Paraments or parements (from

Late Latin Late Latin is the scholarly name for the form of Literary Latin of late antiquity.Roberts (1996), p. 537. English dictionary definitions of Late Latin date this period from the 3rd to 6th centuries CE, and continuing into the 7th century in ...

''paramentum'', "adornment", ''parare'', "to prepare", "equip") are both the hangings or ornaments of a room of state, and the ecclesiastical

vestment Vestments are Liturgy, liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christianity, Christian religion, especially by Eastern Christianity, Eastern Churches, Catholic Church, Catholics (of all rites), Lutherans, and Anglicans. ...

s. Paraments include the

liturgical Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembra ...

hangings on and around the

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

, such as

altar cloth An altar cloth is used in the Christian liturgy to cover the altar. It serves as a sign of reverence as well as a decoration and a protection of the altar and the sacred vessels. In the orthodox churches it is covered by the antimension, which a ...

s, as well as the cloths hanging from the

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accesse ...

and

lectern A lectern is a standing reading desk with a slanted top, on which documents or books are placed as support for reading aloud, as in a scripture reading, lecture, or sermon. A lectern is usually attached to a stand or affixed to some other form of ...

, and in the ecclesiastical vestments category they include

humeral veil The humeral veil is one of the liturgical vestments of the Roman Rite, also used in some Anglican and Lutheran churches. It consists of a piece of cloth about long and wide draped over the shoulders and down the front, normally of silk or cloth ...

s and

mitre The mitre (Commonwealth English) or miter (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, see spelling differences; both pronounced ; ) is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of ...

s. In most Christian churches using paraments (including Roman Catholic and a wide variety of Protestant denominations), the liturgical paraments change in color depending on the season of the

church year The liturgical year, also called the church year, Christian year, ecclesiastical calendar, or kalendar, consists of the cycle of Christian liturgy, liturgical days and seasons that determines when feast days, including Calendar of saints, c ...

. *Advent - purple (or in some traditions, blue) *Christmas - white *Lent - purple *Easter - white *Pentecost, Good Friday and the feasts of martyrs - red *Ordinary time - green *All Souls' Day, Requiem Masses - black (optionally purple)

Sources

Christian religious objects {{Christianity-stub

See also

Sources