A traditional black biretta

The biretta is a square cap with three or four ridges or peaks, sometimes surmounted by a tuft, traditionally worn by Roman Catholic clergy, as well as by some clergy of the Anglican Communion. It is also the term used for a similar cap worn by those holding doctoral degrees from some universities, and is occasionally used for caps worn by advocates in law courts, for instance the Advocates in the Channel Islands and Malta. Biretta File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Biretta File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... A cap is a form of headgear. ... In the Roman Catholic Church, the threefold order, or hierarchy, of bishop, priest, and deacon, conferred through the sacrament of Holy Orders, is a structural feature considered to be of divine institution. ... Main article: Anglicanism The Anglican Communion is a world-wide affiliation of Anglican Churches. ... An advocate is one who speaks on behalf of another, especially in a legal context, and particularly in reference to the system of Scots law. ... This article is about the British dependencies. ...

Its origins are uncertain but is mentioned as early as the tenth century. The most probable origin of the biretta is the academic hat of the high Middle Ages, which was a soft, square cap. The medieval academic hat is also the ancestor of the modern mortarboard hat or 'dink' used today in secular universities. The tuft or pom which is sometimes seen on the biretta was added later, as evidenced by the fact that the earliest forms of the biretta did not bear the device. ( 9th century - 10th century - 11th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 10th century was that century which lasted from 901 to 1000. ... Graduation portrait of Linus Pauling, 1922 A mortarboard is an item of academic headgear consisting of a horizontal square board fixed upon a skull-cap, with a tassel attached to the centre. ...

Ecclesiastical biretta

Bishop Willem Jacobus Eijk wearing a purple biretta

Historically, the biretta has been used by all ranks of the clergy from cardinals to priests, deacons and seminarians. Those worn by cardinals are scarlet red and made of silk. The biretta of a bishop is purple, while those worn by priests, deacons, and seminarians are black. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 231 × 598 pixelsFull resolution (318 × 823 pixel, file size: 46 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 231 × 598 pixelsFull resolution (318 × 823 pixel, file size: 46 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... The coat of arms of a Cardinal are indicated by a red galero (wide-brimmed hat) with 15 tassels on each side (the motto and escutcheon are proper to the individual Cardinal). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Deacon is a role in the Christian Church which is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      This article...

Cardinals bear no tuft or "pom," bishops bear a purple pom, priests who have been appointed as prelates to certain positions within the Vatican wear a black biretta with red pom, diocesan priests wear a black biretta with a black pom, and seminarians wear a black biretta without a pom. Priests in religious orders do not usually wear birettas, though the canons of the Order of Prémontré wear a white biretta. The pope does not make use of the biretta. The liturgical biretta has three peaks, with the 'peak-less' corner worn on the left side of the head. Look up prelate in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Premonstratensians, also called Norbertines, and in England the White Canons (from the color of their habit) are a Christian religious order of Augustinian Canons founded at Prémontré near Laon in 1120 by Saint Norbert, afterwards archbishop of Magdeburg. ...

The use of the biretta has not been abolished as a result of changes in the regulation of clerical dress and vesture following the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, but its use has been made optional. It is occasionally seen today, and is oftentimes only used by bishops and cardinals, and by them only on ceremonial occasions. Some priests wear it during outdoor services such as burials or processions or, more less commonly, during the celebration of Mass and other liturgical services. The biretta is also worn by a priest, deacon, and bishop in attendance at a Mass offered according to rubrics the Roman Missal of 1962. The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, or Vatican II, was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      This article...

Academic or doctoral biretta

In the Medieval university, the ceremony by which a new master or doctor received his degree included the placing of the biretta on his head. While the academic biretta developed into various styles of academic headgear on the European continent and in the British Isles, and the liturgical biretta underwent its own separate development, there are today secular universities that still use the term for their academic cap.

In commencement ceremonies and other academic settings, clergy often wear the biretta rather than the mortarboard. For clergy who do not hold pontifical degrees, the biretta used academically is the same as the liturgical biretta. However, a four-peaked biretta is awarded to those who complete a doctoral degree in a pontifical faculty or university (as opposed to doctorates from other faculties), which may be piped and tufted with the color indicating the field of expertise; thus dark blue for philosophy, emerald green for canon law, and dark red for theology.^[1][2] Similarly, a three-peaked biretta may be awarded to those receiving the licentiate (S.T.L., Ph.L.). The "academic biretta" may not be worn during liturgical services. Academic procession during the University of Canterbury graduation ceremony. ... Graduation portrait of Linus Pauling, 1922 A mortarboard is an item of academic headgear consisting of a horizontal square board fixed upon a skull-cap, with a tassel attached to the centre. ... A B.A. issued as a certificate A degree is any of a wide range of status levels conferred by institutions of higher education, such as universities, normally as the result of successfully completing a program of study. ...

The pontifical doctoral biretta is sometimes seen in depictions of St. Teresa of Ávila, because she was declared a doctor by the University of Salamanca.^[3] This recognition is distinct from her status as a doctor of the Church. The doctoral biretta has been borrowed for depictions of another doctor of the Church, St. Thérèse de Lisieux.^[4] For other saints with similar names, please see Saint Teresa. ... The University of Salamanca (Spanish: Universidad de Salamanca), located in the town of Salamanca, west of Madrid, is the second oldest university in Spain (the first one is the university of Palencia, now disappeared), and one of the oldest in Europe. ... In Roman Catholicism, a Doctor of the Church (Latin doctor, teacher, from Latin docere, to teach) is a saint from whose writings the whole Christian Church is held to have derived great advantage and to whom eminent learning and great sanctity have been attributed by a proclamation of a pope... For other women with similar names, see Saint Teresa Saint Thérèse de Lisieux (January 2, 1873 – September 30, 1897), or more properly Sainte Thérèse de lEnfant-Jésus et de la Sainte Face (Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and of the Holy...

Notes

1. ^ St. Therese Catholic Church Q&A. Archive.org revision of 05-05-2006. Accessed 2006-11-26.
2. ^ EWTN Catholic Q & A. Accessed 2006-11-26.
3. ^ Paul Rhetts, Saint Teresa in New Mexico. Tradicion Revista, Volume 7, No. 1, Spring 2002. Accessed 2006-11-26.
4. ^ Portraits/Chicago Inc. Accessed 2006-11-26.

References

• "Biretta" in the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia.
• Noonan, Jr., James-Charles (1996). The Church Visible: The Ceremonial Life and Protocol of the Roman Catholic Church. Viking. ISBN 0-670-86745-4. 
• "Instruction on the dress, titles and coat-of-arms of cardinals, bishops and lesser prelates." L'Osservatore Romano, English ed. 17 Apr. 1969: 4. Online at http://www.fiu.edu/~mirandas/instruction69.htm

Image File history File links Wikisource-logo. ... Masthead LOsservatore Romano is the Vaticans newspaper. ...

External links

• Picture of biretta
• Additional pictures of birettas in various settings
• Pictures of birettas, information and literature in German language