Investiture

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Investiture (from the Latin preposition in and verb vestire, "dress" from vestis "robe") is a formal installation or ceremony that a person undergoes, often related to membership in Christian religious institutes as well as Christian knighthoods or damehoods, in addition to government offices.

Contents

In an investiture, a person may receive an outward sign of their membership, such as their religious habit, an ecclesiastical decoration (as with chivalric orders) or a scapular (as with confraternities); [1] [2] they may be given the authority and regalia of a high office. Investiture can include formal dress and adornment such as robes of state or headdress, or other regalia such as a throne or seat of office. An investiture is also often part of a coronation rite or enthronement.

Christianity

Religious institutes

Investiture indicates in religious orders the usually ceremonial handing over of the religious habit to a new novice. The investiture usually takes place upon admission to the novitiate (rarely only upon profession). The investiture which takes place either as part of a liturgical celebration in the choir of the church or in the community's chapter house.

In some places, a slightly shorter or even a white habit is lent to dress up, which is then exchanged for one in the way that the other professed people wear at the first profession. In some religious orders for women, the white veil of the novice is exchanged for a black veil when taking temporary vows (simple profession), while others only give the black veil for solemn profession.

Confraternities

Joining a confraternity (such as the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception) occurs through an investiture, in which one is given a scapular as an outward mark of their membership. [3]

A Christian is made a knight or dame through an investiture, as with the Order of Saint John (Bailiwick of Brandenburg), a chivalric order. [1]

Government

Investiture is the installation of individuals in institutions that usually have been extant from feudal times. For example, the installation of heads of state and various other state functions with ceremonial roles are invested with office. Usually, the investiture involves ceremonial transfer of the symbol of the particular office.

Judges in many countries, including justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, are invested with their office. American justices typically take two oaths: one to uphold the Constitution of the United States, and the other to apply justice equally. [4] Likewise, university presidents, rectors and chancellors are invested with office.

In Spain, the Prime Minister and similarly, the leaders of regional governments, undergo an election procedure called "investiture" or "parliamentary investiture". Established in the Spanish Constitution, the procedure consists in the candidate to prime minister defending its political program and the legislative chamber supporting it or rejecting it. If accepted, the monarch appoints him as prime minister.

Other uses

Lieutenant General Miles Dempsey is invested with his knighthood as Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath, in the field of battle, by King George VI on 15 October 1944, while Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery looks on. Dempsey is invested in the field.jpg
Lieutenant General Miles Dempsey is invested with his knighthood as Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath, in the field of battle, by King George VI on 15 October 1944, while Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery looks on.

In the United Kingdom, around 2,600 people are invested personally by King Charles III or another senior member of the royal family each year. A list of those to be honoured is published twice a year, in either the New Year Honours or the Birthday Honours. Approximately 25 investitures are held annually, usually either in the Throne Room at Buckingham Palace or the Grand Reception Room in Windsor Castle. [5] The Palace of Holyroodhouse, in Edinburgh, Scotland, is also used, as are other locations from time to time. [6] In 2014 The then-Prince of Wales held an investiture at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland. [7] Investitures are also held in other Commonwealth realms, when the governor-general acts on behalf of the King. [8]

The poem "The Investiture" by English poet, writer, and soldier Siegfried Sassoon is about a young man who was killed in battle during World War I. [9]

The term is used in the Scouting movement when enrolling a new youth member or an existing member is moving to a different section such as from Cubs to Scouts, [10] [11] and for the ceremony in which a new member declares their commitment to Scouting traditions. [12] [13]

In Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere fictional universe, investiture is an underlying mechanic of magic.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coronation</span> Ceremony marking the investiture of a monarch

A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers to the ceremony which marks the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power. In addition to the crowning, this ceremony may include the presentation of other items of regalia, and other rituals such as the taking of special vows by the new monarch, the investing and presentation of regalia him or her, and acts of homage by the new monarch's subjects. In certain Christian denominations, such as Lutheranism and Anglicanism, coronation is a religious rite. As such, Western-style coronations have often included anointing the monarch with holy oil, or chrism as it is often called; the anointing ritual's religious significance follows examples found in the Bible. The monarch's consort may also be crowned, either simultaneously with the monarch or as a separate event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scapular</span> Short cloak or cloth pieces, worn with ecclesiastical dress

A scapular is a Western Christian garment suspended from the shoulders. There are two types of scapulars, the monastic and devotional scapular; both forms may simply be referred to as "scapular". As an object of popular piety, a scapular serves to remind wearers of their commitment to live a Christian life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Verger</span> Assistant in church services

A verger is a person, usually a layperson, who assists in the ordering of religious services, particularly in Anglican churches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel</span> Roman Catholic devotional garment

The Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel belongs to the habit of both the Carmelite Order and the Discalced Carmelite Order, both of which have Our Lady of Mount Carmel as their patroness. In its small form, it is widely popular within the Latin Church of the Catholic Church as a religious article and has probably served as the prototype of all the other devotional scapulars. The liturgical feast day of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, July 16, is popularly associated with the devotion of the Scapular.

A cowl is an item of clothing consisting of a long, hooded garment with wide sleeves, often worn by monks. It was developed during the Early Middle Ages. The term may have originally referred to the hooded portion of a cloak, though contemporary usage refers to an entire closed garment. A cowl is traditionally bestowed upon the monk at the time of making solemn, or lifetime, profession. Today, it is worn primarily by most Catholic and Anglican monks when participating in liturgical services. Similar garments are

The Passionists, officially named the Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ, abbreviated CP, are a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men, founded by Paul of the Cross in 1720, with a special emphasis on and devotion to the Passion of Jesus Christ. A known symbol of the congregation is the labeled emblem of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, surmounted by a cross. This symbol is often sewn into the attire of its congregants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Enthronement</span> Ceremony of inauguration involving a throne

An enthronement is a ceremony of inauguration, involving a person—usually a monarch or religious leader—being formally seated for the first time upon their throne. Enthronements may also feature as part of a larger coronation rite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red Mass</span> Liturgy in the Catholic Church for members of the legal profession

A Red Mass is a Catholic Mass annually offered towards all members of the legal profession, regardless of religious affiliation: judges, lawyers, law school professors, law students, and government officials, marking the opening of the judicial year. The religious service requests guidance from the Holy Spirit for all who seek justice, and offers the legal community an opportunity to reflect on the power and responsibility of all in the legal profession.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Felician Sisters</span> Roman Catholic order founded in 1855

The Felician Sisters, in full Congregation of Sisters of St. Felix of Cantalice Third Order Regular of St. Francis of Assisi, is a religious institute of pontifical right whose members profess public vows of and live in common. This religious institute was founded in Warsaw, Poland, in 1855, by Angela Truszkowska, and named for a shrine of Saint Felix of Cantalice, a 16th-century Capuchin especially devoted to children.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregation of the Immaculate Conception</span>

There are a number of Roman Catholic religious orders or congregations with Immaculate Conception in their name. Several of them are discussed here.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conceptionists</span> Roman Catholic order

The Order of the Immaculate Conception, abbreviated OIC and also known as the Conceptionists, is a Catholic religious order of Pontifical Right for nuns founded by Saint Beatrice of Silva. For some years, they followed the Poor Clares Rule, but in 1511 they were recognized as a separate religious order, taking a new rule and the name of Order of the Immaculate Conception.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fivefold Scapular</span> Catholic sacramental that combines five scapulars

The Fivefold Scapular, also known as Redemptorist Scapular, is a sacramental made up of five best-known of the early scapulars in the Catholic Church: the Brown Scapular of the Carmelites, the Blue Scapular of the Immaculate Conception, the Black Scapular of the Servites, the Red Scapular of the Passion, and the White Scapular of the Most Holy Trinity. There are 17 total officially approved scapulars of the Catholic Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beatrice of Silva</span> Christian saint

Beatrice of Silva, born Beatriz de Menezes da Silva, was a Portuguese noblewoman who became the foundress of the monastic Order of the Immaculate Conception. Amadeus of Portugal's younger sister, she is honored as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Confraternity</span> Christian voluntary association

A confraternity is generally a Christian voluntary association of laypeople created for the purpose of promoting special works of Christian charity or piety, and approved by the Church hierarchy. They are most common among Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Anglicans, and the Western Orthodox. When a Catholic confraternity has received the authority to aggregate to itself groups erected in other localities, it is called an archconfraternity. Examples include the various confraternities of penitents and the confraternities of the cord, as well as the Confraternity of the Holy Guardian Angels and the Confraternity of the Rosary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Three Hail Marys</span> Roman Catholic Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary

Three Hail Marys are a traditional Roman Catholic devotional practice of reciting Hail Marys as a petition for purity and other virtues. Believers recommend that it be prayed after waking in the morning, and before going to bed. This devotion has been recommended by SS. Anthony of Padua, Alphonsus Liguori, John Bosco and Leonard of Port Maurice. Two saints, Mechtilde and Gertrude the Great, are said to have received revelations from the Blessed Virgin Mary regarding this practice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Enthronement of the Japanese emperor</span> Ceremony of the Imperial House of Japan

Enthronement is an ancient ceremony that marks the accession of a new emperor to Japan's Chrysanthemum Throne, the world's oldest continuous hereditary monarchy. Various ancient imperial regalia are given to the new sovereign during the course of the rite. It is the most important out of the Japanese Imperial Rituals.

The installation of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is a ceremony that formally marks the beginning of the reign of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong as the Malaysian head of state.

Coronations in Asia in the strict sense are and historically were rare, as only a few monarchies, primarily in Western Asia, ever adopted the concept that the placement of a crown symbolised the monarch's investiture. Instead, most monarchies in Asia used a form of acclamation or enthronement ceremony, in which the monarch formally ascends to the throne, and may be presented with certain regalia, and may receive homage from his or her subjects. This article covers both coronations and enthronement.

Worldwide The Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary is one of the oldest lay apostolates still operating in the Roman Catholic Church, having been part of the Congregation of the Marians of the Immaculate Conception founded by Stanislaw Papczynski. "The Blessed Marian Founder fervently encouraged his spiritual sons to establish confraternities of the Immaculate Conception at Marian churches. 'The first laws of the Order of 1694-1698 speak of this already."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Investiture of Edward, Prince of Wales</span> 1911 royal ceremony in Caernarfon, Wales

The public investiture of Edward, Prince of Wales took place at Caernarfon Castle on Thursday 13 July 1911. This was the first investiture of the Prince of Wales to take place in Wales for centuries: since the 18th century, the Prince of Wales had been invested with his insignia of office privately, outside Wales.

References

  1. 1 2 "Palomares-Fernandez honored with knighthood". Texas Woman's University. 8 May 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2022. Ronald S. Palomares-Fernandez, Ph.D., a Texas Woman's University assistant professor of psychology, has been knighted by the Johanniter Order, a 900-year-old spiritual service organization dedicated to assisting the sick, the poor and the infirmed. Palomares-Fernandez received the honor for his humanitarian work in his church and around the world. Palomares-Fernandez was approved to serve as a Knight of Honor in March by the Herrenmeister, Prince Oscar of Prussia, Lord Master of the Brandenburg Bailiwick of the Knightly Order of Saint John of the Hospital of Jerusalem. His investiture and knighting ceremony occurred on April 7 in Boston, Massachusetts.
  2. "Investiture in the Red Scapular: A Lifelong Devotion to Honor the Lord's Passion". Clallam Catholic. Retrieved 26 April 2022. scapular blessed by a priest. In wearing the scapular there is a promise (consecration) by the individual to pray and perform acts of charity and devotion. Investiture is done only once, and subsequent to being invested, the person wears the scapular at all times as a sign of that promise.
  3. "The Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception". Congregation of Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception. 19 July 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2022. By joining the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception, the faithful take upon themselves certain obligations and receive spiritual benefits. The ceremony of admittance into the Confraternity includes the investiture with the Blue Scapular. Confraternity members ought to piously wear the Scapular always as an outward mark of veneration for the Immaculate Conception of the B.V.M. and a symbol that sets them apart as people particularly dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
  4. "Preparations Begin for Roberts' Swearing In". Fox News. 29 September 2005.
  5. "Investitures". The official website of the Royal Family. The Royal Household. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  6. "Investitures". Royal Household.
  7. "Prince of Wales gives OBE and MBE honours at Hillsborough Castle". BBC News.
  8. Investiture Ceremonies, Governor General of Australia, accessed 2021-20-07
  9. Sassoon, Siegfried (1918). The Investiture  via Wikisource.
  10. "Scout Investiture Fact Sheet" (PDF). 4 September 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 July 2012. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  11. "Investitures". Troop Program Resources.
  12. "Scout Investiture Ceremony". ScoutDocs Resources for Scouting in Canada. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  13. "Investiture by Scouting Ireland". issuu.com. Scouting Ireland. 26 April 2022.

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