what's a girdle?
An Anglican Christian priest wearing a white girdle around his waist to hold his alb and stole in place. The term girdle, meaning belt, commonly refers to the liturgical attire that normally closes a cassock in many Christian denominations, including the Anglican Communion, Methodist Church and Lutheran Church. The girdle, in the 8th or 9th century, was said to resemble an ancient Levitical Jewish vestment, and in that era, was not visible.