Editing Alb

{{short description|Long, full garment worn by Christian clergy}}
{{Other uses|ALB (disambiguation){{!}}ALB}}

[[Image:Kazuivel II.jpg|thumb|A white alb under a purple [[Stole (vestment)|stole]] (running around the neck) and [[Maniple (vestment)|maniple]] (on arm)]]
{{wiktionary | alb | albe}}

The '''alb''' (from the Latin ''albus'', meaning "white") is one of the [[vestments|liturgical vestments]] of [[Western Christianity]]. It is an ample white garment coming down to the ankles and is usually girdled with a [[cincture]] (a type of belt, sometimes of rope similar to the type used with a monastic habit, such as by [[Franciscans]] and [[Order of Friars Minor Capuchin|Capuchins]]). It resembles the long, white linen [[tunic]] used by [[ancient Rome|ancient Romans]].

As a simple derivative of ordinary first-century clothing, the alb was adopted very early by Christians, and especially by the clergy for the [[Eucharist]]ic liturgy. In early-medieval Europe [[secular clergy]] also normally wore the alb in non-liturgical contexts.<ref>Piponnier, Françoise, and Perrine Mane; ''Dress in the Middle Ages''; p. 114, [[Yale University Press]]; 1997; {{ISBN|0-300-06906-5}}</ref>

Nowadays, the alb is the common vestment for all [[Minister of religion|minister]]s, both [[cleric]]s and [[Laity|laypersons]] (acolytes and lectors),<ref>General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 336 https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccdds/documents/rc_con_ccdds_doc_20030317_ordinamento-messale_en.html#IV._SACRED_VESTMENTS</ref> at [[Mass (liturgy)|Mass]]. It is worn over the [[cassock]], but underneath any other special vestments, such as the [[stole (vestment)|stole]], [[dalmatic]] or [[chasuble]]. If the alb does not completely cover the collar, an [[amice]] is often worn underneath the alb. Shortening of the alb has given rise to the [[surplice]], and to its cousin the [[rochet]], worn by [[canon (priest)|canon]]s and [[bishop]]s. Following the [[Council of Trent]] (1545-1563), post-Tridentine albs often featured [[liturgical lace]]. Since then, this detail has fallen out of style, except in parts of the [[Anglo-Catholic]] movement{{citation needed|date=January 2024}} and in some very traditional [[Melkite Greek Catholic Church|Arab Catholic]] parishes.<ref>
{{cite journal
| last1                 = Maloof
| first1                = Allen
| title                 = Catholics of the Byzantine-Melkite Rite in the U.S.A.
| url                   = https://books.google.com/books?id=5METAAAAIAAJ
| journal               = The Eastern Churches Quarterly
| publisher             = St. Augustine's Abbey
| publication-place     = Ramsgate, Kent
| publication-date      = 1951
| volume                = 9
| page                  = 263
| quote                 = Genuflections, lace albs and surplices, etc., are common. 
}}
</ref>

The alb corresponds to the Eastern Orthodox ''[[sticharion]]''.

==Variants==
A '''chasuble-alb''' is a contemporary Eucharistic vestment that combines features of the [[chasuble]] and alb. In the [[Roman Catholic Church]], it was first adopted in France, though without official approval. In France it is no longer fashionable, but it has been officially approved in some tropical countries such as the [[Philippines]],<ref>[http://www.ewtn.com/library/Liturgy/zlitur64.htm Eternal Word Television Network, Global Catholic Network] of January 25, 2003.</ref> and in [[Hawaii]] in the [[United States]].<ref>[http://www.hawaiicatholicherald.org/Home/tabid/256/newsid884/921/Default.aspx Bishop Larry Silva’s Liturgical Catechesis] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090108141212/http://www.hawaiicatholicherald.org/Home/tabid/256/newsid884/921/Default.aspx |date=2009-01-08 }} at the [[Hawaii Catholic Herald]]</ref> It is always white in colour. A [[Stole (vestment)|stole]] of the colour appointed for the [[Mass (liturgy)|Mass]] of the day is worn outside it, in place of the normal white alb and coloured chasuble.

A '''[[cassock-alb]]''' is a vestment that combines features of the [[cassock]] and alb. It developed as a more convenient undergarment worn by clergy and as an alternative to the alb for deacons and [[acolyte]]s.{{citation needed|date=March 2019}}

==References==
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{{CatholicMass|collapsed}}
{{Lutheran Divine Service}}
{{Portal bar|Christianity|Catholicism}}

{{Use Oxford spelling|date=March 2018}}

[[Category:Anglican vestments]]
[[Category:Eucharistic vestments]]
[[Category:History of clothing]]
[[Category:History of clothing (Western fashion)]]
[[Category:History of fashion]]
[[Category:Gowns]]
[[Category:Lutheran vestments]]
[[Category:Protestant vestments]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic vestments]]