Stole (vestment)
The stole is a
Etymology and history
The word stole derives via the
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. After being adopted by the Church of Rome around the seventh century (the stole having also been adopted in other locales prior to this), the stole gradually became narrower and started to feature more ornate designs, developing 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
The most likely origin for the stole, however, is to be connected with the scarf of office among Imperial officials in the
Stoles were already used in pre-Roman Italic religion. In the
It was worn on the shoulder during a sacrifice, and then placed on an offering cake:While you are slaying it, wear a stole on your right shoulder. When you have slain it, place (the stole) upon the mefa cake. While you are presenting it, wear the stole on your right shoulder. Present grain-offerings and sacrifice with mead. (ibid, pg. 164)
Symbolism and color
Together with the
The stole worn for the celebration of the Holy Mass and the
Use
Western Christianity
Roman Catholic
In the
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. It is now often worn hanging straight down without being crossed across the breast. The General Instruction of the Roman Missal, which is the liturgical law for the Roman Catholic Church concerning the Mass, no longer makes explicit that a Priest must cross his stole. It states, "the stole is worn by the Priest around his neck and hanging down in front of his chest..." (GIRM §340). Unless there is a law promulgated by a particular diocese or other ordinary, it is left to the priest to interpret what this means. 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.
For the celebration of the Mass, the principal celebrant as well as concelebrants wear the stole over the alb but under the chasuble. Likewise, the deacon wears the stole over the alb but under the dalmatic. The stole is also worn over the surplice or alb for the distribution and reception of Holy Communion.
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. Amen.[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.")
Protestant
In
Anglican
During the
Lutheran
In the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), both Ministers of Word and Sacrament (pastors) and Ministers of Word and Service (deacons) are entitled to wear the stole as both orders are ordained,[6] though many deacons choose not to do so. ELCA pastors generally wear the stole hanging straight down while deacons wear them over one shoulder as in the Anglican and Roman traditions.
In the
However, certain Lutheran churches, such as the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland and the Church of Sweden, practice the three-fold ministry of holy orders (in that the orders of deacon, priest, and bishop are separate ordinations). In such churches, wearing a deacon's stole when assisting in a liturgy is an official rule, and different rubrics exist for the use of the stole by priests and bishops. Ordained clergy of the Church of Sweden follow the use described for Anglican deacons and priests in this article, except the practice of wearing the stole hanging straight down is reserved for bishops (priests wear it crossed over the chest except over a surplice, when no cincture is worn).
Methodist
In the
Eastern Christianity
Byzantine practice
In The Byzantine Rite practice of the
The
Blessed is God, Who poureth out His grace upon His priests, like the oil of myrrh upon the head, which runneth down upon the beard, upon the beard of Aaron: which runneth down to the fringe of his raiment. (Cf. Psalm 132:2, LXX)
In the
The protodeacon or archdeacon wears the orarion "doubled", i.e., over the left shoulder, under the right arm, and passing again over the left shoulder. The two ends hang down, one in the front and one in the back, coming down almost to the hem of his sticharion (dalmatic).
A
The subdeacon wears his orarion over both shoulders, crossed in the back and the front. Those acting as subdeacons (i.e., vested and serving as subdeacons but without having been ordained) wear their orarion crossed only in the back, to show that they do not bear holy orders.
Oriental Orthodox
In the Oriental Orthodox Churches, the priestly stole is very similar to the epitrachelion described above; however, instead of a long narrow strip of fabric that is wrapped around the neck and fastened together, it is often cut out of a single broad piece of cloth that has a hole cut in it for the head to pass through. Sometimes, depending upon the liturgical Rite, it also extends farther down the back.
British monarch
The British monarch, although not in holy orders, is anointed with the oil of chrism and invested with a stole during the coronation rite. This stole, made of gold silk, is officially named the Stole Royal or Armilla, and is one of several coronation robes kept overnight in the Jerusalem Chamber of Westminster Abbey before the day of the coronation.[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.
Mandaean
A stole is used in the Mandaean religion by the priests during rituals.[8]
Unitarian Universalist
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." Vern Barnet, an Abraxas founder, states that "our success has been mainly in modeling for our colleagues the wearing of stoles or other vestments" and notes the wearing by Eugene Pickett, president of the Unitarian Universalist Association, of a stole given him by the Congregation of Abraxas at a General Assembly in the mid-1970s.[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. So may the increase in the number of former Catholic and Orthodox people who became UUs in the course of the 20th century.
Today, a stole/scarf/tippet is worn by many
See also
References
- Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th ed., vol. 26, p. 953.
- ^ James Wilson Poultney, The Bronze tables of Iguvium pg 197
- ^ The Bronze tables of Iguvium
- ^ Deharbe's Large Catechism (Benziger Brothers, 1921), p. 127
- ^ Missale juxta ritum sacri ordinis Praedicatorum …, Michaëlis Perego-Salvioni, Rome, 1823
- JSTOR 42611492.
- ^ "Rostered Ministers of the ELCA". elca.org. Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
- ^ Cox, N. (1999). "The Coronation Robes of the Sovereign". Arma. 5 (1): 271–280.
- ^ Kurt Rudolph, Mandaeism pg 6
- ^ "Vern's Abraxas Rant," https://www.cres.org/pubs/abraxas.htm
External links
- Stole article from the Catholic Encyclopedia (1912)