Why We Wear the Netela

👉🏾👉🏾👉🏾About the (#Holy #Liturgy) Why We Wear Netela? (Part 10) Dear followers of the Orthodox teachings on John's Repentance website .we greet you with the peace of the Lord.Today , based on the topic mentioned above, we present to you the following important lesson.We encourage everyone to read it carefully and learn from it. Some people, either out of ignorance or jealousy, claim that wearing white garments when going to church is not a Christian practice. However, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC) explains this tradition clearly through both Holy Scripture and living practice, revealing its deep spiritual mystery. ✍🏾 It is appropriate and fitting to wear white clothing when we enter the church. The white garment is not worn without meaning. There are sacred mysteries we are meant to remember when we wear the white robe and stand in the holy temple bearing the sign of the Cross. ✍🏾 Why do we wear white robe like Cross sign ? We wear it to remember the suffering of our Lord Jesus Christ. The way the tunic or netela is folded from left to right forms the sign of the Cross, reminding us of His crucifixion. ✍🏾 At that moment, we remember the suffering of our Lord on Good Friday and His crucifixion on the Holy Cross at Golgotha. Whoever sees the Cross-shaped garment is reminded of accepting the suffering of Christ and walking in His footsteps. ✍🏾 The reason the garment we wear is white carries many spiritual meanings. Though these reasons are many, we summarize them as follows: 1. We wear white as a reminder of the heavenly glory prepared for us 👉🏾 “And they were given white robes…”(Revelation 6:9–11) 👉🏾 “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, tribe, people, and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands.”(Revelation 7:9) White reminds us of the eternal glory awaiting the righteous in the Kingdom of Heaven. 2. We remember that the holy angels are present with us 👉🏾 “Mary stood outside the tomb weeping… and she saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had been.” (John 20:11–12) When we serve in the church, we serve together with the angels. Dressing in purity and humility reflects the heavenly worship. To serve carelessly or arrogantly in the house of God is shameful. 3. We remember that we stand before our Lord Himself 👉🏾 “And He was transfigured before them; His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became white as the light.”(Matthew 17:1–2) (Netela )The single white garment reminds us of Christ’s glory and calls us to purity of body and soul. ✍🏾 Therefore, wearing a single garment has deep spiritual meaning. Men should wear a single white garment during the Covenant, the Holy Liturgy, and the Feast of the Church . Likewise, it is fitting for women to wear a proper white garment that preserves order and modesty, while remembering these spiritual truths. 👉🏾 “Do not remove the ancient landmark which your fathers have set.”(Proverbs 22:28) ✍🏾 Let us be encouraged to preserve the order and tradition of the Church. May God enlighten our minds so that we may live according to His will, not according to our personal desires. Many of us struggle with obedience to the Word because we have become accustomed to worldly thinking and self-centered freedom. If we followed only our own opinions without dogma and canon, like the Protestant Reformers, we would have become countless divided groups. But the Orthodox Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, has preserved one faith, one dogma, and one path that leads us toward one goal: salvation. Continues 👇🏾