The Verger is a committed lay minister within the Church. The verger is essentially the 'butler of God's house' and as such has a variety of roles and executes a number of duties. The verger works closely with the Altar Guild and the Priest in planning and conducting public worship, especially services for special feasts and festivals. The duties can be purely ceremonial or include other responsibilities such as parish administration, operating and maintaining the property and buildings or any other related functions as required. The most prominent role of the Verger is usually leading the procession on important occasions.
The office of verger has its roots in the earliest days of the Church's history. It shares similarities with the former minor orders of porter and acolyte. Although there is no definitive historical survey of the office of verger, evidence from Rochester, Lincoln, Exeter, and Salisbury Cathedrals indicates the existence of vergers as far back as the 16th century.
The basic vestment of a verger is a black cassock. In some places, especially cathedrals, the cassock may be of another colour. In some parishes a cassock is not worn at all. Over the cassock (or street clothes) when performing a ceremonial function, the verger wears a gown. One type of gown is sleeveless and resembles a bishop's chimere; the other is cut more fully and resembles a master's academic gown.
In procession the verger carries a short staff called a virge (also verge). The virge can be traced back to the ceremonial maces carried before civic and ecclesiastical dignitaries. The mace used in our Canadian House of Commons is another modern use of the medieval symbols. Originally the verge was a weapon used to clear the way for a procession and to admonish errant choristers. It is now principally honorific.
The verger may be a full-time paid employee of the parish or may be a volunteer. It is said that every parish has a verger whether one has been identified or not. Vergers can relieve the clergy of the burden of liturgical detail so they can concentrate on their priestly duties of preaching the Word and administering the Sacraments.
The above information was gathered from the website of the Verger's Guild of the Episcopal Church which welcomes visitors at www.vergers.org.
Richard MacAlpine is the Verger at Holy Trinity Cathedral.
