An Anglican priest wearing a surplice as part of his choir dress.

A surplice (Late Latin superpelliceum, from super (over) and pellis (fur); Spanish sobrepellice; French surplis; Italian cotta; German Chorrock) comprises a liturgical vestment of the Christian Church. It has the form of a tunic of white linen or cotton material, with wide or moderately wide sleeves, reaching - according to the Roman use — barely to the hips and elsewhere in the churches of the Roman communion to the knee. It usually features lace decoration, but in modern times - in Germany at least - it may also have embroidered bordures. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (480x640, 80 KB) Summary Picture of Anglican priest in choir habit -- cassock, surplice, academic hood and tippet -- taken by Gareth Hughes on 21 October 2005. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (480x640, 80 KB) Summary Picture of Anglican priest in choir habit -- cassock, surplice, academic hood and tippet -- taken by Gareth Hughes on 21 October 2005. ... The term Anglican (from Anglia, the Latin name for England) describes the people and churches that follow the religious traditions developed by the established Church of England. ... Roman Catholic priest LCDR Allen R. Kuss (USN) aboard USS Enterprise A priest or priestess is a holy man or woman who takes an officiating role in worship of any religion, with the distinguishing characteristic of offering sacrifices. ... Choir Dress is the term for the clothes worn by Cardinals and Bishops when attending Mass, but not celebrating or concelebrating. ... Vulgar Latin (in Latin, sermo vulgaris) is a blanket term covering the vernacular dialects of the Latin language spoken mostly in the western provinces of the Roman Empire until those dialects, diverging still further, evolved into the early Romance languages — a distinction usually assigned to about the ninth century. ... From the Greek word λειτουργια, which can be transliterated as leitourgia, meaning the work of the people, a liturgy comprises a prescribed religious ceremony, according to the traditions of a particular religion; it may refer to, or include, an elaborate formal ritual (such as the Catholic Mass), a daily activity such... Vestments are liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christian religions, especially the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran and Anglican Churches. ... The term Christian Church expresses the idea that organised Christianity (the Christian religion) is seen as an institution. ... Sleeve (O. Eng. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... White lace is often used in collars and other fabric borders. ...

The surplice originally reached to the feet, but as early as the 13th century it began to shorten, though as late as the 15th century it still fell to the middle of the shin, and only in the 17th and 18th centuries did it become considerably shorter. In several localities it underwent more drastic modifications in the course of time, which led to the appearance of various subsidiary forms alongside the original type. For example:

• the sleeveless surplice, which featured holes at the sides to put the arms through
• the surplice with slit-up arms or lappels (so-called "wings") instead of sleeves
• the surplice with not only the sleeves but the body of the garment itself slit up the sides, precisely like the modern dalmatic
• a sort of surplice in the form of a bell-shaped mantle, with a hole for the head, which necessitated the arms sticking out under the hem.

The first two of these forms developed very early; and, in spite of their prohibition by synods here and there (for example that of Liège circa 1287), they survive in various places to the present day. The latter two only appeared after the close of the middle ages: the first of them in South Germany, the second more especially in Venetia, where numerous pictorial records attest its use. As a rule, however, only the lower clergy wore these subsidiary forms of surplice. They came about partly under the influence of secular fashions, but more particularly for convenience. Rather similar to the chasuble, the dalmatic (one of the liturgical vestments of Catholic and Anglican churches) is the outermost vestment worn by a deacon at the Eucharist or Mass. ... A synod (also known as a council) is a council of a church, usually a Christian church, convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. ... Liège (Dutch: Luik, German: Lüttich; before 1946, the citys name was written Liége, with the acute accent) is a major city located in the Belgian province of Liège, of which it is the capital. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... Venetia is a name used mostly in a historical context for the area of north-eastern Italy formerly under the control of the Republic of Venice and corresponding approximately to the present-day Italian administrative regions of the Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia. ... The term fashion applies to a characteristic means of expression or presentation, especially in clothing; fashions may follow trends, in which they gain or lose popularity. ...

The surplice belongs to the vestes sacrae, though it requires no benediction. All clerics may wear it, even those who have only received the tonsure, the bishop himself vesting with it those whom he has newly tonsured. It has very varied use in divine service. It is worn in choir at the solemn offices; it forms the official sacral dress of the lower clergy in their liturgical functions; the priest wears it when administering the sacraments, undertaking benedictions, and the like -- the use of the alb being nowadays almost exclusively confined to the mass and functions connected with this. In general such use, in all main particulars, became the custom as early as the 14th century. A benediction is a short invocation for divine help, blessing and guidance, usually after a church worship service. ... Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. ... Tonsure is the practice of some Christian churches of cutting the hair from the scalp of clerics as a symbol of their renunciation of worldly fashion and esteem. ... A bishop is an ordained member of the Christian clergy who, in certain Christian churches, holds a position of authority. ... In the protestant denominations of Christianity, a service of worship is a meeting whose primary purpose is the worship of God. ... A choir or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. ... An office is a room or other area in which people work, but may also denote a position within an organisation with specific duties attached to it (see officer, office-holder, official); the latter is in fact an earlier usage, office as place originally referring to the location of one... A sacrament is a Christian rite that mediates divine grace. ... The alb, one of the liturgical vestments of the Roman Catholic, Anglican and many Protestant churches, is an ample garment of white linen coming down to the ankles and usually girded with a cincture. ... Mass is a property of physical objects that, roughly speaking, measures the amount of matter they contain. ...

Lack of exact information obscures the older history of the surplice. Its name derives, as Durandus and Gerland also affirm, from the fact that its wearers formerly put it on over the fur garments formerly worn in church and at divine service as a protection against the cold. Some scholars trace the use of the surplice at least as far back as the 5th century, citing the evidence of the garments worn by the two clerics in attendance on Bishop Maximian represented in the mosaics of S. Vitale at Ravenna; in this case, however, confusing the dalmatic with the surplice. In all probability the surplice forms no more than an expansion of the ordinary liturgical alb, due to the necessity for wearing it over thick furs. The first documents to mention the surplice date from the 11th century: a canon of the synod of Coyaca in Spain (1050); and an ordinance of King Edward the Confessor. Rome knew the surplice at least as early as the 12th century. It probably originated outside Rome, and was imported thence into the Roman use. Originally only a choir vestment and peculiar to lower clergy, it gradually - certainly no later than the 13th century — replaced the alb as the vestment proper to the administering of the sacraments and other sacerdotal functions. Guillaume Durand (c. ... Ravenna is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. ... Rather similar to the chasuble, the dalmatic (one of the liturgical vestments of Catholic and Anglican churches) is the outermost vestment worn by a deacon at the Eucharist or Mass. ... Edward the Confessor or Eadweard III (c. ... City motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus – SPQR (The Senate and the People of Rome) Founded 21 April 753 BC mythical, 1st millennium BC Region Latium Mayor Walter Veltroni (Left-Wing Democrats) Area  - City Proper  1290 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 2,823,807 almost 4,000,000 1... A choir or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. ... A sacrament is a Christian rite that mediates divine grace. ...

The Oriental rites lack a surplice and any analogous vestment. Of the non-Roman Catholic Churches in the West the surplice has continued in regular use only in the Lutheran churches of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, and in the Church of England. The term Western world or the West can have multiple meanings depending on its context. ... The Lutheran movement is a group of denominations of Protestant Christianity by the original definition. ... The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England, and acts as the mother and senior branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion, as well as a founding member of the Porvoo Communion. ...

Church of England

The second Anglican Prayer Book, that of Edward VI in 1552, prescribed the surplice as, with the tippet or the academical hood, the sole vestment of the minister of the church at "all times of their ministration", the rochet being practically regarded as the episcopal surplice. The more extreme Reformers furiously assailed its use, but in spite of their efforts, Elizabeth's Act of Uniformity (1559) retained the garment, and the advertisements and injunctions issued under her authority enforced its use, though they ordered the destruction of the "massing vestments" - chasubles, albs, stoles and the like. The Book of Common Prayer is the prayer book of the Church of England and also the name for similar books used in other churches in the Anglican Communion. ... Edward Tudor redirects here; for another (though unlikely) Edward Tudor, see a putative younger son of Henry VII of England, who, if existed, would be the uncle of this Edward Edward VI (12 October 1537–6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland from 28 January 1547... Meriwether Lewis wearing a tipped presented to him by Sacagaweas brother, Cameahwait. ... Headgear, headwear or headdress is the name given to any element of clothing which is worn on ones head. ... In most Protestant churches, a minister is a member of the ordained clergy who leads a congregation or participates in a role in a parachurch ministry; such a person may also be called a Pastor, Preacher, Bishop, Chaplain or Elder. ... This is an article on the religious vestment; for an article on the French bicycle manufacturer, see Rochet A rochet is a vestment generally worn by a Bishop in choir dress. ... Elizabeth I (7 September 1533 – 24 March 1603 ) was Queen of England and Queen of Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. ... The Act of Uniformity 1559 set the order of prayer to be used in the English Book of Common Prayer. ... A fiddleback chasuble from the church of Saint Gertrude in Maarheeze in the Netherlands The chasuble is the outermost liturgical vestment worn by clergy for the celebration of the Eucharist among Western-tradition Christian churches that use full vestments, primarily the Roman Catholic Church and high church congregations in the... The stole (a liturgical vestment of various Christian denominations) is an embroidered band of cloth, formerly usually of silk, about two and one-half to three metres long and seven to ten centimetres wide, whose ends are usually broadened out. ...

The surplice has since remained, with the exception of the cope, the sole vestment authorised by law for the ministers, other than bishops, of the Church of England (for the question of the vestments prescribed by the "Ornaments Rubric" see vestment). And apart from clerks in Holy Orders, all the "ministers" (including vicars-choral and choristers) of cathedral and collegiate churches, as well as the fellows and scholars of colleges in chapel have worn surplices since the Reformation. The clergy (at least its more dignified members) have employed as a distinctive mark the tippet or scarf above mentioned, a broad band of black silk worn stole-wise, but not to be confused with the stole, since it has no liturgical significance and originally formed a mere part of the clerical outdoor dress. Formerly the clergy only wore the surplice when conducting the service, and exchanged it during the sermon for the "black gown", i.e. either a Geneva gown or the gown of an academical degree. This custom has, however, as a result of the High Church movement, become almost completely obsolete. The "black gown", considered wrongly as the ensign of Low Church views, survives in comparatively few of even evangelical churches; however, preachers of university sermons retained the custom of wearing the gown of their degree. a priest wearing a cope The cope is a liturgical vestment, which may be of any liturgical colour, and is like a very long mantle or cloak, fastened at the breast by a clasp. ... Vestments are liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christian religions, especially the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran and Anglican Churches. ... A clerk can be someone who works in an office and whose duties include record-keeping or correspondence. ... Holy Orders in the modern Roman Catholic Church and in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Anglican, Assyrian, Old Catholic, and Independent Catholic Churches, includes three degrees: bishop, priest, and deacon. ... The term college (Latin collegium) is most often used today to denote an educational institution. ... A chapel is a private church, usually small and often attached to a larger institution such as a college, a hospital, a palace, or a prison. ... The Protestant Reformation was a movement which emerged in the 16th century as a series of attempts to reform the Roman Catholic Church in Western Europe. ... The stole (a liturgical vestment of various Christian denominations) is an embroidered band of cloth, formerly usually of silk, about two and one-half to three metres long and seven to ten centimetres wide, whose ends are usually broadened out. ... A Presbyterian minister wearing a Geneva gown with preaching bands and liturgical stole. ... Wedding - Bridesmaid in long gown A gown or evening gown is a womans evening wear, corresponding to mens formal wear for white tie and black tie events. ... High Church is a term that may now be used in speaking of viewpoints within a number of denominations of Protestant Christianity in general, but it is one which has traditionally been employed in Churches associated with the Anglican tradition in particular. ... Low church is a term of distinction in the Church of England, initially designed to be pejorative. ...

The traditional form of the surplice in the Church of England survived from pre-Reformation times: a wide-sleeved, very full, plain, white linen tunic, pleated from the yoke, and reaching almost, or quite, to the feet. Towards the end of the 17th century, when large wigs came into fashion, it became convenient to have surplices constructed gown-wise, open down the front and buttoned at the neck, a fashion which still partially survives, notably at the universities. In general, however, the tendency followed continental influence, and curtailed the surplice's proportions. The ample vestment with beautiful falling folds has thus in many churches given place to a scanty, unpleated garment scarce reaching to the knee. In the more "extreme" churches the surplices frankly imitate the Roman cotta. Tupa Inca tunic The tunic was the common masculine garment of Roman civilization. ... Agriculture Oxes wearing yokes A yoke is a shaped wooden crosspiece bound to the necks of a pair of oxen, occasionally horses. ... Johann Friedrich Freiherr von Cotta (* April 27, 1764 in Stuttgart - † December 29, 1832 in Stuttgart) was a German publisher, industrial pioneer and politician. ...

Original text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica. Supporters contend that the Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica (1910-1911) represents the sum of human knowledge at the beginning of the 20th century; indeed, it was advertised as such. ...