| Enthronement Vestments The vestments the Archbishop will be wearing for his enthronement have been presented to him from the people of Wales. The garments, made entirely by Welsh craftsmen using Welsh materials, are intended to reflect the rich heritage in Wales of textile design and manufacture. The materials and work involved cover the whole of the country, North, South, East and West and represents the warm affection Wales feels for its former Archbishop. The new vestments were presented to Dr Williams at a special ceremony in Cardiff City Hall on Thursday 20th February. Included among the guests were all those who were involved with the making of the vestments. Dr Williams will retain the vestments for as long as he is Archbishop of Canterbury. They will then be returned to the National Museum of Welsh Life in Cardiff for display alongside other historical Welsh clerical vestments. The costs of the vestments have been met by an anonymous donor on behalf of the people of Wales working through National Assembly Member Brian Hancock. The Archbishop has also received a new cassock given him by the children of Wales. A new crosier has been presented to the Archbishop as a gift from the Benedictine Community at Elmore Abbey (Tel: 01635 33080). This simple crook, known as a pastoral staff, is made of oak and contains a plain cross. The staff has been blessed and prayed over during a Eucharistic Service at the Abbey. Below is a detailed description of the vestments: Cope, Mitre and Stole The cloth was woven in the Archbishop’s former diocese of Monmouth on a hand loom using a golden coloured silk yarn. The weaver, Gilbert Kilbride, specialises in making silks for ecclesiastical vestments which are made up to his designs in his studio by his wife Wendy. The body of the Cope is in a pale gold with the ‘orphreys’ bordering the front in a contrasting gold featuring the cross of Canterbury woven into the material and highlighted by embroidered gold wire. The Mitre and Stole use the same gold silks and again feature the cross of Canterbury woven into the fabric. The Rochet The white robe worn beneath the cope and mitre has been woven on a hand loom in West Wales by Riitta Sinkkonen Davies. It took several months to weave the five yards of fine fabric used to make up the rochet. Just setting the loom with the 3600 threads that make up the width of the linen took over a week to individually tie, before the fine weaving could begin. The rochet is of simplest design with no ruffs or frills. Morse (clasp) The clasp that holds the two sides of the cope together bears a jewel made by jeweller, Rhiannon of Tregaron. The design shows the white dragon of England and the red dragon of Wales greeting each other in peace across the cross of Canterbury. It is a reference to the ancient prophecies of Merlin where the dragons of Wales and England were seen to be constantly at war - each, in succession vanquishing the other. Now that jostling for ascendancy is over as the cross unites the historic divide between nations and churches. Historically the dragon features in many of the ancient manuscripts of the Celtic Church as ornament to the lettering while their tails form a representation of the knot work also found on many ancient Christian crosses found in Wales. Made of silver, gold and rare Welsh gold, the back of the clasp is engraved in Welsh declaring its provenance. |