Vestments are liturgical garments and worn only by clergy when they are taking services and they are worn over everyday clothes or clericals. They are often festive and the colours vary according to the liturgical season: white or gold during Christmas, Epiphany, Easter and for major Saints Days; red at Pentecost and principal feast days for martyrs, and days which emphasise the cross of Jesus; purple during Advent and Lent; green when there are no festivals or special days like Saints Days. Explanations and examples of these colours can be found on the page Colours of the Christian Year. Vestments include the alb, amice, chasuble, and surplice and date back to the first century. Sometimes the vestments, particularly the stole, will have a cross on them which the clergy kiss before putting it on. Some new vestments were made for the clergy and servers during 2009 to match the appropriate colours of the Christian year. See below.

Surplice/Scarf When wearing the black scarf, the priest may also wear a hood Cotta

Surplice and Preaching Scarf and Hood
A surplice, a type of alb, is a liturgical vestment which is worn over the cassock. The word surplice comes from the Latin super, meaning over and pellis meaning fur. It is a loose tunic of white cotton or linen material with wide sleeves and reaches to the knees or ankles. It is worn by choir members and by priests who are in official attendance, but not actually leading Holy Communion. Anglicans call the Roman-style surplice a cotta which comes from a Italian term cotta meaning cut-off, as it is derived from the cut-off alb.

Over the surplice the priest wears a long black scarf called a tippet but it is normally simply referred to as a preaching scarf. It is worn for the Daily Offices of Morning Prayer and Evensong. It hangs straight down the front of the surplice and is normally worn with an academic hood which goes around the shoulders and hangs down the back. The preaching scarf is different from the stole which is only worn at the eucharist and other sacramental services. Also the scarf is always black whereas the stole is a vestment in colours that change according to the liturgical season.

Alb Amice Girdle

Alb
For Holy Communion the priest wears an alb instead of the surplice over the cassock. This is the oldest liturgical vestment and is a plain, white, lightweight tunic with long sleeves, coming down to the ankles. The word alb is short for the Latin tunica alba, meaning white tunic. Laypersons, like our servers, also wear an alb over their red cassocks at communion.

Amice
An amice is a liturgical vestment and is a white cloth with two long ribbon attachments to fasten around the shoulders of the priest. It is only required nowadays if the alb does not cover the priest's ordinary clothing. However some priests choose to wear it to prevent damage to their other vestments.

Stole Chasuble

Girdle
A girdle, a cloth sash, is a liturgical vestment, worn going right round the body, around or above the waist, outside the alb. It is a long, rope-like cord with tassled ends and is usually white. Priests usually tie the girdle in a the knot in front of them and tuck the loose ends through the girdle at each side.

Stole
Over the alb the priest wears a long, narrow scarf-like cloth called a stole, a liturgical vestment, draped around the neck. Only ordained clergy can wear a stole. Deacons wear the stole over the left shoulder tied at the waist on the right side, so that the stole drapes diagonally across the chest. A stole can be worn over a robe, an alb, or a cassock and it is generally tucked into the girdle. The stole can be one of four colours depending on the time in the Christian Year.

Chasuble
A chasuble is the outermost liturgical vestment worn by the celebrant for the celebration of the Eucharist, on top of the alb, and always worn with a stole. The name comes from the Latin casula or little house. It is a circular garment with a hole in the center for the head. It can be simple or ornate. The chasuble can be one of four colours depending on the time in the Christian Year. The chasuble can be plain (above) or decorated (below):

Dalmatic
A dalmatic, a liturgical vestment, is a long, wide sleeved tunic, and like many church vestments, derives from the dress of the Eastern Roman Empire. It is worn by a minister exercising the role of 'deacon' at a celebration of the Holy Communion. Like the chasuble, it is an outer vestment and can be one of four colours depending on the time in the Christian Year. The stole is worn diagonally across the body under the dalmatic.

Cope
A cope is a liturgical vestment very long cloak with a hood, open at the front and can be any liturgical colour. The name came from the Latin pluviale meaning rain coat or cappa meaning cape. It can be worn on festal occasions, at any act of worship or during a procession which has a specific liturgical function, for example, Palm Sunday. It is fastened with a band or clasp, called a morse which is often highly ornamented.

The Morse