Why Does the Pastor Wear a Robe?

Many of us in this congregation know by experience that to enter the service of a Reformed church from the plethora of non-denominational churches is a culture shock. There is no praise band but an organ, piano, and maybe a simple guitar or two. There is no overhead projected music but the people sing from hymnals or songs printed in a service booklet. The service is not a time of “hanging out with Jesus,” but is a formal meeting with God.

There is another difference that I would like to address here. The pastor does not wear a Hawaiian shirt or any other laid-back attire, but he wears a robe while he leads and preaches. Again, to many, this looks “Catholic.” For others, this looks like the pastors in many liberal churches, which do not take the Bible seriously, such as the Crystal Cathedral, which you have seen on Sunday morning television.

Because there is this perception, what follows is a basic explanation for why our pastor, like many other Reformed pastors, wears a preaching/pulpit robe, also called “The Genevan Gown.”

The Biblical Teaching on Office

The first reason for this practice is the biblical teaching on office in the Church. The Bible teaches the concept that God has called pastors/ministers to a special office, that is, and official function in the life of God´s people. One need only read the New Testament epistles to see this. Because God places men in specific offices of duty, the people of God are to honor, respect, and submit to that office. For example, Hebrews 13:17 says,

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

For some, this might be a challenge if the one in office is a friend, peer, family member, or even one who is younger. Nevertheless, Paul exhorts Timothy, a young pastor, saying, “Let no one despise you for your youth”(1) precisely because in this very same chapter, Paul calls Timothy a “good servant of Christ Jesus,” that is, a minister of Christ. (2)

Wearing a robe, then, emphasizes the office of the minister and de-emphasizes the personality of the man in the pulpit. It is a way of turning the parishioners´ attention away from the person and his personality and putting it where it belongs, on the office of the minister who is the spokesman for the Lord.


In the Bible, we see that the clothing and calling of those in special offices are often connected. In other words, a person´s calling or office is visually represented by the clothing he wears.
(3) The purpose of the robe is to cover the man and accent his God-ordained office or calling before the people of God.

In the Bible, ministers of the Lord have a representative role during the public assembly. When he leads the congregation in prayer before God, he represents Christ leading the church in prayer before the Father. When he reads and preaches the Word, he represents Christ, the Husband, speaking to his holy bride. The robe does not set him above the congregation, but sets him apart for his office as pastor on the Lord´s Day.

This may seem strange, especially if you are used to “getting to know the man” in the pulpit. There is a time and a place for the minister to get to know his people casually, socially, and intimately, but the time for this is not in the pulpit. In the pulpit, the minister is your minister, who serves the Lord by feeding your soul with spiritual food.

(1) 1 Timothy 4:12; (2) 1 Timothy 4:6; (3) Genesis 9:20-27;
39:1-13; 37:3-11, 23; 41:1-44; many references in Exodus and
Leviticus; 1 Samuel 2:19; 15:27; 18:4; 24:4, 5, 11, 14; Ezra
9:3-5; Esther 8:15; Isaiah 22:21; Jonah 3:6; Matthew 22:11ff.;
27:31; Mark 16:5; Luke 15:22; Revelation 1:13; 4:4; 6:11;
19:13, 16

The Practice of Church History

Another reason for the pastor wearing a robe is that from the Reformation until very recently, Protestant pastors wore robes of office when serving. The robe, then, emphasizes that we are a part of the historic Christian Church.

Some think the preaching robe is too Roman Catholic, though. The fact is, though, that preaching robes did not originate with the Roman Catholic Church, but were worn in the ancient Church and later by the Protestant Reformers. As well, there is a huge difference between a Protestant minister wearing a preaching robe and the priestly garments of Rome. As a Reformed Church, our ministers are preachers and pastors, not priests. The Reformers stopped using the vestments of the priesthood for this reason. In its place, they wore plain, simple, and unadorned black robes while preaching, instead of the elaborate, complex, and overly symbolic garments of the priests.

Here is how Martin Bucer, on behalf of all the Protestant ministers of the city of Strasbourg, explained the rationale for this change in 1524:

In our churches we have completely done away with and abolished everything which has no basis in the Scriptures and which has been added to the Lord´s Supper without any justification in the Scriptures and therefore has been an insult and a slander of Christ and of the divine mercies”¦the priest and servant of the congregation does not wear a special vestment, only what we call the choir gown, and none of the sacrificial vestments such as alb, stole, chasuble, etc.(1)

In this same treatise, Bucer devoted an entire chapter to the “Reason Why the Papist [Roman Catholic] Vestments Have Been Abolished.” In this chapter, he explained that the example of the high priests in the Old Testament with all their vestments does not apply, as Rome said of their priesthood.

Instead, Bucer said,

Christ is our High Priest in the line of Aaron” His priestly garments, and those of all of us who are united with Him in true faith and therefore are also priests, are not made with hands, but spiritual clothing such as truth, justice and righteousness and all things which are in Christ.(2)

(1) Grund und Ursach, I.2; (1) Grund und Ursach, V.68

The Contemporary Church

The third basic reason why the minister of the Word wears a robe while preaching and leading in worship, is that the pastor is not a businessman of an upper middle-class corporation, but a minister of Jesus Christ.

Even churches in which the pastor does not wear a robe, there is an expectation that he dress conservatively, with a dark suit, white starched shirt, and conservative necktie. In our culture, this is the weekday uniform of a lawyer and businessman. This “uniform” often communicates precisely the wrong message to the church and community in which we minister. We do not derive our authority from the symbols of our culture, but from Christ and his Word.

The culture also pulls us to the other extreme of informality. After wearing business suits and office attire all week, we all too often want to come to church and “let it loose.” Instead, the robe emphasizes that we do not identify ourselves to the spirit of the age. It focuses the congregation on the work of Christ and apostolic doctrine “which transcend all cultures.” For those who cannot afford a suit or even a nice Sunday outfit the robe is neutral and says, “We are Christians here, not upper-middle class Americans.”

Therefore, in wearing a robe, we are bringing our practices in line with what the Bible implies, what the historic Church has practiced, and what Protestants have done for 500 years. We are also taking a stance against the American church’s tendency to turn the pastor into an executive or an informal friend.


–Rev. Daniel R. Hyde, Th.M.


Source: http://www.puritanboard.com/showthread.php/9649
-Who-wears-a-Robe-while-preaching