Page 17 - Read and Recognize

Read and Recognize
The Apparel of the Church

If you could all see how Peter detests the colourful and womanish pomp
of dress and splendour of ornament of the cardinals and bishops! A
downright unmanly strutting and posing!

The Church of CHRIST was good until the age of Constantine. Then
high church dignitaries were welcomed into the palaces of the em-
perors, kings and princes. JESUS Himself says about John the Baptist:
Luke 7,25 „But what went you out to see? A man clothed in soft garments?
Behold, they that are in costly apparel and live delicately are in the houses of
kings!“

Of course, there were time and again notable exceptions among them,
although they were rare.
In order to give expression to their dignity and power as so-called
“Princes of the Church” and to work as such, they adapted themselves
to the pomp at court. Every ever so improper, unmanly finery, each
tassel, each play of colour was denoted by a pious, religious phrase.
Here just one example: the red socks of bishops stand for the imitation
in the bloody footsteps of JESUS CHRIST. To which I say: if a bishop
really lives up to the imitation of CHRIST and untiringly follows in
JESUS’ tracks, he will indeed get sore feet; he need not pretend to be
having them with soft gaudy socks.

What a Church that dresses men in effeminate and courtly coloured as
well as soft robes, which, in the New Covenant, really completely con-
tradicts the teaching of JESUS CHRIST and the Apostles! How on earth
can such a Church call herself apostolic? The Apostles were not poorly
or even shabbily dressed on any account. After all, they had JESUS
CHRIST for their Master and model. With GOD there is no filth, no
moral decline, no untidiness and the like. With the Jews the outward
cleanliness was even a religious law. And consequently the Apostles
were very plainly dressed, yet neatly and cleanly. Bartholomew still
wore every now and then (at the time of JESUS) some tassels on his
garment, which distinguished him as a scribe, as was customary with
the Jews.

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