Stole (vestment)

It consists of a band of colored cloth, usually of silk, about seven and a half to nine feet long and three to four inches wide, whose ends may be straight or may broaden out in the shape of a spade or bell.

A piece of white linen or lace may be stitched onto the back of the collar as a sweat guard, which can be replaced more cheaply than the stole itself.

The word stole derives via the Latin stola, from the Greek στολή (stolē), "garment", originally "array" or "equipment".

The original intent, then was to designate a person as belonging to a particular organization and to denote their rank within their group, a function which the stole continues to perform today.

164) Together with the cincture and the now mostly defunct maniple, the stole symbolizes the bonds and fetters with which Jesus was bound during his Passion;[3] it is usually ornamented with a cross.

A bishop or other priest wears the stole around his neck with the ends hanging down in front, while the deacon places it over his left shoulder and ties it cross-wise at his right side, similar to a sash.

Before the reform of the liturgy after the Second Vatican Council, priests who were not bishops were required to cross the stole over the breast (as pictured below), but only at Mass or at other functions at which a chasuble or cope was worn.

On solemn occasions, the Pope wears, as part of his choir dress, a special stole of state highly decorated and bearing his personal coat of arms.

The priest or deacon who presides in paraliturgical celebrations, such as the Stations of the Cross, usually wears the stole over the surplice (or alb), and always under the cope.

In Catholic practice, the vesting prayer for the stole is: Redde mihi, Domine, obsecro, stolam immortalitatis, quam perdidi in prævaricatione primi parentis: et, quamvis indignus accedo ad tuum sacrum mysterium, merear tamen gaudium sempiternum.

[4] ("Restore to me, O Lord, the robe of immortality, which was lost in the transgression of our first parents, and, inasmuch as I approach your Sacred Mysteries in an unworthy manner, nevertheless, may I be made deserving of eternal blessedness.

Generally, Protestant clergy wear the stole in the same manner as Catholic priests—around the back of the neck with the ends hanging down the front (though not crossed).

[5] The Oxford Movement began an interest in pre-Reformation worship, and eventually the stole (along with other vestments) were revived among Anglo-Catholic clergy.

Finally, Geoffrey Fisher, Archbishop of Canterbury, had to resolve the matter, and instructed that all bishops must not refuse ordination simply because the candidate was unwilling to wear the stole.

Psalm 132:2, LXX)In the Russian Orthodox tradition, the priest may say a special blessing and sprinkle the epitrachelion with holy water before it is worn for the first time.

At an Orthodox wedding, the priest will have the bridal couple hold the edge of his epitrachelion as he leads them in a procession three times around the Gospel Book, symbolizing the pilgrimage of life.

A deacon wears an orarion which simply passes over the left shoulder, the two ends of which hang straight down, one in the front and one in the back, coming down almost to the hem of his sticharion.

[7] The coronation (which is always in the context of a Eucharist) is an official liturgy of the Church of England; the Archbishop of Canterbury has responsibility for the ceremony and is almost always its presider.

[8] Historically, Unitarian and Universalist ministers wore street clothes, formal morning coats, or academic gowns while leading worship; stoles were rare.

A key moment in the acceptance of stoles by Unitarian Universalist clergy was the formation in the late 1960s of the Congregation of Abraxas, a short-lived effort to "draw upon the world's traditions of awe, repentance, thanksgiving, and service, and to renew those forms for the liberal religious communities."

[9] At about the same time, the increased number of women entered Unitarian Universalist ministry may have been a factor in the rising popularity of stoles.