The Passiontide Cope

In Passiontide, the Church turns her gaze fully to the mystery of Christ’s suffering and sacrifice. As a way of contributing to this most solemn liturgy, this cope beautifully reflects in cloth the sacred drama of the season.

The main fabric of the cope is our exclusive Sarum Red ‘Gothic’ silk damask. In years gone by, the liturgical character of Passiontide was expressed in deep indigo or black vestments, mourning the death of the Saviour and the ensuing eclipse of the Light of the World. But as liturgical changes unfolded in the 1960s, red emerged in its place: instead of the focus being on mourning and loss, it shifted to the shedding of blood and the fire of divine love which drove Christ’s ultimate sacrifice.

Using highly skilled traditional metalwork techniques in a range of silver threads and silks, the imagery was designed in a modern, yet faithful rendering of the Gospel narrative of the Passion.

Progress of the hood, hand-embroidered in beautiful silver threads on our black silk damask.

Every detail has been hand-sewn and hand-embroidered by our talented workroom team, using the finest materials and guided by a deep reverence for the story they were telling. It is, in every sense, a labour of love.

In the striking frame of the orphreys and morse, crafted in our black ‘Comper Cathedral’ silk damask, passages from the Passion narrative are evoked:

• The cockerel, a reminder of Peter’s betrayal of Jesus on the night He was arrested;
• Jesus’s garment woven from top to bottom, for which the Roman soldiers cast lots at the crucifixion;
• The pillar and scourges, a cruel punishment before the crucifixion;
• The 30 pieces of silver, the price of Judas’s betrayal;
• The crown of thorns woven by the Praetorian guard while Christ was in custody;
• The nails used to attach Jesus to the cross.

On the back, the cope hood presents a radiant and uncompromising summary of the Passion. The pliers and hammer are the tools that fix and remove the nails from the cross, poignant symbols of suffering and reparation. In front of the vinegar-soaked sponge and reed which opened the side of Jesus after His death, the inscription proclaims the divine Victim: Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum — Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.

The Holy Week ceremonies culminate on Good Friday, and this Passiontide cope stands as a fine example of reverent storytelling in cloth. It is a moving visual Passion narrative to enhance the liturgical offices of the solemn season.

This cope is available as a handcrafted vestment sample here.