Question and Answer
Clerical Collars in the OPC
Question:
Is it acceptable for an OPC minister to wear a clerical collar? Thank you.
Answer:
Thank you for your fine question to the OPC Q & A page concerning clerical collars.
There is actually nothing in the OPC standards (i.e., the Bible, the Westminster Confession or Catechisms, or the Book of Church Order) which forbids the use of a clerical collar. Nor is there anything which requires a particular form of dress. Of course, a minister's attire ought to be simple and common. Vestments have been historically rejected in Reformed churches. However, there is a history of the use of collars and Genevan gowns. So, you may certainly find ministers in the OPC who will don a collar and a gown. The use of these things is far more prominent in the Church of Scotland, however.
I hope that helps. If not, please feel free to follow up with me.
About Q&A
"Questions and Answers" is a weekly feature of the OPC website. The answers come from individual ministers in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church expressing their own convictions and do not necessarily represent an "official" position of the Church, especially in areas where the Standards of the Church (the Scriptures and the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms) are silent.
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