Vestments To add to the beauty and festivity of the services, and to signify their special ministries, the clergy and other ministers wear vestments. The clergy may also wear cassock and surplice. Another familiar vestment is the alb, a white tunic with sleeves that covers the body from neck to ankles. Deacons wear the stole over one shoulder, priests and bishops over both shoulders. The deacon's corresponding vestment has sleeves and is called a dalmatic.
Bishops sometimes wear a special head covering called a mitre.
Stoles, chasubles, and dalmatics, as well as altar coverings, are usually made of rich fabrics. Their color changes with the seasons and holy days of the Church Year. The Episcopal Church observes the traditional Christian calendar. The season of Advent, during which we prepare for Christmas, begins on the Sunday closest to November 30. Lent, the forty days of preparation for Easter, begins on Ash Wednesday.