Amice

Priest putting on the amice. Priest putting on the amice.

An amice (Latin: amictum) is a liturgical garment worn mainly in the Western Catholic Church and in some of the Protestant Churches. It is a separate, rectangular piece of linen worn across the shoulders and fastened around the back and waist. It is normally made of a plain fabric, but it sometimes has embroidered decoration.

An amice was often worn to protect other precious garments that are worn on top (as for instance the chasuble). In the Roman Catholic Church, the vestment is no longer obligatory. It is however still being worn if the alb is not covering the clothing underneath. The so-called apparelled amice was decorated with embroidered or woven bands. The decorated part would rise up along ghe neck like a collar.

See also the entry on the Vestments of Hubert Walter, dating to c. AD 1200.

Source: BAILEY, Sarah (2013),  Clerical Vestments, Shire Library, Oxford, pp. 11-12.

Digital source of illustration (retrieved 8 March 2017).

WV

Last modified on Sunday, 12 March 2017 10:36
More in this category: « Alb Chichester-Constable Chasuble »