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The Orthodox are kind of gloomy! Everything is a sin for them, everything is impossible. Religion is too serious! So the clergy have black clothes. There would be no blue or, for example, green. Is it really impossible? They appealed to Archpriest Georgy Klapchuk, rector of the Makarievsky church of Toretsk, with a request to clarify how fundamental the black color is in the robes of Orthodox priests and monks.
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The black color of the robes of monks and priests is a symbol of renunciation of worldly vanity and the benefits of the material world. It also testifies to the desire to find spiritual peace and get rid of passions. The style of clothing is also not accidental: it is similar to the upper garment of our Savior and means that monasticism and the clergy are called to imitate His life.
Many believe that Orthodoxy is too strict, that it talks about sin all the time, some kind of mourning. There are people who sincerely wonder: why are priests so darkly dressed, because their vocation is to bring good and light into the world? This choice is based on the severity and solemnity of black. God is the King and the Chief for the clergy, the black robe helps to constantly remember this.
The black color came to us from Byzantium, where even women wore dark clothes resembling a long shirt or robe — with wide sleeves, full-bodied, belted. It was different in Russia at first. For example, St. Sergius of Radonezh wore a robe-like robe, tightly belted, with a wide collar and thin cuffs. There were no Podrashnikov then. It was already under Patriarch Nikon in the XVII century that cassocks appeared in Russia, which were worn in Greece.
To this day, priests wear Greek—style cassocks - wide, swinging. They did not take root then in our latitudes, because it was cold in them, because the Greek cassock was flying in the wind. Then we came up with a fitted cassock to make it warmer. This cut is also still in our everyday life. The Greek ones eventually returned, they are very comfortable in summer. I wear a Greek cassock myself, but I want to sew a Russian one, because it is very comfortable.
