Cassock

Cassock, a long loose robe or outer coat, formerly in common wear, but now worn only by the clergy and choristers. As worn by the clergy of the Church of England it is a long coat with a single upright collar. Black is the common colour for all orders of the clergy, but on state occasions bishops frequently wear purple cassocks. In the Roman Catholic Church cassocks vary in colour according to the dignity of the wearer—priests wearing black, bishops purple, cardinals scarlet, and the pope white.