The ground colour of a stole may vary according to the Christian liturgical calendar. The stole is usually decorated in some manner, often with embroidery. The centre of the stole is worn at the back of the neck, with the two ends hanging down in parallel lines down the front of the wearer or crossing over at chest level.
The term stole became popular by the twelfth century. By the sixteenth century, the stole had become the characteristic vestment of bishops, priests and deacons. By the late eighteenth century, its ends received spade-like ends, and this shape continued well into the nineteenth century. Normally a stole is decorated with one cross, at the back of the neck.
Within the Orthodox and Greek Catholic churches, the stole worn by a deacon is called an orarion, while those worn by priests or bishops are called an epitrachelion.
See also orphrey.
Sources:
- BAILEY, Sarah (2013), Clerical Vestments, Shire Library, Oxford, pp. 25-27.
- INNEMÉE, Karel (1992). Ecclesiastical Dress in the Medieval Near East, Leiden: Brill.
- Shorter Oxford English Dictionary: 'Stole'.
V&A online catalogue (retrieved 12 March 2017).
GVE