The verger’s roots lie deep in history and can be traced back through the medieval church to the New Testament and beyond. The verger today is someone committed to serving the Lord through practical ministry in the church, whether full-time, part-time or as a volunteer; someone with purely ceremonial duties or with other church responsibilities as well. The verger serves through a very special, indeed unique, and time-honoured lay ministry.
The ancient office of verger has its beginnings in the earliest of the Christian Church. The vergers of the today often retain many of the duties their various predecessors held. In the fourth and fifth centuries they came under the heading of ‘inferior officers of the church’. The mansion Arius, the housekeeper, and the osterias, the door keeper, are but two of the forerunners if the verger. Gregory the Great created the office of custos ecclesiae, whose duties included the lighting of candles and lamps in the church. The sexton, bedel, sacristan, clerk, parish constable and altarist have all contributed tasks to he duties carried out by the modern-day verger.
The first office-bearer to be chosen by Jesus’ twelve apostles, as recorded in Acts chapter 6, were specifically appointed to look after the practical needs of the new fast-growing Christian community, but they were not chosen lightly; men ‘fully of the Holy Spirit’ were selected to carry out these important practical tasks.
Verses 1 and 10 of Psalm, known as the verger’s psalm, says ‘O how lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord God of Hosts … I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of God that to dwell in the tents of unrighteousness’. As the psalm suggests, the verger holds one of the oldest-established offices within the church. Vergers were found in temples of Old Testament days as well as in the great churches and cathedrals of medieval times, just as they are in they are in the many different worship centres of today.
The verger gets his title from the verge – also known as the rod, staff, mace, wand, or virge -which he carries in procession before a dignitary of a cathedral or parish church. The verger literally made a way through the standing congregation of the medieval church. The term comes from the Latin virga, a rod or a twig, which was origin of the old English spelling of verger. The modern spelling reflects the French verge, which comes from the same Latin root. The verger, with his rod or twig, turns and inclines to make a way for the procession.
The practice of carrying a verge in a procession was popular in medieval times. Often made of wood, among other things it served to keep dogs at bay, or, for those who had the responsibility of the parish constable, as a truncheon to keep order. By the seventeenth century the wooden verge was replaced by metal or silver versions. A few examples of early verges survive, such as the verge used for the wedding of Mary Tudor to Philip of Spain in 1554, still used in Winchester Cathedral, whilst a fine example used today at Carlisle Cathedral was used to lead Bishop Ogelthorpe at the coronation of Elizabeth I in 1559. The verge used by the dean’s verger of Lincoln was made in 16666, the year of the great fire of London. A Twigg encased in silver, used at Rochester Cathedral, is thought to date back to the eleventh century.
The verge is generally carried in the right hand, pointing forward at approximately forty-five degrees. In Bradford Cathedral the verge is carried in this manner for cathedral dignitaries, whilst for those of ecclesiastical rank lower than a canon it is carried resting on the right shoulder. The latter practice is the norm in York Minster.
The ancient office of verger has its beginnings in the earliest of the Christian Church. The vergers of the today often retain many of the duties their various predecessors held. In the fourth and fifth centuries they came under the heading of ‘inferior officers of the church’. The mansion Arius, the housekeeper, and the osterias, the door keeper, are but two of the forerunners if the verger. Gregory the Great created the office of custos ecclesiae, whose duties included the lighting of candles and lamps in the church. The sexton, bedel, sacristan, clerk, parish constable and altarist have all contributed tasks to he duties carried out by the modern-day verger.
The first office-bearer to be chosen by Jesus’ twelve apostles, as recorded in Acts chapter 6, were specifically appointed to look after the practical needs of the new fast-growing Christian community, but they were not chosen lightly; men ‘fully of the Holy Spirit’ were selected to carry out these important practical tasks.
Verses 1 and 10 of Psalm, known as the verger’s psalm, says ‘O how lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord God of Hosts … I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of God that to dwell in the tents of unrighteousness’. As the psalm suggests, the verger holds one of the oldest-established offices within the church. Vergers were found in temples of Old Testament days as well as in the great churches and cathedrals of medieval times, just as they are in they are in the many different worship centres of today.
The verger gets his title from the verge – also known as the rod, staff, mace, wand, or virge -which he carries in procession before a dignitary of a cathedral or parish church. The verger literally made a way through the standing congregation of the medieval church. The term comes from the Latin virga, a rod or a twig, which was origin of the old English spelling of verger. The modern spelling reflects the French verge, which comes from the same Latin root. The verger, with his rod or twig, turns and inclines to make a way for the procession.
The practice of carrying a verge in a procession was popular in medieval times. Often made of wood, among other things it served to keep dogs at bay, or, for those who had the responsibility of the parish constable, as a truncheon to keep order. By the seventeenth century the wooden verge was replaced by metal or silver versions. A few examples of early verges survive, such as the verge used for the wedding of Mary Tudor to Philip of Spain in 1554, still used in Winchester Cathedral, whilst a fine example used today at Carlisle Cathedral was used to lead Bishop Ogelthorpe at the coronation of Elizabeth I in 1559. The verge used by the dean’s verger of Lincoln was made in 16666, the year of the great fire of London. A Twigg encased in silver, used at Rochester Cathedral, is thought to date back to the eleventh century.
The verge is generally carried in the right hand, pointing forward at approximately forty-five degrees. In Bradford Cathedral the verge is carried in this manner for cathedral dignitaries, whilst for those of ecclesiastical rank lower than a canon it is carried resting on the right shoulder. The latter practice is the norm in York Minster.