Ecclesiastical ring

An ecclesiastical ring is a finger ring worn by a clergyman, such as a Bishop's ring.

In Western Christianity, rings are worn by bishops of the Roman Catholic, Anglican and other denominations. Eastern Orthodox bishops do not normally wear rings, but some Eastern Catholic bishops do.

The bishop, named by the pope but consecrated by his immediate superior cardinal or archbishop, is privileged to wear the ring that is awarded to him by the cardinal. He is then free to obtain and wear his own episcopal rings. The style of the episcopal ring has almost always been very large, gold, stone-set ring. Roman Catholic bishops traditionally have their episcopal ring set with an amethyst.

Aside from the rings a bishop purchases or is given by others, his rings belong to the Church; he will have inherited the previous bishop's ring collection, which is held in trust. While all hierarchs are accorded the honor of being buried wearing a ring, all rings belonging to the Church will be returned to the Church upon the retirement or death of any hierarch.

In a Decree of Pope Boniface IV (A.D. 610) it describes monks raised to the episcopal dignity as anulo pontificali subarrhatis, while at the Fourth Council of Toledo, in 633, it was stated that if a bishop has been deposed from his office and afterwards reinstated, he is to receive back stole, ring and crosier (orarium, anulum et baculum).

St. Isidore of Seville at about the same period couples the ring with the crosier and declares that the former is conferred as "an emblem of the pontifical dignity or of the sealing of secrets". The ring is strictly speaking an episcopal ornament conferred in the rite of consecration, and that it was commonly regarded as emblematic of the mystical betrothal of the bishop to his church.

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