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For other uses, see stole (disambiguation).

The stole is a liturgical vestment of various Christian denominations. It is an embroidered band of cloth, formerly usually of silk, about seven and a half to nine feet long and three to four inches wide, whose ends are usually broadened out.

Contents 1 Etymology and history 2 Use 2.1 Roman Catholic 2.2 Anglican 2.3 Protestant 3 Symbolism and color 4 The stole in Eastern churches 5 References 6 External link

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

The stole was originally a kind of shawl that covered the shoulders and fell down in front of the body; on women they were often very large indeed. After being adopted by the Church of Rome about the seventh century (the stole having also been adopted in other locals prior to this), the stole became gradually narrower and so richly ornamented that it developed into a mark of dignity. Nowadays, the stole is usually wider and can be made from a wide variety of material.

There are many theories as to the "ancestry" of the stole. Some say it came from the tallit (Jewish prayer mantle), because it is very similar to the present usage (as in the minister puts it on when he leads in prayer) but this theory is no longer regarded much today. More popular is the theory that the stole originated from a kind of liturgical napkin called an orarium very similar to the sudarium. In fact, in many places the stole is called the orarium. Therefore it is linked to the napkin used by Christ in washing the feet of his disciples, and is a fitting symbol of the yoke of Christ, the yoke of service.

The most likely origin for the stole, however, is to be connected with the scarf of office among Imperial officials in the Roman Empire. As members of the clergy became members of the Roman administration, they were granted certain honors, one specifically being a designator of rank within the imperial (and ecclesiastical) hierarchy. The various configurations of the stole (including the pallium or the omophorion) grew out of this usage. 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. Thus, unlike other liturgical garments which were originally worn by every cleric or layman, the stole was a garment which was specifically restricted to particular classes of people based on occupation.

In the Roman Catholic Church the stole is the vestment that marks recipients of Holy Orders. It is conferred at the ordination of a deacon, by which one becomes a member of the clergy. 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. During the period of the Tridentine Mass, priests who were not bishops crossed the stole over the breast (as pictured below, left), but only at Mass or at other functions at which a chasuble or cope was worn as well (compare picture on right). It is now worn hanging straight down (General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 340). On solemn occasions, the Pope wears, as part of his choir dress, a special state stole highly decorated and bearing his personal coat of arms.

Eastern Catholic Churches and Orthodox Churches a deacon wears the orarion, a priest or bishop the epitrachelion, and a bishop additionally the omophorion, all similar in meaning and use to the Western stole.

Similarly, in churches of the Anglican Communion, a stole may be conferred at the ordination of a deacon and worn over the shoulder. At ordination to priesthood, the newly ordained priest then wears the stole around his or her neck, hanging down in front, either straight down or in the traditional "crossed" manner. Evangelical clergy who object to the wearing of a stole on conscientious grounds follow the Reformation practice of wearing a preaching scarf.

In Protestant churches, the stole is most often seen as the symbol of ordination and the office of the ministry of Word and Sacrament. Stoles are often given by the congregation (sometimes hand-made or decorated) as a love gift at ordination or at other life milestones. Generally, Protestant clergy wear the stole in the same manner as Anglican or Roman priests—around the back of the neck with the ends hanging down the front (and not crossed). Stoles are commonly worn by ordained ministers in Lutheran (see below), Methodist (see below), Presbyterian, United Church of Christ, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), and other denominations.

In the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, only bishops and pastors wear the stole as there is only the one order of ordination, that of pastor, in the Lutheran tradition (the office of bishop is only a specific office or vocation similar to the bishops in the United Methodist Church, not a separate order of ordination). Diaconal ministers, the ELCA's equivalent to the deacon, generally do not wear the stole, but sometimes will wear the traditional deacon's stole while performing liturgical functions traditional to the diaconal order.

In the United Methodist Church, deacons wear a stole around the shoulder as in the Anglican and Roman traditions. An ordained elder wears the stole in the same fashion as an Anglican or Roman Catholic priest, the role of elder being the United Methodist equivalent to that office.

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; it is usually ornamented with a cross. Another version is that the stole denotes the duty to spread the Word of God.

The colours used for the stole and the other vestments in the Roman Catholic Church are indicated in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 346. They are coloured white in the seasons of Easter and Christmas and on feasts that are not of martyrdom; red on Palm Sunday, Good Friday and Pentecost Sunday, and on feasts of martyred saints; green in Ordinary Time (between Christmastide and Lent and between Eastertide and Advent). Violet (often confused with purple) is the colour for Advent and Lent, and may be used in Masses for the dead. Where it is customary, rose (pink) may be used for the third Sunday in Advent (the pink candle in the Advent wreath) and the fourth Sunday in Lent, which are known respectively, because of the first word of the Introit, as Gaudete Sunday and Laetare Sunday; these Latin words mean "Rejoice", and the change of colour symbolizes, as it were, a "break" in the gloom of penance during the violet seasons. Similarly, black may be used, where customary, in Masses for the dead. However, Episcopal Conferences may, with the consent of the Holy See, adapt these rules to national traditions, as, for instance, in countries where white is the colour of mourning.

In the Anglican Communion and the ELCA, the primary colours are the same (white, red, green, and purple), but with blue often being worn in place of purple for Advent (symbolizing the night sky or the Virgin Mary), and either crimson (Anglican Communion) or scarlet (ELCA) being worn for the Holy Week period. Black, a common colour used by most denominations, symbolizing mourning, was originally worn for Good Friday and funerals, but since the 1960s, black has been superseded by white. In some situations, black is still reserved for funerals in some Anglican funerals (an example of the latter was for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth, the "Queen Mother"), while ELCA Lutherans use black only for Ash Wednesday, and as a cross drape for Good Fridays. As a rule, the Anglican use is generally identical to the Roman Catholic use from which it derives.

In the Eastern churches, the stole is known as the epitrachelion (when worn by a priest or bishop) and the orarion (when worn by a deacon or subdeacon). The priest's stole consists of a long strip of cloth, hung around the neck with the two strips sewn together in front. The protodeacon or archdeacon wears it over the left shoulder and crossed under the right, and the deacon wears it over the left shoulder with the two ends left hanging. This is only common in the most traditional Orthodox churches. In most Eastern traditions, the stole is always worn in the first-mentioned fashion unless the deacon in question is wearing only his exorasson (outer cassock) and then it is essentially folded double and over the left shoulder. The subdeacon wears his orarion over both shoulders, crossed in the back and the front. Those acting as subdeacons wear theirs crossed only in the back, to show that they bear no holy orders.

• Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th ed., vol. 26, p. 953.

• Catholic Encyclopedia Article on the Stole (written in 1912)