Servants of the Lord & the Virgin of Matará
Catholic Culture
Ecclesiastical Embroidery
New Life For an Old Art
This Catholic Culture article seeks to provide insight into our sisters’ experience of making ecclesiastical embroidery and to provide links to other online resources for those who wish to learn more about giving new life to this old art.
Brief History of Ecclesiastical Embroidery
From the time of the ancient Hebrew priesthood and its vestments, there have been textiles, weavings and embroideries made exclusively for the service of God. Early Christian art and writings attest to the continuity of such liturgical vestments and the presence of ornate embroidery in the beginning of the Church.
“Ecclesiastical embroidery” refers to the fine stitch work executed exclusively for use in worship usually as a form of special ornamentation on altar linens, vestments, etc.
Few early Christian textiles and embroideries have survived since by their nature fabric easily corrupts through use and washing, as well as from the effects of mildew, moths, sun damage and time itself. (A particular exception to this can be found in the 4th and 5th century Coptic textiles which remained remarkably preserved in Egypt’s dry climate; the collection of Coptic textiles at the Met includes items ornamented with Roman pagan as well as Christian themes.)
Most of the earliest surviving ecclesiastical embroideries date from 10th-11th centuries. Catholic Encyclopedia (New Advent) provides some historical background to this art in their entry on ecclesiastical embroidery.
To see a wide variety of exquisite embroideries and textiles made for the glory of God over the past 500 years, see the search results for “chasuble” on the website of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. This reveals 173 historical vestments and detailed ecclesiastical textile and embroidery. Similarly, the search results for “ecclesiastical vestment” reveals stoles, paintings of vestments and other beautiful Catholic artwork.
Our Experience of Ecclesiastical Embroidery
Joining a long tradition of sisters who have made ecclesiastical embroidery to give glory to God, we also learn how to make and ornament linens and vestments destined for sacred use. Since few young women in our times come to the convent already knowing how to embroider, we pass on the foundations of this craft in our houses of formation during recreation and through workshops. Later in the missions, sisters may use this skill and meditative practice to beautify their convent chapels and parish churches.
Vestments for the IVE
Our sisters usually take on the duty of making the chasuble and stole which will vest a new IVE priest on the day of his ordination. As sisters in the Religious Family of the Incarnate Word, we are especially united to the priests of the IVE (the male branch) who serve as our chaplains, confessors, spiritual directors, and pastors of most of the mission parishes where we serve. It is even not uncommon for there to be brothers and sisters from the same family consecrated to God within the IVE and SSVM. Therefore, priestly ordinations are not only occasions to thank God for the gift of the priesthood and the outpouring of the sacramental life in the Church, but also “family moments” for all of us united by the same charism and twin constitutions.
The images to be embroidered are chosen by the transitional deacon who will be ordained to the priesthood. The project involves many sisters and becomes a beautiful prayer asking for the holiness and perseverance of the new priest who will become an Alter Christus (“Another Christ”) at the altar.
Techniques:Embroidery, Painting, Direct Appliques
In order to beautify the liturgy, our sisters make not only vestments but also altar linens and altar cloths. We usually first learn how to embroider simple monochrome images on linen or high-quality cotton for corporals, purificators and palls. Some sisters learn how to crochet cinctures and even make fine crochet lace. By studying old albs, two sisters learned how to make complex drawn-thread work and have taught many other sisters over the years how to do it too!
To produce the beautiful images for vestments we often do “thread painting” using synthetic silks on printed fabric images. These can be supplemented with bead-work or even painted faces and hands.
Our Contemplatives and Commissioned Work
The branch of our cloistered contemplative sisters dedicates a significant part of their work time in a particular way to making vestments, altar cloths, and altar linens, as well as baptismal gowns, brown scapulars, rosaries, and sodality banners.
Commissioned work helps to provide income to support life in the monastery. There is a waiting time for commissioned work since the monastic schedule of prayer comes first and limits the daily work hours.
To order a vestment for a priest’s anniversary, a parish’s annual patronal feast, altar linens, or baptismal gowns, please contact our sisters:
Monastery of St. Edith Stein
Attn: Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matara
Monastery of the Precious Blood
5400 Fort Hamilton Parkway
Brooklyn, NY 11219
e-mail: mon.edithstein@servidoras.org
Further References
To view a fairly academic “Embroidery reading list” (which including a subsection on ecclesiastical embroidery) offered by London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, click here.
A good summary of the types of linens which can be embroidered is given on a refernce page of the Windstar sewing machine company website.
