This might not be a very popular post …

Schmemann began his book For the Life of the World with the phrase “Man is what he eats,” quoting the German philosopher Feuerbach. In a similar fashion (wait for the pun), I believe that “man is what he wears.”

Yes, friends, the way we dress matters. It shapes and transforms the way we think, the way we work, the way we act and – most importantly for the Christian – the way we worship. While the rationalism of our Enlightenment culture might deny the effects of “matter” (you know, earthy stuff), simply denying the reality of something doesn’t make it true. Everyone knows that when you dress professionally, you are more productive and focused at work, and that dressing in a casual manner actually reduces productivity and the mental faculties of the average person – these are widely accepted viewpoints, it seems. In a similar way, surrounding yourself with certain decorations or trappings can affect the way one thinks and acts, as well. Aesthetics matter.

Before I say anything further, the inherent legalism in Protestantism might lead the reader to already proclaim “You’re just being legalistic and making a bunch of rules! – Freedom!”

However, we don’t see things in this way and so the criticism is null and void. No, we make a big deal out of things like clerical dress, incense, water, wine, bread, oil, fasting, candles, Icons and other such seemingly “earthy” things because they are part of the beauty of our faith (“Beauty will save the world” Dostoyevsky) and because they all serve to aid in our divination or transformation into the likeness of Christ (our salvation); for we are all on a journey to become as God, to have righteousness that exceeds that of the Pharisees (but in Spirit and Truth) and to be true and whole images (Icons) of God. Our salvation is not a legal declaration that makes no actual difference in our lives – it is something that actually changes us and transforms us through the Grace of God.

With that out of the way, let me make my main point: the devolution in clerical dress among Protestants is directly related to the degradation (and abandonment) of true, Christian worship.

No more than about a hundred years ago, all Christian clergy wore some sort of “official” clerical dress. The Puritans did it, the Baptists did it … they all did it (even the most anti-Ecclesial, anti-Sacramental and anti-Papal groups). To be clear, this means their ministers wore black shirts with puffy or distinguished white collars of some sort (and even special hats in some cases). Everywhere a minister went, he was instantly recognizable by the people. This was the way of things.

In the last generation, however, this trend has been radically altered among Protestants, or “evangelicals.”

The first step in this change was the move away from specifically clerical dress to that of “professional” dress. In other words, now ministers in these groups were wearing suits, dress shirts and ties – dressed just as the men of Wall Street and other “white collar” professions. They were no longer the Icon of Christ, sent to minister to God’s people, but the Icon of Capitalism. This change, of course, is part and parcel of a number of changes that have had a significant and drastically altering effect on the Christianity of North America.

The Church was/is not seen by these groups as the place where heaven and earth meet, where we are united to God and transformed by His Mysteries; rather, it is seen as a place of consumption and “meeting needs.” This “professional” man, who has gone to seminary and read lots of books, is now qualified to teach us the way of Christianity in a neat and tidy manner. We don’t believe in the “hocus pocus” of the ancient Church – no, we are enlightened, rational people – and so our “pastor” is a professional man, not a cleric. We have ordinances, not Mysteries (or Sacraments). And just as we might learn in the workplace through an expensive seminar of some sort, we learn from this “professional man” how to be successful people, how to influence others, how to have a good marriage and even how to “reach the lost,” as if it is an universally applicable set of “steps” one can follow. It is all very professional; all very organized; all very rationalistic.

As part of this, therefore, the approach of worship for these groups is very professional and polished as well. A man is well-trained to conduct a choir and orchestra, they practice on a regular basis and go to seminars and camps to learn new and innovative songs and ways to worship, and everything is done very professionally.

I can recall times in my former life being around such choirs and witnessing their leader getting so animated and visibly upset by the mistakes of those in his troop that he would lash out at them, accuse people of “lacking in faith” to worship God adequately (professionally) and so on. This was serious business, and it would all eventually get drawn back to this idea that “we have to do our best for God.” Somehow, I doubt God had yelling at people who missed a cue by half a second in mind when he thinks of worship in Spirit and Truth. But really, the main reason these choirs and orchestras must perform “at their best” is so that particular parish can separate itself from the other local parishes and “win people to Christ” and, ultimately, to their particular parish. Marketing 101.

The most recent transformation in clerical dress has happened over the last decade or two, and it is that of the ultra-casual.

These are the ministers (and parishes) that have transformed not only their dress but also their building into a modern day entertainment venue, replete with the best of current audio/visual technology. The pastor will dress in a casual manner, and he expects everyone else to do the same. They want you to know that “God accepts you as you are,” but really this is just another shallow marketing technique to reach those who weren’t even drawn in by the “professional” church. The key focus of these groups is seemingly entertainment, dazzling, shock and awe, and – oh yeah – “winning people to Christ” (i.e. winning people to that particular parish over and against another one). It is all one big competition with every other “church” in the world to have the biggest, best, newest, shiniest and most amazing “worship service,” pastor, building, small groups, classes, retreats, mission trips and more. Pure consumption; pure narcissism. Purely American! That’s probably why they sing hymns to America and celebrate civic holidays within their Sunday services.

The end result, of course, is that we have a thousand people that are an “inch deep” in their beliefs and understanding of the Gospel and who, therefore, either flake out completely or begin an endless “church-hopping” adventure once this “new” place tires and they are feeling empty again (and this doesn’t take that long, if you look at statistics from places like Willow Creek). They are seeds without root, carelessly thrown upon rocky soil, but no one seems to care.

While these things all seem silly as I describe them here – and it should be easy for anyone with a well-rounded and historic understanding of the Church to reject them outright – there is a real tragedy and danger here, given the widespread ignorance of Americans with regards to worship, Church history and even Christ himself.

First, these groups are teaching people that the Church (and worship) is about them and what they want out of a worship service and what they want to learn. We want a Christian “buffet” so that we can pick-and-choose what we desire, not necessarily what we need or what’s best for us. This narcissistic approach to Christianity develops “spoiled” Christians who think everything is always about them and what they can get out of the Church. They are less and less likely to accept something simply because it is true – no, truth takes a backseat to their new-found traditions of men and the spirit of the age. These Christians are the kind that “shop” for a church home that fits their pre-conceived notions of Christianity and their own personal interpretations of Scripture – and this is frighteningly popular in America today, driven by relativism and a general denial of Truth (replaced by “what’s true for me“).

Secondly, these groups teach a cavalier and casual approach to worship (seen explicitly in their clergy’s dress). Because of the Gnosticism/Docetism/Nestorianism inherent in Protestantism, they believe not in a God that is “everywhere present and fillest all things” as the Orthodox pray, but rather in “the man upstairs” and Jesus their “homeboy.” As a result, their worship is not about the union of heaven and earth and entering into the presence of God (because, for them, God is “distant” – whether they admit this or not, their practices reveal it to be so). Rather, their worship seems to be about evoking an emotional response among the people (which they erroneously determine to be a “Spiritual” experience), putting on a “good show” (being professional) and giving “praise” to God, which is generally another way of saying “producing an exciting musical atmosphere that gets us pumped up about ‘Jesus.’” It is not a Personal encounter with Christ through the Communion (erroneously called “fellowship” by some) of the Saints and the Mysteries of the Church, but rather a detached, im-personal “experience” that “points upward” to heaven – or so they claim.

The way we dress matters. The surroundings we create matter. These things reveal not only what we believe but also how we will act.

When an Orthodox Christian surrounds himself with golden Icons, the smell of incense and the beauty of candlelight and proceeds to calmly and with reverence chant prayers in the presence of all the hosts of heaven (surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses), they are not doing so in order to evoke an emotional response (and confuse it with the Spirit) or “put on a good show” or dazzle onlookers with their “cool” and “relevant” music and video. No, the Orthodox Christian is humbly and with reverential fear entering into the presence of God in order to conform their entire life to His; to become as Christ; to become as a true human – not to conform to the fleeting and ever-changing expectations and desires of this world so as to “win some” by a cosmic bait-and-switch.

Our clergy dress as “stewards of the Mysteries” of God, for they are Christ’s servants and Icons on this earth, serving His people and living lives that are for others and not for their own personal (or professional) gain. This reflects more than just a fashion statement – it reflects our very existence as Christians and our way of carefully and humbly approaching God in worship – in Spirit and in Truth.