Vespers of the Eve of the Nativity through the Epiphany season (except the Day of St. Stephen, Martyr), from Easter Day to the Vespers of the Saturday before Whitsunday, on the Festival of the Transfiguration, on the Presentation of our Lord, on the Festival of the Holy Trinity and its Octave, on the Days of the Annunciation and the Visitation, and on the Day of St. Michael and All Angels. <br />

'''Red''' from and with Vespers on the Saturday before Whitsunday to the Vespers of the Saturday before the Festival of the Holy Trinity, on the Festival of the Reformation and the Sunday after, on the Apostles' Days and on all Evangelists' Days (excepting St. John, Apostle, Evangelist), on Martyrs' Days, on All Saints' Day, for the Dedication of a Church, for all Church Anniversaries, for the Harvest Festival, and on Thanksgiving Day. <br />

'''Green''' from and with Vespers of the Saturday before Septuagesima to Vespers of the day before Ash Wednesday, beginning with the second Sunday after the Festival of the Holy Trinity and throughout the Trinity Season to Vespers of the Saturday before Advent Sunday (except on such Festivals and Days for which there is a special appointment). <br />

'''Violet''' from and with Vespers of the Saturday before Advent to Vespers of the Eve of the Nativity, from and with Vespers of the day before Ash Wednesday and throughout Lent (excepting Good Friday) to Vespers of the Eve of Easter. <br />

'''Black''' for Good Friday and any Day of Humiliation called for by ecclesiastical authority.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Common Service Book of the Lutheran Church |url=https://acollectionofprayers.com/2017/01/01/common-service-book-of-the-lutheran-church/ |access-date=2024-12-17 |website=A Collection of Prayers--Christian prayers, ancient and modern |date=January 2017 }}</ref>  <br />

This differs from the Roman and Anglican Uses in that it has white prescribed for the Epiphany Season, green for the period from Septuagesima until Lent, violet for Maundy Thursday, red for All Saints' Day, red for the Dedication of a Church and its annual anniversary, and red also for the Harvest Festival and Thanksgiving Day.  One can presume that this is similar to the colour scheme historically used in the [[Evangelical Church in Germany|Protestant Church in Germany]] due to the heavy German influence in the ULCA.

{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto;"
! style="text-align:center;"|Colour!! style="text-align:center;"|Common usage!! style="text-align:center;"|Other usage
|-
| style="background:white;"|White||
*Easter Sunday
*Epiphanytide
*Feast of the Transfiguration
*Feast of the Holy Trinity
*Feast of the Annunciation
*Feasts of Angels
||
*Maundy Thursday
|-
| style="background:red;"|Red||
*Vespers before Pentecost
*Feasts of martyrs
*Anniversaries
||
*[[Reformation Day]]
|-
| style="background:#88023c;"|<span style="color:white;">Scarlet</span>||
*Palm Sunday
*Holy Monday
*Holy Tuesday
*Holy Wednesday
*Maundy Thursday
||
|-
| style="background:green;"|Green||
*Pre-lenten season
*Trinity season
||
*When no other color is specified
|-
| style="background:violet;"|Violet||
*Advent
*Sundays of Lent
||
*Holy Monday
*Holy Tuesday
*Holy Wednesday
|-
| style="background:black;"|<span style="color:white;">Black</span>||
*Good Friday
||
*Ash Wednesday
*Days of humiliation
|-
| style="background:gold;"|Gold||
*Vigils before Easter
|
*Easter (in some places)
|-
| style="background:blue;"|<span style="color:white;">Blue</span>||
||
*Advent
|}

The ELCA presently uses a similar colour scheme as that of their Scandinavian Lutheran counterparts, with the use of gold only for the Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday services and Holy Week using scarlet rather than crimson. Blue is used for Advent. White is used for Christmas, Epiphany, Sundays of Easter, Holy Trinity, and Christ the King. For Lent, purple is used. During the time after Pentecost and the Epiphany, green is used. <ref>{{Cite web |title=What is the meaning and use of liturgical colors? |url=https://download.elca.org/ELCA%20Resource%20Repository/What_is_the_meaning_and_use_of_liturgical_colors.pdf |access-date=2022-08-27 |website=[[Evangelical Lutheran Church in America]]}}</ref>

Both the [[Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod]] (LCMS) and the [[Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod]] (WELS) use a similar system, but with purple being the primary colour for both Advent and Lent (with blue being the alternate colour for Advent only), and the use of gold in place of white for both Christmas and Easter (in similar practice to the Catholic Church).  In the WELS, the use of red is also done during the ''Period of End Times'', a period of the Church regarding the teachings of the Book of Revelation, culminating in the creation of the New Jerusalem (corresponding to Christ the King in the ELCA). In all three churches, including the ELCA, red is also worn on the last Sunday of October, in celebration of the [[Protestant Reformation|Reformation]] on October 31, when [[Martin Luther]] nailed the [[95 Theses]] onto the door of Wittenberg Castle Church.

==Anglicanism==
[[Image:Lenten Array Edgbaston.jpg|thumb|right|Lenten Array altar frontal by [[George Pace]] at [[St Augustine's Church, Edgbaston|St Augustine's, Edgbaston]]]]
[[File:St Mary's Nottingham High Altar Red Array.jpg|thumb|Red altar array on Palm Sunday in [[St Mary's Church, Nottingham]]]]
Most [[Anglican]] churches use the colours appointed in the Lutheran Churches and those of the Roman Rite, usually in its post-1969 form, with the exception of Sarum Blue replacing violet for Advent, but some use the earlier form, with, for instance, black in place of red on [[Good Friday]].<ref name="Robinson2012">{{cite web |last1=Robinson |first1=Peter |title=The Reformed Face of Anglicanism |url=http://theoldhighchurchman.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-reformed-face-of-anglicanism.html |publisher=The Old High Churchman |access-date=3 February 2020 |language=en |date=2 August 2012|quote=Cranmer's personal journey of faith left its mark on the Church of England in the form of a Liturgy that remains to this day more closely allied to Lutheran practice, but that liturgy is coupled to a doctrinal stance that is broadly, but decidedly Reformed. ... The 42 Articles of 1552 and the 39 Articles of 1563, both commit the Church of England to the fundamentals of the Reformed Faith. Both sets of Articles affirm the centrality of Scripture, and take a monergist position on Justification. Both sets of Articles affirm that the Church of England accepts the doctrine of predestination and election as a 'comfort to the faithful' but warn against over much speculation concerning that doctrine. Indeed a casual reading of the Wurttemburg Confession of 1551, the Second Helvetic Confession, the Scots Confession of 1560, and the XXXIX Articles of Religion reveal them to be cut from the same bolt of cloth.}}</ref> Some churches use black at Masses for the dead, but more commonly white or purple is used. For historical reasons much of the worldwide Anglican Communion takes a noticeable lead from the practice of the [[Church of England]]. Since the 1980 [[Alternative Service Book]], liturgical colours have been recommended for seasons, with more detailed advice offered as part of the [[Common Worship]] series of liturgies, including colours for all Sundays and festivals printed in the 'core volume' next to collects.

The Church's published Lectionary now makes detailed suggestions for liturgical colour throughout the year, which corresponds almost exactly with the above table of Roman Rite (post-1969 usage) usage with five minor exceptions, and one more significant one:

:* there is no reference in Anglican usage to Masses of deceased popes and cardinals;
:* no liturgical colour at all is suggested for [[Holy Saturday]] (the words "hangings removed" are printed);
:* the recommendation of red for confirmation rites is extended also to ordination rites;
:* Lenten Array (unbleached linen) continues to be listed as an alternative option to purple during Lent;
:* the option exists for using red instead of green during the "Kingdom Season", the four last Sundays of the liturgical year, culminating in [[Christ the King]], as is common is some Lutheran traditions (see above);
:* finally, and more significantly, the Church of England provision suggests white throughout the Sundays after [[Epiphany (holiday)|Epiphany]] as a distinct "Epiphany season", with ordinary time commencing the day after [[Candlemas]].

The colour scheme suggested by the [[Church of England]] also indicates where gold vestments should be used in those churches that possess gold and white as distinct colours. The use of rose-pink vestments, as in the Roman Rite table above, was mentioned as an option in early editions of Common Worship,<ref>The use of rose-pink vestments is suggested in the liturgical colour sequence notes of [[Common Worship]] of which an  on-line version may be found here: {{Cite web |title=Rules to Order the Christian Year |url=http://www.cofe.anglican.org/worship/liturgy/commonworship/texts/rules/rulesyear.html}}</ref> and is a listed option in the annual published lectionary; however, later Common Worship publications have begun to refer to this practice as "traditional" reflecting its resurgence.<ref>For example, see {{Cite web |title=Common Worship {{!}} Times & Seasons |url=https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/common-worship/churchs-year/times-and-seasons/advent#mmm1 |quote=added to the Common Worship series in 2006, page 50, paragraph 1: "rose-pink vestments are traditionally worn"}}</ref>

===Sarum Rite===
The [[Sarum Rite]] was a medieval liturgical rite used in [[England]] before the [[Reformation]] which had a distinct set of liturgical colours. After the [[Anglo-Catholic]] Revival of the 19th century, certain [[Church of England]] churches began adopting Sarum liturgical colours as an attempt to produce something that was an English expression of [[Catholicism]] rather than a Roman expression. One of the chief advocates behind this was [[Percy Dearmer]]. The exact colours used by the mediaeval Sarum rite are a matter of dispute, but colours adopted by contemporary churches claiming to use the Sarum scheme include in particular deep blue for [[Advent]], which may be popularly referred to as "Sarum blue", and unbleached linen for [[Lent]].

==Methodist churches==
[[Methodism|Methodists]] use a colour scheme similar to those used by Lutherans and Roman Catholics. [[The United Methodist Church]], prior to the early 1990s, used red solely for Pentecost, even including the Sundays after Pentecost Sunday, with the use of green being reserved for the season of [[Kingdomtide]], which usually lasted from late August/early September until Christ the King (the last Sunday in Kingdomtide). Since the publication of the [[The United Methodist Book of Worship (1992)|1992 Book of Worship]], the UMC has followed the ELCA practice of wearing red only for Pentecost, Holy Week and [[Reformation Sunday]] and green for the rest of the Pentecost season.<ref>{{Cite web |title=UMC Liturgical Colors / Parament Colors |url=https://mainstreetumc.org/umc-liturgical-colors/ |access-date=2022-04-17 |publisher=Main Street United Methodist Church |language=English}}</ref>

==Reformed churches==
The [[Presbyterian Church (USA)]], or its predecessor denominations, has sanctioned the use of liturgical colours and promoted their use in [[The Worshipbook of 1970]], the 1993 Book of Common Worship and the 2018 Book of Common Worship. Advent and Lent are periods of preparation and repentance and are represented by the colour purple. Blue can be used for Advent instead of purple. The feasts of Christmas Day and Christmastide, Epiphany Sunday, Baptism of the Lord Sunday, Transfiguration Sunday, Easter Season, Trinity Sunday, and Christ the King Sunday are represented by white. Green is the colour for periods of Ordinary Time. Red is for Pentecost Sunday, but may also be used for ordinations, church anniversaries, and memorial services for ordained clergy. Red or purple are appropriate for Palm Sunday. During Holy Week, purple is used until the church is stripped bare on Maundy Thursday; the church remains stripped bare on Good Friday and Holy Saturday, though in some places black might be used on those days.

Similarly, the [[United Church of Christ]] includes indications of which liturgical colour to use for each Sunday in its annual calendar. The general Western pattern is followed, with either purple or blue recommended for Advent.<ref>{{Cite web |year=2016 |title=United Church of Christ Desk Calendar and Plan Book |url=http://www.uccresources.com}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
* {{Cite book |title=Ordo missae celebrandae et divini officii persolvendi secundum calendarium romanum generale pro anno liturgico 2020 - 2021 |publisher=Libreria Editrice Vaticana |year=2020 |isbn=978-8826604176 |language=la}}
* {{Cite book |url=https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccdds/documents/rc_con_ccdds_doc_20030317_ordinamento-messale_en.html |title=General Instruction of the Roman Missal |publisher=International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. |year=2002 |editor-last=Moroney |editor-first=Msgr. James Patrick |edition=3 |quote=Third Typical Edition}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Catholic Church}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160318033820/http://lutheransonline.com/servlet/CpsServlet/dbpage%3Dcge%26gid%3D20052995655655607101111555%26pg%3D20053040942236960101111555 Christian Symbols, Crosses, Parament Colours; and their meanings]—Trinity Lutheran Church, Billings, Montana
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXTGUBSmuq4 Liturgical Colours], from Chuck Knows Church, a ministry of the General Board of Discipleship of The United Methodist Church
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8P91WSlTSI0 Clergy Stoles and their Colors] a related video to the above, from Chuck Knows Church, a ministry of the General Board of Discipleship of The United Methodist Church  
* {{CathEncy|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04134a.htm|title=Liturgical colours}}
* [https://liturgicalcolour.appspot.com/ Protestant liturgical colours on-line]
* [http://universalis.com/calendar.htm Catholic calendar] showing the liturgical colours for each day and feast

{{Liturgical year of the Catholic Church}}
{{CatholicMass|collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liturgical Colours}}
[[Category:Catholic liturgy]]
[[Category:Color]]
[[Category:Color codes]]
[[Category:Mass (liturgy)]]
[[Category:Liturgical calendar]]
[[Category:Color of clothing]]
[[Category:Color in religion]]