Pallium

(Gr. ἱμάτιον ). A large square woollen sheet or blanket worn by the Greeks over the shoulders, and fastened like the Abolla round the neck with a brooch ( fibula ); it formed the principal article of the amictus or Greek dre . (Hence the expre ion to palliate, or cloak over, an offence.) (2) Chr. A vestment bestowed by the Pope on all patriarchs and archbishops on their acce ion to office as the symbol of their ecclesiastical power. The material is obtained from the wool of two lambs slain on the Eve of St. Agnes. The modern pallium of the Church is a short white cloak ornamented with a red cro , which encircles the neck and shoulders, and falls down the back. The pall or pallium is a charge in the arms of the Sees of Canterbury, Armagh, and Dublin.