Sentence:  Certain robes indicate a position in the hierarchy; others correspond to function and may be worn by the same individual at different times. The most important vestment among the insignia [of the clergy] is the <WSD>stole</WSD>, the emblem of sacerdotal status, the origin of which is the ancient pallium. The <WSD>stole</WSD> originally was a draped garment, then a folded one with the appearance of a scarf, and, finally, in the 4th century, a scarf. As a symbol of jurisdictionin the Roman Empire, the supreme pontiff (the pope, or bishop of Rome) conferred it upon archbishops and, later, upon bishops, as emblematic of their sharing in the papal authority. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  An ecclesiastical garment consisting of a decorated band worn on the back of the neck with each end hanging over the chest.