THERE are many theories as to the ancestry of the stole.
A stole is a strip of fabric used as an ecclesiastical vestment, worn over the shoulders and hanging down to the knee or below.
According to Wikipedia the most likely origin for the stole is connected with the scarf of office among Imperial officials in the Roman Empire.
As members of the clergy became members of the Roman administration, they were granted certain honours, one specifically being a designator of rank within the imperial (and ecclesiastical) hierarchy.
The various configurations of the stole grew out of this usage.
The original intent, then was to designate a person as belonging to a particular organisation and to denote their rank within their group, a function which the stole continues to perform today.
Thus, unlike other liturgical garments which were originally worn by every cleric or layman, the stole was a garment which was specifically restricted to particular classes of people based on occupation.
Here in Fiji one of the most striking images of the new-look of the Methodist Church in Fiji are the elaborate stoles unveiled during the church’s August 2013 conference.
Designed and made by Uniting Church ministers in Australia, Reverend Chris and Reverend Eseta Meneilly, the stoles were unveiled at the national conference’s induction service in 2013.
The stoles were firstly worn by the late president Dr Tuikilakila Waqairatu, vice-president Ratu Eroni Volavola, general secretary Reverend Dr Tevita Banivanua and assistant general secretary Reverend Dr Epineri Vakadewavosa.
Reverend James Bhagwan, the secretary for Communication and Overseas Mission for the church, said the president’s stole this year was presented by Mrs Meneilly, who along with her husband served in Fiji for many years, and produced the stole along with stoles for the lay vice-president, general secretary and deputy general secretary.
“The presidental stole has a unique and symbolic design and all stoles incorporate the renewed logo or symbols of the Methodist Church in Fiji,” Mr Bhagwan said.
He said Mrs Meneilly, who migrated from Fiji in 1987, was well known for the handmade ecclesiastical stoles she had produced which merged her Fijian heritage with her Christian faith, combining elements of Fijian tapa design with Christian and Fijian symbols.
“Her work has even been on display at the Immigration Museum in Melbourne,” Mr Bhagwan said.
During a visit to Australia earlier in 2013, the late Dr Waqairatu and Mr Banivanua were made aware of Eseta’s work and commissioned her to make the stoles for office bearers.
A church statement states that each stole is unique in design and the project took about four months to complete.
The Meneillys, who have been designing stoles for several years, have a long association with Fiji which is Mrs Meneilly homeland and where Mr Meneilly studied and was ordained as a minister of the Methodist Church in Fiji.
The stoles incorporate a new logo as well as Christian and Fijian symbols in an artistic design and include a Fijian traditional tapa design which identifies with water, mountain, the sea, the vanua.
The coconut fibre sinnet (magimagi) according to Mrs Meneilly encircles and binds everything together and also forms a trinitarian representation. The red or blue yoke is a sign of office and the call to “carry the load” of leadership. Symbols of Christian identity are balanced throughout the design with dove, cross, and Bible.
For Mrs Meneilly, making liturgical stoles depicting Fijian and Christian symbols is the story of her faith journey.
She said the stole in the iTaukei language was called the wabale.
“The wabale signifies a position of status and a position of authority. And a stole to a minister signifies a position of pastoral care for the people, praying for the people and passing on the work and the Word of God to the people,” Mrs Meneilly said.
She said also has the symbol of the tabua which some people in Fiji viewed as something connected to evil but for her it as an item that could be used for reconciliation.
And reconciliation was a key part of the church conference as it seeks to forge a new direction within the country.
The highlight of this work for her is the recognition that the stoles are unique and now worn with appreciation by the leaders of the Methodist Church in Fiji.
