With a new pastor come new changes, hopefully all for the glory of God and edification of the church! One immediately noticeable change is in the attire that the minister wears. Anyone participating in worship will surely see that the minister is wearing what looks like a dress or a gown. What is it, and why wear one?
It is called a Geneva Gown, worn by the ministers in Calvin’s Geneva, and this God-honoring sartorial practice has been worn by countless Reformed ministers down through the centuries. Let’s think through the wearing of the gown during corporate worship.[1] While clothing is not generally considered part of the architecture of a building, consistent, formal attire practically becomes part of the architecture. For example, a judge’s robes are as much a part of the courtroom as the bench and the jury box. In order to enhance the sense of being addressed by the Word of Christ in our worship, the ministers will wear the Geneva gown as the standard Reformed attire for the pastor of the church when leading worship and preaching the Word. Consider the attire of civil officers. Judges wear gowns when court is in session, and policemen wear their uniforms on duty. The Church is Christ’s institution of his Kingdom on earth, and the pastor is an officer in Christ’s Kingdom. The gown highlights the official nature of the minister’s labor in the pulpit, and emphasizes that the worship service is not a casual meeting of Christians but a covenantal gathering caught up in the heavenlies (Heb. 12) through the ordinances and offices Christ has established.
Ministers that choose not to wear the Geneva gown generally wear business formal, business casual, or street clothing (including Hawaiian shirts, designer T-shirts, skinny jeans, etc.). The first of these may reflect top executives in a business; the second may speak of a salesman, while the third tends to follow cultural trends. The minister of the Word is none of these—he is not a CEO, not a salesman, and not, we pray, trendy. He is a minister of Jesus Christ who stands in the pulpit as a herald of the kingdom. Without condemning Reformed or other ministers who do not wear the gown, we do affirm that the Geneva gown is a way of distinguishing ministers from other officers or roles in the civil sphere. One purpose of distinct clergy clothing has been to de-emphasize the individuality of the minister and to focus on his office as the bearer of God’s Word. In other words, with his attire, the minister says, “Let Christ increase, and me decrease!” The congregation doesn’t need to pay attention to or be distracted by what the minister is wearing, but instead on what the minister is saying as Christ’s herald.
Another function of the gown is to communicate proper training and preparation for the pulpit ministry. Some churches, such as the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Church, the Episcopal Church, and the Methodists wear vestments, which to them are essential to the worship and symbolic of the hierarchical structures of these churches. The Geneva gown should not be confused with these vestments. It is, rather, an academic gown traditionally worn by Reformed ministers as an expression of the Reformed and Presbyterian churches’ insistence on a highly trained clergy, well versed in the Scriptures, theology, and the history of Christian life and doctrine. With the gown, the Session and the Presbytery say, “Here is a man duly prepared to minister the Word of God to the church.”
The Presbyterian Directory for Worship makes a distinction between elements of worship and circumstances and forms of worship. The former refer to what we do in worship, such as sing, pray, read/preach Scripture, confess the faith, and observe the sacraments. These are regulated by Scripture such that we do only what is commanded by God. The circumstances and forms of worship refer to matters such as location, time, attire, and “style” (e.g., Acapella, classical, rock, etc.). While these are not regulated by a direct command from Scripture, they are informed by biblical teaching about the holiness and love of God, love of neighbor, and the call to worship God in the beauty of holiness (Psalm 96:9). Every Session has liberty to lead the church in applying the principles of God’s Word to such questions as seating, ornamentation, and ministerial attire. This does not mean that these decisions are unimportant or inconsequential. It does mean that adoption of one form is not necessarily a condemnation of other forms. The Session of Grace Presbyterian Church desires to cultivate in God’s people a high regard for corporate worship. Consequently, a final function of the Genevan gown communicates reverence in worship due the name of our Savior. The changes that are currently undertaken have been decided with a view to enhancing a God-centered, reverent, and beautiful atmosphere for our worship together. It is true that a minister in a gown stands out. However, worship is intended to stand out. We are meeting with our God in his Heavenly Mount Zion, and as such our worship should fit occasion. The wearing of the Genevan gown is one small way of achieving the goal of glorifying God in worship.