Editing Cincture (section)

{{Short description|Band worn with Christian liturgical vestments}}
{{For|the architectural element|Glossary of architecture#C}}
{{refimprove|date=December 2009}}
{{multiple image
 | align = right
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 | image1 = Anglican priest vested in an alb, cincture and purple stole.jpg
 | caption1 = An [[Anglicanism|Anglican]] [[priest]] wearing a white cincture around his waist to hold his [[alb]] and purple [[Stole (vestment)|stole]] in place (2005)
 | image2 = Banded_Cincture.jpg
 | caption2 = A [[United Methodist Church|United Methodist]] wearing an alb and band cincture (2019)
}}

The '''cincture''' is a rope-like or ribbon-like article sometimes worn with certain Christian [[Liturgy|liturgical]] [[vestment]]s, encircling the body around or above the waist. As usual with vestments, both the term and the object are taken from ordinary everyday dress of the distant past. There are two types of cinctures: one is a rope-like narrow [[girdle]] or rope-like belt around the waist. The other type is a broad ribbon of cloth that runs around the waist and usually has a section that hangs down from the waist; this type is often called a "band cincture" – it would be a "waist-[[sash]]" in secular contexts.  One or both (or other) types are often used in various [[Christian denomination]]s. Both types are used in the various Western [[Christian liturgy|rites]] of the [[Catholic Church]] and provinces of the [[Anglican Communion]]. [[Consecrated]] members of the various Eastern rites, whether in the Catholic Church, or in the various [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox]] communions, sometimes wear a belt referred to as a ''[[Zone (vestment)|zone]]''.<ref name="Liturgix (zone)">{{cite web|title=Liturgix: Eastern Orthodox & CatholicChristian Vestments and Supplies|url=http://www.liturgix.com/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010302110635/http://www.liturgix.com/|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 2, 2001|website=Liturgix.com|accessdate=August 8, 2016}}</ref>

In the Western rites of the Catholic Church, as a matter of customary terminology, the term cincture is most often applied to a long, rope-like cord with tasseled or knotted ends, tied around the waist outside the [[alb]]. The colour may be white, or may vary according to the colour of the liturgical season. A [[Catholic bishop]]'s cincture is made of intertwining gold and green threads, a [[Cardinal (Catholic Church)|cardinal]]'s has red and gold, and the [[pope]]'s with white and gold. When the cincture is tied in the front and the ends draped on either side, it is called a Roman Knot.

The same rope-like vestment is widely used in the [[Anglican]], [[Methodist]] and [[Lutheran]] churches, as well as some other [[Protestant]] churches. The band cincture in the Roman Catholic Church is usually known as the "[[fascia (sash)|fascia]]".