The Changing Colors of the Altar Paraments

Have you noticed that the familiar green on the altar, pulpit, and lectern is slowly being retired? On Reformation Sunday we had red on the altar. For All Saints Day, there is white. In several weeks, the green will completely disappear in favor of blue.

The changing colors of the altar paraments may make some curious. What do the colors mean, and why do we keep changing them? Others may think the changing colors are unimportant. However, the changing colors on the altar are supposed to tell the story of our salvation. So, it is worthwhile to review the colors of the church year from time to time, both those we use at Immanuel and those that are gaining in popularity.

Let’s start with red, since it was just on the altar. Red stands for fire, power, and the work of the Holy Spirit. It’s little wonder, then, that red is used on Pentecost Sunday, Reformation, and every time a pastor is ordained or installed. On those particular days, we are reminded that the Holy Spirit works through the proclaimed Word both to create and to mature our faith in Christ. 

Red stands, also, for blood. So, in order to make a distinction between Palm Sunday/Maundy Thursday and all of the other days that red is used, many churches are now using scarlet. This is to remind us in Holy Week of Jesus’ blood shed for our salvation.

White stands for purity. It is used for more major festivals in the church year than any other color. It is used also for the seasons of Christmas, Epiphany, and Easter. Through Jesus’ birth, His light going forth to the Gentile nations, and His triumphant resurrection from death and the grave, we hear the message: “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow.”

So, can you imagine churches using anything but white for Easter? Yet, some churches are changing to the color gold for Easter Sunday only. Gold stands for splendor, worth, and value, as in the precious metal of gold. “The golden Festival of the Resurrection is the event that gives our lives value and worth” (Escue).

Blue is the color used in the season of Advent. Blue stands for hope, because it makes us think of a clear blue sky. In Advent, we remember Jesus will return on the last day of time from the same blue sky into which He ascended. That is the promise which gives us hope.

Purple is used in the season of Lent. It stands for penitence. In the world in which Jesus lived, only royalty and the rich could afford to wear purple clothing. Jesus Himself wore purple only once: when the Roman soldiers clothed Him in purple to mock His claim of being a king. So, purple is placed on the altar in Lent as a reminder of the torment and suffering Jesus endured on the way to dying for us. It calls us to repentance.

Black is still another penitential color, used only on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Since black denotes the absence of color or light, it reminds Christians of when the sky went dark while Jesus hung upon the cross. Since black paraments are rare, many churches leave the altar bare on Good Friday.

Green stands for life and growth. It’s the color we see on the altar through the lengthy season of Pentecost. Green speaks of our need to grow and mature as disciples of Jesus Christ. This growth occurs through our constant use of the means of grace: Word of God, Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper.

The changing colors of the altar paraments are like the colors one sees when holding up a glass prism to light. The different colors of the rainbow are really different facets of one thing: light. So also, the different colors of the church seasons are actually different facets of the one story of salvation: the Light of the World, Jesus Christ giving life to His Bride, the Church through His crucifixion, death, and resurrection.

Pastor Jim Dunn