Parament

Christmas parament, or altar cloth in the Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Adelaide, Australia. Christmas parament, or altar cloth in the Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Adelaide, Australia.

Parament is a term used by some Christian groups, including Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant communities, to describe decorative ornaments in a church, especially cloth forms such as banners and coverings. The word derives from the Latin paramentum (‘adornment’), a term used to describe the hangings or ornaments of a formal room.

At some point in time the word parament acquired the meaning of a liturgical hanging on or around the altar, as well as becoming used for cloths hanging from the pulpit and lectern. In some Christian communities the word parament is regarded as synonymous with altar cloth. In addition, some groups use the term parament as a general term to describe all forms of decorative, ecclesiastical vestments.

Source: Shorter Oxford English Dictionary: ‘Parament’.

Digital source of illustration (retrieved 7th July 2016).

GVE

Last modified on Saturday, 13 May 2017 14:28
Published in Religious vestments and other textiles
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