The wearing of a clergy collared shirt is something most Evangelical Protestants associate with the Roman Catholic Church. But where did the clergy collared shirt originate from?
Wikipedia says the clergy collar was invented by Rev. Dr. Donald McLeod (note the citation is from the Glasgow Herald from 1894). Also, the date of 1827 given for the invention of the detachable collar is not a reference to detachable clergy collars but simply detachable collar shirts that everyone wore (see here).
Now notice who is THE Rev. Dr. Donald McLeod in Glasgow during the latter half of the 19th Century (he's wearing a band collared clergy shirt in the photo). Dr. McLeod is noted for serving as moderator of the General Assembly of The Kirk (see 1895) and delivering a series of lectures entitled: "The Doctrine and Validity of the Ministry and Sacrament of the National Church of Scotland."
So, Dr. McLeod, the inventor of the clergy shirt, or what one rather ignorant Reformed professor called "funny clericals", was a blooming Presbyterian!
Rev. Collins has now made the changes to his site so that it now lists Dr. McLeod as a Church of Scotland (Presbyterian) minister:
http://www.kencollins.com/glossary/vestments.htm
Posted by: Garrett | April 25, 2010 at 10:17 AM
Moderators of the Church of Scotland are called "Right Reverend" during their term as Moderator and "Very Reverend" thereafter, which is reflected in the article on McLeod.
Back in the early 1960s, when my Dad was ordained in the RPCES, he says it was fairly typical for pastors to wear a clerical collar, at least in this part of the country.
Posted by: joel garver | May 04, 2010 at 08:54 PM