1.
Derrynaflan Chalice
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The Derrynaflan Chalice is an 8th- or 9th-century chalice, that was found as part of the Derrynaflan Hoard of five liturgical vessels. The discovery was made on 17 February 1980 near Killenaule, County Tipperary in Ireland, the area known as Derrynaflan is an island of pastureland surrounded by bogland, which was the site of an early Irish abbey. The chalice was found with a silver paten, a hoop that may have been a stand for the paten, a liturgical strainer. The group is among the most important surviving examples of Insular metalwork and it was donated to the Irish State and the items are now on display in the National Museum of Ireland. The hoard was probably secreted during the turbulent 10th to 12th centuries, the early and later 10th century is marked by a particular concentration of hoarding in Ireland. Derrynaflan is an island of dry land situated in a surrounding area of peat bogs, in the townland of Lurgoe. They had the permission of the owners of the land on which the ruins stood to visit the site. A preservation order had made in respect of the ruin under the National Monuments Act,1930. The discovery was kept secret for three weeks. The Ardagh Chalice dates from around the period, perhaps a century earlier. At the time, the dynasty in Tipperary and most of Munster were the Eóganachta, while their longtime allies. As a masterpiece of Insular art, the Derrynaflan chalice was included in the exhibition The Work of Angels, Masterpieces of Celtic Metalwork, Celtic art Broighter Gold Tara Brooch Cross of Cong Byrne, Francis J. Irish Kings and High-Kings. Duffy, Seán, Medieval Ireland, An Encyclopedia, the Derrynaflan Chalice National Museum of Ireland The Derrynaflan Paten National Museum of Ireland Derrynaflan Chalice Trafficking Culture
2.
County Tipperary
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County Tipperary is a county in Ireland. Tipperary County Council is the government authority for the county. It is located in the province of Munster, the county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early thirteenth century, shortly after the Norman invasion of Ireland. The population of the county was 160,441 at the 2016 census. The largest towns are Clonmel, Nenagh and Thurles, Tipperary is the sixth largest of the 32 counties by area and the 12th largest by population. It is the third largest of Munsters 6 counties by size and it is also the largest landlocked county in Ireland. The region is part of the plain of Ireland, but the diverse terrain contains several mountain ranges, the Knockmealdown, the Galtee, the Arra Hills. Most of the county is drained by the River Suir, the part by tributaries of the River Shannon, the eastern part by the River Nore. No part of the county touches the coast, the centre is known as the Golden Vale, a rich pastoral stretch of land in the Suir basin which extends into counties Limerick and Cork. Parishes were delineated after the Down Survey as a subdivision, with multiple townlands per parish. The civil parishes had some use in local taxation and were included on the nineteenth century maps of the Ordnance Survey of Ireland, for poor law purposes, District Electoral Divisions replaced the civil parishes in the mid-nineteenth century. There are 199 civil parishes in the county, townlands are the smallest officially defined geographical divisions in Ireland, there are 3,159 townlands in the county. Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was claimed as a lordship, by 1210, the sheriffdom of Munster shired into the shires of Tipperary and Limerick. In 1328, Tipperary was granted to the Earls of Ormond as a county palatine or liberty, the grant excluded church lands such as the archiepiscopal see of Cashel, which formed the separate county of Cross Tipperary. The county was divided again in 1838. When the Local Government Act 1898 established county councils to replace the grand jury for civil functions and their names were changed from Tipperary North/South Riding to North/South Tipperary by the Local Government Act 2001, which redesignated all administrative counties as simply counties. The Local Government Reform Act 2014 has amalgamated the two counties and restored a single county of Tipperary, following the Local Government Reform Act 2014, Tipperary County Council is the local government authority for the county. The authority is a merger of two separate authorities North Tipperary County Council and South Tipperary County Council which operated up until June 2014
3.
Ireland
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Ireland is an island in the North Atlantic. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, Ireland is the second-largest island of the British Isles, the third-largest in Europe, and the twentieth-largest on Earth. Politically, Ireland is divided between the Republic of Ireland, which covers five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, in 2011, the population of Ireland was about 6.4 million, ranking it the second-most populous island in Europe after Great Britain. Just under 4.6 million live in the Republic of Ireland, the islands geography comprises relatively low-lying mountains surrounding a central plain, with several navigable rivers extending inland. The island has lush vegetation, a product of its mild, thick woodlands covered the island until the Middle Ages. As of 2013, the amount of land that is wooded in Ireland is about 11% of the total, there are twenty-six extant mammal species native to Ireland. The Irish climate is moderate and classified as oceanic. As a result, winters are milder than expected for such a northerly area, however, summers are cooler than those in Continental Europe. Rainfall and cloud cover are abundant, the earliest evidence of human presence in Ireland is dated at 10,500 BC. Gaelic Ireland had emerged by the 1st century CE, the island was Christianised from the 5th century onward. Following the Norman invasion in the 12th century, England claimed sovereignty over Ireland, however, English rule did not extend over the whole island until the 16th–17th century Tudor conquest, which led to colonisation by settlers from Britain. In the 1690s, a system of Protestant English rule was designed to materially disadvantage the Catholic majority and Protestant dissenters, with the Acts of Union in 1801, Ireland became a part of the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland saw much civil unrest from the late 1960s until the 1990s and this subsided following a political agreement in 1998. In 1973 the Republic of Ireland joined the European Economic Community while the United Kingdom, Irish culture has had a significant influence on other cultures, especially in the fields of literature. Alongside mainstream Western culture, an indigenous culture exists, as expressed through Gaelic games, Irish music. The culture of the island shares many features with that of Great Britain, including the English language, and sports such as association football, rugby, horse racing. The name Ireland derives from Old Irish Eriu and this in turn derives from Proto-Celtic *Iveriu, which is also the source of Latin Hibernia. Iveriu derives from a root meaning fat, prosperous, during the last glacial period, and up until about 9000 years ago, most of Ireland was covered with ice, most of the time
4.
Platen
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A platen is a flat platform with a variety of roles in printing or manufacturing. It can be a metal plate pressed against a medium to cause an impression in letterpress printing. In office copiers and scanners, the platen is a glass surface on which operators place papers or books for scanning. The platen is called the flatbed. Platens are also used in printers, such as the Dot-matrix printer. In semiconductor manufacturing, specifically chemical-mechanical planarization, a flat, rotating platen covered with a pad is used to polish semiconductor wafers, in textile screen printing, a platen is a flat board onto which the operator slides the garment. It is generally made of either a plywood laminate or aluminum with a rubber laminate, often the platen will be pretreated with a spray adhesive. This allows the garment to effectively become a rigid immobile substrate, the screen is brought parallel and close to the garment and the squeegee pressure then brings the screen into contact with the garment so that the ink transfer may occur. In woodworking, wide belt sanders use platens to press the paper into contact with the wood being sanded. The platen sits between two rolls which deliver the moving force to the sanding belt. Sanding heads with a platen are used on finish sanding with papers of finer grits, stock is fed into and out of the machine on a conveyor belt. In metal forming processes, a platen is the component that houses the mold for forging the required shape, the platen tends to be the heaviest and strongest part of the press due to the massive forces that it has to withstand. A platen for a 5000-ton press can weigh up to 350 tons, in manufacturing, a platen is a flat plate of a press utilized in laminate, plastic and forest product industries. A platen is typically heated with oil, water, steam or electricity and is used in the production of furniture, tires, gaskets, particle board, composite heaters and plywood. In high frequency welding products, platens are used to put lines on PVC binders and folders down the spine lines, platens are utilized in impact testing in research, a specimen is crushed between platens. The platen also refers to the part of a linear motor
5.
Eucharist
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The Eucharist /ˈjuːkərɪst/ is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches. Through the Eucharistic celebration Christians remember Christs sacrifice of himself on the cross, the elements of the Eucharist, bread and wine, are consecrated on an altar and consumed thereafter. Communicants may speak of receiving the Eucharist, as well as celebrating the Eucharist, Christians generally recognize a special presence of Christ in this rite, though they differ about exactly how, where, and when Christ is present. While all agree there is no perceptible change in the elements, Catholics believe that they actually become the body. Some Protestants view the Eucharist as an ordinance in which the ceremony is not as a specific channel of divine grace. Do this in remembrance of me, the term Eucharist is that by which the rite is referred by the Didache, Ignatius of Antioch and Justin Martyr. Today, the Eucharist is the still used by Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholics, Anglicans, Presbyterians. Other Protestant denominations rarely use this term, preferring either Communion, one remains hungry, another gets drunk. Communion or Holy Communion are used by some groups originating in the Protestant Reformation to mean the entire Eucharistic rite. The term Communion is derived from Latin communio, which translates Greek κοινωνία in 1 Corinthians 10,16, the bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ. The phrase appears five times in the New Testament in contexts which, according to some and it is the term used by the Plymouth Brethren. The Blessed Sacrament and the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar are common terms used by Catholics, Lutherans and some Anglicans for the consecrated elements, Sacrament of the Altar is in common use also among Lutherans. In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints the term The Sacrament is used of the rite. Among the many terms used in the Catholic Church are Holy Mass, the Memorial of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of the Lord, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The term Mass is probably derived from the fact that the Roman rite celebrates the Eucharist with unleavened bread and this explains why the Eastern Catholic Liturgies are never referred to as the Mass. Eastern rite Liturgies are celebrated with leavened bread, although the prevailing theory is that it is derived from the Latin word missa, a word used in the concluding formula of Mass in Latin, Ite, missa est. The reverse is more likely. The word dismissal probably came about because the Mass signaled the time for the Catechumens to leave, thus, the term Misa came to imply a mission, because at the end of the Mass the congregation are sent out to serve Christ
6.
Sacramental bread
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Sacramental bread, sometimes called altar bread, Communion bread, the Lamb or simply the host, is the bread which is used in the Christian ritual of the Eucharist. The word hostia is Latin for sacrificial animal, the sacrifice of Jesus according to Christian theology puts an end to the need for animal sacrifice as had been practiced in the Jerusalem Temple and all blood sacrifice once-for-all. The word was retained to describe the bread of Eucharist as a representation of the Christs sacrifice. The Orthodox Church and Eastern-rite Roman Catholic churches use leavened bread for the Eucharist, thus, the sacramental bread symbolizes the Resurrected Christ. The hostia or sacramental bread, known as prosphorá or a πρόσφορον may be out of only four ingredients, fine wheat flour, pure water, yeast. Sometimes holy water will be sprinkled into the dough or on the kneading trough at the beginning of the process. The baking may only be performed by a believing Orthodox Christian in good standing—having preferably been recently to Confession, before baking, each loaf is formed by placing two disks of dough, one on top of the other, and stamping it with a special liturgical seal. The prosphora should be fresh and not stale or moldy when presented at the altar for use in the Divine Liturgy, often several prosphora will be baked and offered by the faithful, and the priest chooses the best one for the Lamb that will be consecrated. The remaining loaves are blessed and offered back to the congregation after the end of the Divine Liturgy, a Hostia is a portion of bread used for Holy Communion in many Christian churches. In Western Christianity the host is often a thin, round unleavened wafer, the word host is derived from the Latin hostia, which means sacrificial victim. The term can be used to describe the bread both before and after consecration, though it is correct to use it after consecration—altar bread being preferred before consecration. Western theology teaches that at the Words of Institution the bread is changed or altered into the Body of Christ, hosts are often made by nuns as a means of supporting their religious communities. In the Latin Rite, unleavened bread is used as in the Jewish Passover or Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Byzantine Rite Eastern Catholic Churches use leavened bread for Prosphora. The Armenian Catholic Church, the Syro-Malabar Church and the Maronite Church have adopted the use of unleavened bread, some traditions proscribe the use of spiced, flavored or sweetened hosts, while others allow it. However, both Eastern and Western traditions insist that the bread must be made from wheat, the Code of Canon Law, Canon 924 requires that the hosts be made from wheat flour and water only and recently made so that there is no danger of spoiling. The General Instruction of the Roman Missal §321 recommends that the eucharistic bread, be made in such a way that the priest at Mass with a congregation is able in practice to break it into parts for distribution to at least some of the faithful. In the varying Protestant denominations, there is a variety of practices concerning the sacramental bread used. Some, such as the Christian Congregation use leavened loaves of bread, others, such as Lutherans, continue to use unleavened wafers like the Roman Catholics, reformed Christians use rolls which are broken and distributed to symbolize their belief that Christ is not physically present in the bread
7.
Consecration
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Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word consecration literally means association with the sacred, persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups. A synonym for to consecrate is to sanctify, a distinct antonym is to desecrate, consecration is used in the Catholic Church as the setting apart for the service of God of both persons and objects. The ordination of a new bishop is called a consecration. While the term episcopal ordination is now common, consecration was the preferred term from the Middle Ages through the period including the Second Vatican Council. The Vatican II document Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy n.76 states, Both the ceremonies, the address given by the bishop at the beginning of each ordination or consecration may be in the mother tongue. When a bishop is consecrated, the laying of hands may be done by all the bishops present, the life of those who enter religious institutes and similar institutes is also described as Consecrated life. The rite of consecration of virgins can be traced back at least to the fourth century, by the time of the Second Vatican Council, the bestowal of the consecration was limited to cloistered nuns only. The Council directed that this should be revised, two similar versions were prepared, one for women living in monastic orders, another for consecrated virgins living in the world. An English translation of the rite for those living in the world is available on the web site of the United States Association of Consecrated Virgins, Chrism, an anointing oil, is olive oil consecrated by a bishop. Objects such as patens and chalices, used for the Sacrament of the Eucharist, also used to be consecrated by a bishop, using chrism. Before a new priest is ordained, the day there is a vigil. A more solemn rite exists for what used to be called the consecration of an altar, the rite is now called the dedication. Since it would be contradictory to dedicate to the service of God a mortgage-burdened building, to consecrate the bread and wine, the priest speaks the Words of Institution. It can also be used to describe the change of the bread and wine into the Body, the Chrism used at Chrismation and the Antimension placed on the Holy Table are also said to be consecrated. A person may be consecrated for a role within a religious hierarchy. In particular, the ordination of a bishop is called a consecration. In churches that follow the doctrine of succession, the bishops who consecrate a new bishop are known as the consecrators
8.
Mass (liturgy)
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Mass often refers to the entire church service in general, but is specifically the sacrament of the Eucharist. The term mass is called in the Catholic Church, Western Rite Orthodox churches and many Old Catholic, Anglican, as well as some Lutheran churches. Some Protestants employ terms such as Divine Service or service of worship, the English noun mass is derived from Middle Latin missa. The Latin word was adopted in Old English as mæsse, and was sometimes glossed as sendnes, the Latin term missa itself was in use by the 6th century. It is most likely derived from the concluding formula Ite, missa est, historically, however, there have been other explanations of the noun missa, i. e. as not derived from the formula ite, missa est. Already Du Cange reports various opinions on the origin of the noun missa mass, including the derivation from Hebrew matzah, here attributed to Caesar Baronius. The Hebrew derivation is learned speculation from 16th-century philology, medieval authorities did derive the noun missa from the verb mittere, but not in connection with the formula ite, missa est. Thus, De divinis officiis explains the word as a mittendo, quod nos mittat ad Deo, the Catholic Church sees the Mass or Eucharist as the source and summit of the Christian life, to which the other sacraments are oriented. The Catholic Church believes that the Mass is exactly the same sacrifice that Jesus Christ offered on the Cross at Calvary, after making the sign of the cross and greeting the people liturgically, he begins the Act of Penitence. This concludes with the prayer of absolution, which, however. The Kyrie, eleison, is sung or said, followed by the Gloria in excelsis Deo, the Introductory Rites are brought to a close by the Collect Prayer. On Sundays and solemnities, three Scripture readings are given, on other days there are only two. If there are three readings, the first is from the Old Testament, or the Acts of the Apostles during Eastertide, the first reading is followed by a psalm, either sung responsorially or recited. The second reading is from the New Testament, typically one of the Pauline epistles. A Gospel Acclamation is then sung as the Book of the Gospels is processed, sometimes with incense and candles, the final reading and high point of the Liturgy of the Word is the proclamation of the Gospel by the deacon or priest. At least on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation, a homily, finally, the Creed is professed on Sundays and solemnities, and it is desirable that in Masses celebrated with the people the Universal Prayer or Prayer of the Faithful should usually follow. The congregation responds, May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands, for the praise and glory of his name, for our good, the priest then pronounces the variable prayer over the gifts. The Eucharistic Prayer, the centre and high point of the entire celebration, the priest continues with one of many Eucharistic Prayer thanksgiving prefaces, which lead to the reciting of the Sanctus acclamation
9.
Reserved sacrament
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During the Liturgy of the Eucharist, the second part of the Mass, the elements of bread and wine are considered to have been changed into the veritable Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. The manner in which this occurs is referred to by the term transubstantiation, in many Christian churches some portion of the consecrated elements is set aside and reserved after the reception of the Holy Eucharist, referred to as the reserved sacrament. The reserved sacrament is usually stored in a tabernacle, a cabinet made of precious materials and usually located on. In Western Christianity usually only the Host, from Latin, hostia, the Blessed Sacrament is then returned to the tabernacle at the end of the first Mass of the Resurrection. The first mention of reservation also describes the original and, arguably, reservation for distribution of the Communion to the sick is mentioned subsequently in the writings of Tertullian, St. Cyprian and St. Basil. People kept the sacrament in their homes and carried about their person as being a safe place, after the conversion of Constantine in the early 4th century, the more common place for reservation was in a church. This custom seems to have originated in the desire to allow the Blessed Sacrament to be seen by the faithful without exactly contravening the synodal decrees which forbade any continuous exposition. In the sacrament house, the door was made of metal lattice work. A second purpose of reservation is that it might be a focus of prayer, in the 3rd century, catechumens baptized at Easter or Pentecost would spend eight days in meditation before the Blessed Sacrment, reserved in a home-church, before Christianity was legalized. However, before the year 1000, or even later, the Blessed Sacrament was kept in churches in order that the faithful might visit It or pray before It. Public Exposition, formerly permitted only on the feast of Corpus Christi, reservation was prohibited in many Protestant churches in the 16th century. In England it was permitted in the First Book of Common Prayer of 1549, the Thirty-Nine Articles stated, The Sacrament of the Lords Supper was not by Christs ordinance reserved, carried about, lifted up, or worshipped. In 1662, the prayer book rubric was altered to the effect that after the communion any remains were to be reverently consumed. The practice of reservation died out among Anglicans until the 19th century when, under the influence of the Tractarians, members of the Oxford Movement, in Tract 90, John Henry Newman argued for a permissive interpretation of Article XXVIII. Nevertheless, this caused energetic debate amongst Anglican theologians of the time, there is then no celebration until the Easter Vigil in the night leading to Easter Sunday. This celebration is never called Mass, because it lacks the consecration of the Eucharist, the structure of the celebration is the following, Introductory rites, similar in aim and structure to the Introductory rites of the Mass, though the greeting, The Lord be with you. Is reserved to the priest or deacon- another format is used when a layperson presides at the service, Liturgy of the Word, similar in aim, the readings are the same of the Mass of the same day. It shall not to be similar to the thanksgiving of the Eucharistic prayers, Communion rites, the ritual of the Roman Ritual for communion outside Mass shall be used
10.
Church tabernacle
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A tabernacle is a fixed, locked box in which, in some Christian churches, the Eucharist is reserved. A less obvious container for the purpose, set into a wall, is called an aumbry. Within Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy and in some congregations of Anglicanism and Lutheranism and it is normally made of metal, stone or wood, is lockable and secured to its altar or adjacent wall to prevent the consecrated elements within from being removed without authorization. By way of metaphor, Catholics and Orthodox alike also refer to the Blessed Virgin Mary as the Tabernacle in their devotions,6 Year XXIII – June 2005. The preferred containers, the original tabernacles, then had the form of a dove within a tower, gian Lorenzo Bernini’s 29-metre-high Baroque baldacchino over the main altar in today’s Saint Peter’s Basilica is at present the best-known such structure. Later, simpler vessels replaced to some extent the dove and the tower, by the thirteenth century, the Eucharist was most often kept in a highly embellished cabinet inserted into the wall to the right or left of the altar. The Altar lamp indicated the Presence of Christ and this was a means of following the decree of the 1215 Fourth Lateran Council requiring that the reserved sacrament be kept in a locked receptacle. In the late century, special stone constructions for the Eucharistic bread began to be built. They were in use until the mid-nineteenth century, as the presence of the sanctuary lamp in the adjacent picture shows, some have been returned to their traditional use. Belgian churches with such sacrament towers include St Catherines in Zuurbemde, St Martins in Kortrijk, St Peters and St Jamess in Leuven, St Jamess in Bruges and St Leonards in Zoutleeuw. In the early century, Bishop Matteo Giberti ordered that, in his diocese of Verona, in Italy. The custom spread through northern Italy, Saint Charles Borromeo, who became Archbishop of Milan, Italy in 1560, had the Sacrament moved from the sacristy to an altar of his cathedral. However, in 1614 Pope Paul V imposed on the churches of his diocese of Rome the rule of putting the tabernacle on some altar. Whether on the altar of the church or in a special chapel. The Catholic Church holds the doctrine of transubstantiation, i. e. that Christ is truly present, Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity and this presence perdures after the consecration, so that even after Mass is concluded, the Eucharistic elements are still Christs Body and Blood. A tabernacle serves as a place in which to store the Blessed Sacrament for carrying to the sick who cannot participate in Mass. The altar, it was decided, should be truly the centre to which the attention of the congregation of the faithful naturally turns. Before Vatican II, Mass was often celebrated directly in front of the tabernacle, the same Instruction lays down that,314
11.
Ciborium (container)
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A ciborium is a vessel, normally in metal. The word is used for a large canopy over the altar. The ancient Greek word referred to the cup-shaped seed vessel of the Egyptian water-lily nelumbium speciosum and came to describe a drinking cup made from that seed casing and these vessels were particularly common in ancient Egypt and the Greek East. The word ciborium was also used in classical Latin to describe such cups and it resembles the shape of a chalice but its bowl is more round than conical, and takes its name from its cover, surmounted by a cross or other sacred design. In the Early Christian Church, Holy Communion was not kept in churches for fear of sacrilege or desecration, later, the first ciboria were kept at homes to be handy for the Last Rites where needed. In churches, a ciborium is kept in a tabernacle or aumbry. In some cases, it may be veiled to indicate the presence of the consecrated hosts and it is typically made, or at least plated, in a precious metal. Other containers for the host include the paten or a basin used at the time of consecration and distribution at the service of Holy Eucharist. A pyx is a small, circular container into which a few consecrated hosts can be placed, pyxes are typically used to bring communion to the sick or shut-in. The dictionary definition of ciborium at Wiktionary
12.
Chalice
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A chalice is a goblet or footed cup intended to hold a drink. In general religious terms, it is intended for drinking during a ceremony, chalices are often made of precious metal, and they are sometimes richly enamelled and jewelled. The gold goblet was symbolic for family and tradition, the ancient Roman calix was a drinking vessel consisting of a bowl fixed atop a stand, and was in common use at banquets. Chalices have been used since the early church, because of Jesus command to his disciples to Do this in remembrance of me. And Pauls account of the Eucharistic rite in 1 Corinthians 11, 24-25, naturally, the vessels used in this important act of worship were highly decorated and treated with great respect. A number of examples of chalices have a large bowl. Over time, the size of the bowl diminished and the base became larger for better stability, over time, official church regulations dictated the construction, blessing, and treatment of chalices. Some religious traditions still require that the chalice, at least on the inside of the cup, in Western Christianity, chalices will often have a pommel or node where the stem meets the cup to make the elevation easier. In Roman Catholicism, chalices tend to be tulip-shaped, and the cups are quite narrow, Roman Catholic priests will often receive chalices from members of their families when first ordained. In Eastern Christianity, chalices will often have icons enameled or engraved on them, in Orthodoxy and Eastern Catholicism, all communicants receive both the Body of Christ and the Blood of Christ. To accomplish this, a portion of the Lamb is placed in the chalice, for this reason, eastern chalices tend to have larger, rounded cups. In the Russian Orthodox Church, the faithful will kiss the foot of the chalice after receiving Holy Communion. In other traditions, they kiss the cup. Although Orthodox monks are not permitted to hold personal possessions, the permit a hieromonk to keep a chalice. In the early and medieval church, when a deacon was ordained, early written accounts of the ordination of deaconesses also reflect this practice. In the West the deacon carries the chalice to the altar at the offertory, in the East, the priest carries the chalice and the deacon carries the paten. Only wine, water and a portion of the Host are permitted to be placed in the chalice, the chalice is considered to be one of the most sacred vessels in Christian liturgical worship, and it is often blessed before use. Among the Eastern Churches there are varying practices regarding blessing, in some traditions the very act of celebrating the Sacred Mysteries is the only blessing necessary, in others, there is a special rite of blessing
13.
Christogram
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A Christogram is a monogram or combination of letters that forms an abbreviation for the name of Jesus Christ, traditionally used as a religious symbol within the Christian Church. One of the oldest Christograms is the Chi-Rho and it consists of the superimposed Greek letters chi and rho, which are the first two letters of Greek χριστός Christ. It was displayed on the military standard used by Constantine I in AD312. The IX monogram is a form, using the initials of the name Ἰησοῦς Χριστός Jesus Christ, as is the ΙΗ monogram. The name Jesus, spelt ΙΗΣΟΥΣ in Greek capitals, has the abbreviations IHS, in Eastern Christian tradition, the monogram ΙϹΧϹ is used for in both Greek and Cyrillic tradition. A Middle Latin term for abbreviations of the name of Christ is chrisimus, similarly, Middle Latin crismon, chrismon refers to the Chi Rho monogram specifically. In antiquity, the cross, i. e. the instrument of Christs crucifixion was taken to be T-shaped, while the X-shape had different connotations. In Platos Timaeus, it is explained that the two bands which form the world cross each other like the letter chi, possibly referring to the ecliptic crossing the celestial equator. The most commonly encountered Christogram in English-speaking countries in modern times is the Χ, representing the first letter of the word Christ, in such abbreviations as Xmas, the Alpha and Omega symbols may at times accompany the Chi-Rho monogram. Chrismon since the 17th century has been used as a New Latin term for the Chi Rho monogram. Because the chrismon was used as a kind of invocation at the beginning of documents of the Merovingian period, the term also came to be used of the cross-signatures in early medieval charters. Chrismon in this context may refer to the Merovingian period abbreviation I. C. N. for in Christi nomine, later also I. C. for in Christo, and still later just C. for Christus. The Greek letter iota is represented by I, and the eta by H, while the Greek letter sigma is either in its form, represented by C, or its final form. Because the Latin-alphabet letters I and J were not systematically distinguished until the 17th century, JHS and JHC are equivalent to IHS, IHS is sometimes interpreted as meaning Jesus Hominum Salvator, or connected with In Hoc Signo. Such interpretations are known as backronyms, used in Latin since the seventh century, the first use of IHS in an English document dates from the fourteenth century, in The vision of William concerning Piers Plowman. The IHS monogram with the H surmounted by a cross above three nails and surrounded by a Sun is the emblem of the Jesuits, according to tradition introduced by Ignatius of Loyola in 1541, english-language interpretations of IHS have included In His Service. On icons, this Christogram may be split, ΙϹ on the left of the image and it is sometimes rendered as ΙϹ ΧϹ ΝΙΚΑ, meaning Jesus Christ Conquers. ΙϹΧϹ may also be inscribed on the Ichthys
14.
Holy See
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The Holy See, also referred to as the See of Rome, is the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, the episcopal see of the Pope, and an independent sovereign entity. It serves as the point of reference for the Catholic Church everywhere. Today, it is responsible for the governance of all Catholics, organised in their Particular Churches, Patriarchates, as an independent sovereign entity, holding the Vatican City enclave in Rome as sovereign territory, it maintains diplomatic relations with other states. Diplomatically, the Holy See acts and speaks for the whole church and it is also recognised by other subjects of international law as a sovereign entity, headed by the Pope, with which diplomatic relations can be maintained. The creation of the Vatican City state was meant to ensure the diplomatic, in Greek, the adjective holy or sacred is constantly applied to all such sees as a matter of course. The word see comes from the Latin word sedes, meaning seat, while Saint Peters basilica in Vatican City is perhaps the church most associated with the Papacy, the actual cathedral of the Holy See is the church of Saint John Lateran within the city of Rome. The Pope governs the Catholic Church through the Roman Curia, the Secretariat of State, under the Cardinal Secretary of State, directs and coordinates the Curia. The incumbent, Archbishop Pietro Parolin, is the Sees equivalent of a prime minister, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, Secretary of the Section for Relations with States of the Secretariat of State, acts as the Holy Sees minister of foreign affairs. Parolin was named in his role by Pope Francis On 31 August 2013, mamberti was named in his role by Pope Benedict XVI in September 2006. The Secretariat of State is the body of the Curia that is situated within Vatican City. The others are in buildings in different parts of Rome that have rights similar to those of embassies. The Roman Rota handles normal judicial appeals, the most numerous being those that concern alleged nullity of marriage and it also oversees the work of other ecclesiastical tribunals at all levels. The most important of these is the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See, the Prefecture of the Papal Household is responsible for the organization of the papal household, audiences, and ceremonies. The Holy See does not dissolve upon a Popes death or resignation and it instead operates under a different set of laws sede vacante. The government of the See, and therefore of the Catholic Church, canon law prohibits the College and the Camerlengo from introducing any innovations or novelties in the government of the Church during this period. In 2001, the Holy See had a revenue of 422.098 billion Italian lire, the Guardian newspaper described Mennini and his role in the following manner. Paolo Mennini, who is in effect the popes merchant banker, Mennini heads a special unit inside the Vatican called the extraordinary division of APSA – Amministrazione del Patrimonio della Sede Apostolica – which handles the patrimony of the Holy See. The Holy See has been recognized, both in practice and in the writing of modern legal scholars, as a subject of public international law, with rights
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Anglican Communion
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The Anglican Communion is an international association of autonomous churches consisting of the Church of England and national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with it. Full participation in the life of each church is available to all communicant Anglicans. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Primate of All England, has a place of honour among the bishops of the Anglican churches and he is recognised as primus inter pares. The archbishop does not exercise authority in the provinces outside England, the churches of the Anglican Communion considers themselves to be part of the nicos one, holy, catholic and apostolic church and to be both Catholic and Reformed. For some adherents, Anglicanism represents a non-papal Catholicism, for others a form of Protestantism though without a dominant guiding figure such as Luther, Knox, Calvin, for others, their self-identity represents some combination of the two. The communion encompasses a spectrum of belief and practice including evangelical, liberal. With a membership estimated at around 85 million members, the Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion in the world, after the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. Some of these churches are known as Anglican, such as the Anglican Church of Canada, some, for example the Church of Ireland, the Scottish and American Episcopal churches, and some other associated churches have a separate name. The Anglican Communion has no legal existence nor any governing structure which might exercise authority over the member churches. There is an Anglican Communion Office in London, under the aegis of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Communion is held together by a shared history, expressed in its ecclesiology, polity and ethos and also by participation in international consultative bodies. Early in its development, Anglicanism developed a vernacular prayer book, unlike other traditions, Anglicanism has never been governed by a magisterium nor by appeal to one founding theologian, nor by an extra-credal summary of doctrine. Instead, Anglicans have typically appealed to the Book of Common Prayer and its offshoots as a guide to Anglican theology and this had the effect of inculcating the principle of Lex orandi, lex credendi as the foundation of Anglican identity and confession. These parameters were most clearly articulated in the rubrics of the successive prayer books. With the expansion of the British Empire, and hence the growth of Anglicanism outside Great Britain and Ireland, the first major expression of this were the Lambeth Conferences of the communions bishops, first convened by Archbishop of Canterbury Charles Longley in 1869. One of the influential early resolutions of the conference was the so-called Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral of 1888. Its intent was to provide the basis for discussions of reunion with the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches, the Apostles Creed, as the Baptismal Symbol, and the Nicene Creed, as the sufficient statement of the Christian faith. The two Sacraments ordained by Christ Himself - Baptism and the Supper of the Lord - ministered with unfailing use of Christs Words of Institution, and of the elements ordained by Him. The Historic Episcopate, locally adapted in the methods of its administration to the needs of the nations
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Lutheranism
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Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestant Christianity which identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German friar, ecclesiastical reformer and theologian. Luthers efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched the Protestant Reformation in the German-speaking territories of the Holy Roman Empire. Lutheranism advocates a doctrine of justification by grace alone through faith alone on the basis of Scripture alone and this is in contrast to the belief of the Catholic Church, defined at the Council of Trent, concerning authority coming from both the Scriptures and Tradition. In addition, Lutheranism accepts the teachings of the first seven ecumenical councils of the undivided Christian Church, unlike Calvinism, Lutherans retain many of the liturgical practices and sacramental teachings of the pre-Reformation Church, with a particular emphasis on the Eucharist, or Lords Supper. Lutheran theology differs from Reformed theology in Christology, the purpose of Gods Law, the grace, the concept of perseverance of the saints. Today, Lutheranism is one of the largest denominations of Protestantism, with approximately 80 million adherents, it constitutes the third most common Protestant denomination after historically Pentecostal denominations and Anglicanism. The Lutheran World Federation, the largest communion of Lutheran churches, Other Lutheran organizations include the International Lutheran Council and the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference, as well as independent churches. The name Lutheran originated as a term used against Luther by German Scholastic theologian Dr. Johann Maier von Eck during the Leipzig Debate in July 1519. Eck and other Catholics followed the practice of naming a heresy after its leader. Martin Luther always disliked the term Lutheran, preferring the term Evangelical, which was derived from euangelion, the followers of John Calvin, Huldrych Zwingli, and other theologians linked to the Reformed tradition also began to use that term. To distinguish the two groups, others began to refer to the two groups as Evangelical Lutheran and Evangelical Reformed. As time passed by, the word Evangelical was dropped, Lutherans themselves began to use the term Lutheran in the middle of the 16th century, in order to distinguish themselves from other groups such as the Philippists and Calvinists. In 1597, theologians in Wittenberg defined the title Lutheran as referring to the true church, Lutheranism has its roots in the work of Martin Luther, who sought to reform the Western Church to what he considered a more biblical foundation. Lutheranism spread through all of Scandinavia during the 16th century, as the monarch of Denmark–Norway, through Baltic-German and Swedish rule, Lutheranism also spread into Estonia and Latvia. Since 1520, regular Lutheran services have been held in Copenhagen, under the reign of Frederick I, Denmark-Norway remained officially Catholic. Although Frederick initially pledged to persecute Lutherans, he adopted a policy of protecting Lutheran preachers and reformers. During Fredericks reign, Lutheranism made significant inroads in Denmark, at an open meeting in Copenhagen attended by the king in 1536, the people shouted, We will stand by the holy Gospel, and do not want such bishops anymore. Fredericks son Christian was openly Lutheran, which prevented his election to the throne upon his fathers death, however, following his victory in the civil war that followed, in 1537 he became Christian III and advanced the Reformation in Denmark-Norway
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Elder (Methodist)
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The office of Elder, then, is what most people tend to think of as the pastoral, priestly, clergy office within the church. In most of the denominations within Methodism that use the title, Elder is an English translation of the Greek word Presbuteros, found in the New Testament. The word is commonly transliterated as presbyter. The office or order of presbyter is one of three orders of the traditional Christian priesthood, along with deacon and bishop. The founder of Methodism, John Wesley, in the rite, supplanted the Book of Common Prayers term priest for elder. Only an ordained elder may serve as a delegate to General Conference. While not presiding at a service of worship, elders in the United Methodist Church are sometimes wearing the clerical collar. Preaching tabs can also be worn around the neck in lieu of the clerical collar, many Methodist elders choose not to wear clerical clothing in their daily activities. When presiding at a service of worship, Methodist elders are seen wearing church vestments, namely the pulpit robe or alb, and to a lesser extent. Stoles that reflect the season of the Christian year are worn over the vestment, other elders choose not to wear vestments and are often seen in suits, dress clothes or casual clothing
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Bishop
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A bishop is an ordained, consecrated, or appointed member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within these churches, bishops are seen as those who possess the full priesthood, Some Protestant churches including the Lutheran and Methodist churches have bishops serving similar functions as well, though not always understood to be within apostolic succession in the same way. Priests, deacons and lay ministers cooperate and assist their bishop in shepherding a flock, the earliest organization of the Church in Jerusalem was, according to most scholars, similar to that of Jewish synagogues, but it had a council or college of ordained presbyters. In, we see a system of government in Jerusalem chaired by James the Just. In, the Apostle Paul ordains presbyters in churches in Anatolia, in Timothy and Titus in the New Testament a more clearly defined episcopate can be seen. We are told that Paul had left Timothy in Ephesus and Titus in Crete to oversee the local church, Paul commands Titus to ordain presbyters/bishops and to exercise general oversight, telling him to rebuke with all authority. Early sources are unclear but various groups of Christian communities may have had the bishop surrounded by a group or college functioning as leaders of the local churches, eventually, as Christendom grew, bishops no longer directly served individual congregations. Instead, the Metropolitan bishop appointed priests to each congregation. Around the end of the 1st century, the organization became clearer in historical documents. While Ignatius of Antioch offers the earliest clear description of monarchial bishops he is an advocate of monepiscopal structure rather than describing an accepted reality. To the bishops and house churches to which he writes, he offers strategies on how to pressure house churches who dont recognize the bishop into compliance. Other contemporary Christian writers do not describe monarchial bishops, either continuing to equate them with the presbyters or speaking of episkopoi in a city, plainly therefore we ought to regard the bishop as the Lord Himself — Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians 6,1. Your godly bishop — Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesians 2,1, therefore as the Lord did nothing without the Father, either by Himself or by the Apostles, so neither do ye anything without the bishop and the presbyters. — Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesians 7,1. Be obedient to the bishop and to one another, as Jesus Christ was to the Father, and as the Apostles were to Christ and to the Father, — Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesians 13,2. Apart from these there is not even the name of a church, — Epistle of Ignatius to the Trallesians 3,1. Follow your bishop, as Jesus Christ followed the Father, and the presbytery as the Apostles, and to the deacons pay respect, as to Gods commandment — Epistle of Ignatius to the Smyrnans 8,1. He that honoureth the bishop is honoured of God, he that doeth aught without the knowledge of the bishop rendereth service to the devil — Epistle of Ignatius to the Smyrnans 9,1
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Christian laying on of hands
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In the New Testament the laying on of hands was associated with the receiving of the Holy Spirit. Initially the Apostles laid hands on new believers as well as believers, in the early church, the practice continued and is still used in a wide variety of church ceremonies, such as during confirmation. Priests and deacons receive the laying on of hands by a single bishop and this is consecrated and added to as needed by the primates of the autocephalous churches, and is dispersed to priests for their use in administering the sacred mysteries. In the Eastern Christian Tradition, anointing with the chrism is the equivalent of laying on of hands. The presentation of this chrism which has received the laying on of hands, the laying on of hands is also performed at the end of the sacrament of unction. This mystery should be performed by seven priests six of whom lay their hands on a Gospel Book which has placed over the head of the one being anointed. Ordination can be administered only by a bishop in Apostolic Succession, the laying on of hands to the priesthood enables a person so ordained to act in persona Christi, i. e. in the person of Christ. Ordination allows a priest validly to administer sacraments, most notably giving that individual the authority to celebrate the Eucharist, the sacraments of ordination and confirmation are, however, reserved exclusively to a bishop. The sacrament of Confirmation is the special outpouring of the Holy Spirit as once granted to the apostles on the day of Pentecost, and brings an increase and deepening of baptismal grace. In the Latin-Rite Catholic Church, the sacrament is customarily conferred only on persons old enough to understand it, only for a serious reason may the diocesan bishop delegate a priest to administer the sacrament. Laying on of hands is part of Anglican confirmation, anointing of the sick, and other parts of liturgy and pastoral offices. The laying on of hands is also performed in the sacrament of Holy Orders and is the means by which one is included in one of the three ordained orders of the church, bishop, priest, or deacon. Ordination can be administered only by a bishop in Apostolic Succession and this took place during a ceremony in which various Scriptural extracts were quoted, including, most particularly, the opening verses of the Gospel of John. The ceremony was completed by a ritual laying on of hands, also known as Manisola, as the candidate vowed to abjure the world and accept the Holy Spirit. At this point, the Perfecti believed, the Holy Spirit was able to descend, the Cathars were decimated and annihilated as a sect during the Albigensian Crusade. Pentecostal Christians practice the laying on of hands as part of prayer for divine healing, while laying on of hands is not required for healing, Pentecostals believe that, in addition to its biblical origins, the act of touching is an encouragement to faith. In adherence to strict autonomy and autocephalocy, the Southern Baptist Church does not officially prescribe, reject, each church is expected to decide the matter for itself between its clergy and its congregation. In regards to ordination, the laying of hands is representative of authorizing, permitting, Southern Baptist Christians employ the laying on of hands during the ordination of clergymen as well as situations of calling for divine healing
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Offertory
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The offertory is the part of a Eucharistic service when the bread and wine for use in the service are ceremonially placed on the altar. A collection of alms from the congregation, such as may take place also at non-Eucharistic services, the Eucharistic theology may vary among those Christian denominations that have a liturgical offertory. In the Roman Rite, the preparation of the gifts is used in addition to the term offertory. In the Roman Rite, the offertory is the first part of the Liturgy of the Eucharist, the altar is first prepared by placing on it the corporal, purificator, missal and chalice. The bread and wine, and perhaps other offerings or gifts for the poor or for the Church, are presented by the faithful in a procession to the accompaniment of an offertory chant. The priest places first the bread and then the wine on the altar while saying the prayers, after which he may incense them together with the cross. The priest and the people may also be incensed, after washing his hands at the side of the altar, the priest says the Prayer over the Offerings. This was originally the only said at the offertory of the Roman Rite. There are variations in other rites, for instance, in the Dominican Rite a single prayer is said at the offertory over the bread and wine, which were already been prepared on the altar at an earlier part of the Mass. In the Byzantine Rite, there is a short offertory at the point as in the Roman Rite. A more elaborate ceremonial, the Liturgy of Preparation, takes place before the part of the celebration of the Divine Liturgy. In the Roman Rite, the bringing the gifts is accompanied by the Offertory Chant. In the Tridentine Mass, only the choir sang the refrain alone to an elaborate setting, the priest read the refrain at the beginning of the offertory not only at a Low Mass, which was without singing, but also at a Solemn Mass. The 1662 Book of Common Prayer of the Church of England includes offertory sentences that are to be read at this point, current practice in Anglican churches favours the singing of a congregational hymn or an anthem sung by the choir, and often both. In some churches music at the offertory is provided by an organist, during the offertory or immediately before it, a collection of money or other gifts for the poor or for the Church is taken up. In the Roman Catholic Mass, while these may be brought together with the bread and wine. A collection plate is used near the end of some Protestant worship services, rather than at the offertory, to gather the gifts of the faithful for the support of the church. Saisen - The case in Japan
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Anaphora (liturgy)
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The Anaphora is the most solemn part of the Divine Liturgy, or the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, during which the offerings of bread and wine are consecrated as the body and blood of Christ. This is the name for this part of the Liturgy in Greek-speaking Eastern Christianity. In western Christian traditions which have a comparable rite, the Anaphora is more called the Eucharistic Prayer. When the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church had a single Eucharistic Prayer it was referred to as the Canon of the Mass, Anaphora is a Greek word meaning a carrying back or a carrying up, and so an offering. Classic call and response ties together the response of the priest, then the priest exhorts those participating in the liturgy to lift up their hearts. When they express their agreement, he introduces the great theme of thanksgiving, in Greek εὐχαριστία, saying. It can be short or resume the great theme of thanksgiving, giving ground for the following requests. Institution narrative, is an account of the Last Supper, in which are pronounced the Words of Institution spoken by Jesus Christ, changing the bread and wine into his Body and Blood. Anamnesis, is the statement in which the Church refers to the character of the Eucharist itself and/or to the Passion, Resurrection and Ascension of Christ. Oblation, is the offering to the Lord of the sacrifice of the Eucharistic bread and wine and of the prayers, in this section there is usually the request to God to grant to the believers the same glory given to Mary and to the saints. An Epiclesis can be found before the Institution narrative in the Alexandrian Rite, sometime, particularly in the past, in both East and West the main celebrant said a part of his prayers inaudibly or covered by the choir. The Eastern Rites know many anaphoras, but each of them is almost completely invariable, on the contrary the Western Church had for centuries only one anaphora, the Roman Canon, but it has variable parts according to the liturgical year, mainly the Preface. In other Latin rites, as in the Mozarabic Rite or the Gallican rite also the post-sanctus and the prayer after the Institution narrative till the doxology are completely variable. Many ancient texts of anaphoras have survived, and even if no more in use, they are useful to trace the history of the anaphoras, most of these texts became parts of anaphoras still in use. John Chrysostom, through the lost Greek version of the Anaphora of the Twelve Apostles, the present Byzantine text of the Anaphora included in the Liturgy of Saint Basil is the final development of this anaphoric family. In the East the more ancient text is probably the ancient form of the Anaphora of Addai and Mari, followed by the Maronite Third Anaphora of St. Peter, another important source is the anaphora described in the Mystagogical Cathecheses of Theodore of Mopsuestia. Before the reform of the Catholic Mass undertaken in 1969 the only used in the Roman Rite was the Roman Canon. For the history of the Roman Canon see also articles Canon of the Mass, Pre-Tridentine Mass and Tridentine Mass
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Fraction (religion)
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The Fraction is the ceremonial act of breaking the consecrated bread during the Eucharistic rite in some Christian denominations. In the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, it is accompanied by the singing or recitation of the Agnus Dei. The General Instruction of the Roman Missal,83 states, The priest breaks the Eucharistic Bread, assisted, if the case calls for it and this rite is reserved to the priest and the deacon. In speaking of the bread to be used at Mass, the General Instruction,321 recommends that the eucharistic bread. Be made in such a way that the priest at Mass with a congregation is able in practice to break it into parts for distribution to at least some of the faithful. Small hosts are, however, in no way ruled out when the number of those receiving Holy Communion or other pastoral needs require it, a Fraction Anthem may be sung or spoken during the rite. In the Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Churches of the Byzantine rite, the round loaves, or prosphora, are stamped so that a Greek cross is in the center, with the letters IC XC NI-KA occupying the quarters formed by the cross arms. The square portion occupied by this stamp, the Lamb, is cut out before the Divine Liturgy during the rite and is the only part consecrated during the Epiclesis. As part of the Liturgy of Preparation, the priest cuts the Lamb part way through crosswise into four sections from the bottom and he then arranges the four pieces crosswise on the edge of the diskos. The portion with the letters XC is used for the communion of the clergy, the two portions NI and KA are divided into small pieces and placed in the chalice for the communion of the people. The portion IC is not used for communion, but is consumed by the deacon along with any other consecrated elements left over at the end of the Liturgy
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Altar
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An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes, and by extension the Holy table of post-reformation Anglican churches. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches, today they are used particularly in Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Shinto, Taoism, as well as in Neopaganism and Ceremonial Magic. Judaism used such a structure until the destruction of the Second Temple, many historical faiths also made use of them, including Greek and Norse religion. Altars in the Hebrew Bible were typically made of earth or unwrought stone, altars were generally erected in conspicuous places. The first altar recorded in the Hebrew Bible is that erected by Noah, altars were erected by Abraham, by Isaac, by Jacob, and by Moses. In Catholic and Orthodox Christian theology, the Eucharist is a re-presentation, hence, the table upon which the Eucharist is consecrated is called an altar. The altar plays a role in the celebration of the Eucharist, which takes place at the altar on which the bread. The altar is often on a higher elevation than the rest of the church, in Reformed and Anabaptist churches, a table, often called a Communion table, serves an analogous function. In some colloquial usage, the altar is used to denote the altar rail also. The main altar was also referred to as the high altar, in the earliest days of the Church, the Eucharist appears to have been celebrated on portable altars set up for the purpose. Some historians hold that, during the persecutions, the Eucharist was celebrated among the tombs in the Catacombs of Rome, other historians dispute this, but it is thought to be the origin of the tradition of placing relics beneath the altar. Although in the days of the Jerusalem Temple the High Priest indeed faced east when sacrificing on Yom Kippur, the ministers, celebrated the Eucharist facing east, towards the entrance. Some hold that for the part of the celebration the congregation faced the same way. After the sixth century the contrary orientation prevailed, with the entrance to the west and the altar at the east end. Then the ministers and congregation all faced east during the whole celebration, most rubrics, even in books of the seventeenth century and later, such as the Pontificale Romanum, continued to envisage the altar as free-standing. The rite of the Dedication of the Church continued to presume that the officiating Bishop could circle the altar during the consecration of the church and its altar. Despite this, with the increase in the size and importance of the reredos, most altars were built against the wall or barely separated from it. This diversity was recognized in the rubrics of the Roman Missal from the 1604 typical edition of Pope Clement VIII to the 1962 edition of Pope John XXIII, Si altare sit ad orientem, versus populum
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Pskov
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Pskov is a city and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, Russia, located about 20 kilometers east from the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Pskov is one of the oldest cities in Russia, the name of the city, originally spelled Pleskov, may be loosely translated as of purling waters. Its earliest mention comes in 903, which records that Igor of Kiev married a local lady, Pskovians sometimes take this year as the citys foundation date, and in 2003 a great jubilee took place to celebrate Pskovs 1, 100th anniversary. The first prince of Pskov was Vladimir the Greats youngest son Sudislav, once imprisoned by his brother Yaroslav, he was not released until the latters death several decades later. In the 12th and 13th centuries, the town adhered politically to the Novgorod Republic, in 1241, it was taken by the Teutonic Knights, but Alexander Nevsky recaptured it several months later during a legendary campaign dramatized in Sergei Eisensteins 1938 movie Alexander Nevsky. Having fortified the town, Daumantas routed the Teutonic Knights at Rakvere and his remains and sword are preserved in the local kremlin, and the core of the citadel, erected by him, still bears the name of Dovmonts town. By the 14th century, the town functioned as the capital of a de facto sovereign republic and its most powerful force was the merchants who brought the town into the Hanseatic League. Pskovs independence was recognized by Novgorod in 1348. Several years later, the veche promulgated a law code, which was one of the sources of the all-Russian law code issued in 1497. For Russia, the Pskov Republic was a bridge towards Europe, for Europe, the importance of the city made it the subject of numerous sieges throughout its history. The Pskov Krom withstood twenty-six sieges in the 15th century alone, at one point, five stone walls ringed it, making the city practically impregnable. A local school of icon-painting flourished, and the masons were considered the best in Russia. Many peculiar features of Russian architecture were first introduced in Pskov, finally, in 1510, the city fell to Muscovite forces. The deportation of families to Moscow is a subject of Rimsky-Korsakovs opera Pskovityanka. As the second largest city of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, most famously, it withstood a prolonged siege by a 50, 000-strong Polish army during the final stage of the Livonian War. The king of Poland Stephen Báthory undertook some thirty-one attacks to storm the city, even after one of the city walls was broken, the Pskovians managed to fill the gap and repel the attack. Its amazing how the city reminds me of Paris, wrote one of the Frenchmen present at Báthorys siege, as a consequence, the citys importance and well-being declined dramatically, although it has served as a seat of separate Pskov Governorate since 1777. During World War I, Pskov became the center of much activity behind the lines, Pskov was also occupied by the Estonian army between 25 May 1919 and 28 August 1919 during the Estonian War of Independence when Bułak-Bałachowicz became the military administrator of Pskov
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Byzantine Rite
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It has also been employed, although less frequently, in the Anglican Communion and Lutheran churches. Its development began during the century in Constantinople and it is now the second most-used rite in Christendom after the Roman Rite. Traditionally, the stands throughout the whole service, and an iconostasis separates the sanctuary from the nave of the church. The faithful are very active in their worship, making frequent bows and prostrations, also, traditionally, the major clergy and monks neither shave nor cut their hair or beards. Scripture plays a role in Byzantine worship, with not only daily readings. The entire psalter is read each week, and twice weekly during Great Lent, fasting is stricter than in the Roman rite. On fast days, the faithful give up not only meat, but also dairy products, and on many fast days they also give up fish, wine, the rite observes four fasting seasons, Great Lent, Nativity Fast, Apostles Fast and Dormition Fast. In addition, most Wednesdays and Fridays throughout the year are fast days, there are two ancient liturgical traditions from which all of the Eastern Rites developed, the Alexandrian rite in Egypt and the Antiochene Rite in Syria. These two Rites developed directly from practices of the Early Church, of these two traditions, the Rite of Constantinople developed from the Antiochene Rite. Prior to the see of Constantinoples elevation to the dignity of patriarch by the Second Ecumenical Council in 381, with the councils elevation of Constantinople to primacy in the East, with the words The Bishop of Constantinople. Further developments continued to occur, centered mostly around Constantinople and Mount Athos, monasticism played an important role in the development of the rituals. In Constantinople, the work of the monastery of the Studion greatly enriched the liturgical traditions, iconography continued to develop and a canon of traditional patterns evolved which still influences Eastern religious art to this day. Historical events have also influenced the development of the liturgy, the great Christological and Trinitarian controversies of Late Antiquity are reflected in the glorifications of the Trinity heard in the numerous ekphonies encountered during the services. All liturgical rites change and develop over time, as new saints are canonized, new hymns are composed, as new needs arise, new prayers are written. The rite also profits from the fact that the Christian East is not so centralized in ecclesiastical polity as the West and this allows for greater diversity, and as members of one church visit another, a natural cross-pollination occurs with resultant enrichment on all sides. In spite of its emphasis on tradition, the Byzantine Rite comprises a constantly growing and expanding ritual. The tradition of the Church of Constantinople ascribes the oldest of its two main Divine Liturgies to St. Basil the Great, Metropolitan of Cæsarea in Cappadocia and this tradition is confirmed by the witness of several ancient authors, some of whom were contemporaries. It is certain that St. St. Basil himself speaks on several occasions of the changes he made in the services of Cæsarea. Basil had as his goal the streamlining of the services to make them more cohesive and attractive to the faithful
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Eastern Orthodox Church
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The Eastern Orthodox Church teaches that it is the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church established by Jesus Christ in his Great Commission to the apostles. It practices what it understands to be the original Christian faith, the Eastern Orthodox Church is a communion of autocephalous churches, each typically governed by a Holy Synod. It teaches that all bishops are equal by virtue of their ordination, prior to the Council of Chalcedon in AD451, the Eastern Orthodox had also shared communion with the Oriental Orthodox churches, separating primarily over differences in Christology. Eastern Orthodoxy spread throughout the Roman and later Eastern Roman Empires and beyond, playing a prominent role in European, Near Eastern, Slavic, and some African cultures. As a result, the term Greek Orthodox has sometimes used to describe all of Eastern Orthodoxy in general. However, the appellation Greek was never in use and was gradually abandoned by the non-Greek-speaking Eastern Orthodox churches. Its most prominent episcopal see is Constantinople, there are also many in other parts of the world, formed through immigration, conversion and missionary activity. The official name of the Eastern Orthodox Church is the Orthodox Catholic Church and it is the name by which the church refers to itself in its liturgical or canonical texts, in official publications, and in official contexts or administrative documents. Orthodox teachers refer to the Church as Catholic and this name and longer variants containing Catholic are also recognized and referenced in other books and publications by secular or non-Orthodox writers. The common name of the Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, is a shortened practicality that helps to avoid confusions in casual use, for this reason, the eastern churches were sometimes identified as Greek, even before the great schism. After 1054, Greek Orthodox or Greek Catholic marked a church as being in communion with Constantinople and this identification with Greek, however, became increasingly confusing with time. Missionaries brought Orthodoxy to many regions without ethnic Greeks, where the Greek language was not spoken. Today, many of those same Roman churches remain, while a large number of Orthodox are not of Greek national origin. Eastern, then, indicates the element in the Churchs origin and development, while Orthodox indicates the faith. While the Church continues officially to call itself Catholic, for reasons of universality, the first known use of the phrase the catholic church occurred in a letter written about 110 AD from one Greek church to another. Quote of St Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans, Wheresoever the bishop shall appear, there let the people be, even as where Jesus may be, thus, almost from the very beginning, Christians referred to the Church as the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. The Orthodox Church claims that it is today the continuation and preservation of that same Church, a number of other Christian churches also make a similar claim, the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, the Assyrian Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches. The Church of England separated from the Roman Catholic Church, not directly from the Orthodox Church, the depth of this meaning in the Orthodox Church is registered first in its use of the word Orthodox itself, a union of Greek orthos and doxa
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Paten
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A paten, or diskos, is a small plate, usually made of silver or gold, used to hold Eucharistic bread which is to be consecrated. It is generally used during the service itself, while the reserved sacrament are stored in the tabernacle in a ciborium, in many Western liturgical denominations, the paten is typically either a simple saucer-like plate or a low bowl. A smaller style paten will often have a depression that allows it to sit on top of the chalice. The General Instruction of the Roman Missal lays down rules for patens, if they are made from metal that rusts or from a metal less precious than gold, they should generally be gilded on the inside. Patens are also used among Anglicans and Lutherans, in the Byzantine Rite Orthodox and Byzantine Rite Catholic Churches, the paten is called a diskos and is elevated by a stand permanently attached underneath. The diskos is usually more ornate than its Latin Rite counterpart, the diskos may be engraved with an icon of Jesus Christ, the Nativity of Christ, the Cross, or most frequently the Theotokos. When a diskos is made, it is accompanied by a matching asterisk, a spoon. During the Divine Liturgy it is not only the Lamb that is placed on the diskos, but also particles to commemorate the Theotokos, the Saints, the living and the departed. Thus, on the diskos is represented the entire Church, the Church Militant, at the Great Entrance the deacon carries the Diskos, holding the foot of the diskos at his forehead. He then kneels at the side of the Holy Table, during the Anaphora, only the Lamb is consecrated. After Communion, the Deacon holds the diskos above the holy chalice and recites hymns of the Resurrection. Then he wipes the remaining particles into the saying the words, Wash away, O Lord. During the Consecration of a Church, a diskos is used to hold the relics of the saints which will be sealed in the Holy Table and antimension by the bishop. When a priest is ordained, a portion of the Lamb will be placed on a small diskos and given to him, in the Russian tradition, there is a special service of blessing used to sanctify a diskos before its first use at Liturgy. The diskos may be blessed separately or together in a set with the sacred vessels. Up until the first time a diskos is used in the Divine Liturgy it is considered to be an ordinary vessel, however, after having been used in the Divine Liturgy, a diskos may be touched only by a deacon, priest or bishop. A subdeacon may touch the sacred vessels, but only if they are wrapped in cloth. In the usage of the Coptic Orthodox Church, the diskos usually has a bottom with no foot
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Latin Church
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The Latin Church, commonly called Roman Catholic Church, sometimes Western Church, is the largest autonomous particular church sui iuris within the Catholic Church, applying Latin liturgical rites. There are 24 such sui iuris particular churches within the Catholic Church, all the other particular churches sui iuris, of which there are 23, originated farther east and are, therefore, collectively known as the Eastern Catholic Churches. Because of the migrations, members of all of these particular churches sui iuris are no longer confined to their areas of origin. A person is a member of or belongs to a particular church, a person also inherits or is of, a particular patrimony or rite. Since the rite has liturgical, theological, spiritual and disciplinary elements, Particular churches that inherit and perpetuate a particular patrimony are identified by metonymy with that patrimony. Accordingly, rite has been defined as a division of the Christian church using a distinctive liturgy, is considered equal to the Latin rite within the Church. It thus used the rite as a technical designation of what may now be called a particular church. Church or rite is used as a single heading in the United States Library of Congress classification of works. The last known use was Pope Pius XII in Humani generis who taught that the Mystical Body of Christ and the Roman Catholic Church are one. Most ecclesiologists - experts in the theology of the Church itself - instead use Roman Catholic to refer exclusively to the Latin Church. The reasons for this are that each of the 24 Catholic Churches sui iuris have a modifier - Maronite, Ukrainian, Roman, etc. - and that Latin and Roman are virtually interchangeable. Further, as Adrian Fortescue noted in his article in the 1910 Catholic Encyclopedia, today, the most common Latin liturgical rites are the Roman Rite, the Ambrosian Rite, the Mozarabic Rite, and variations of the Roman Rite. The 23 Eastern Catholic Churches share five families of liturgical rites, the Latin liturgical rites, like the Armenian, are used only in a single sui iuris particular church. In the Eastern Churches these sacraments are usually administered immediately after baptism, celibacy, as a consequence of the duty to observe perfect continence, is obligatory for priests in the Latin Church. Rare exceptions are permitted for men who, after ministering as clergy in other churches and this contrasts with the discipline in most Eastern Catholic Churches. In the Latin Church, a man may not be admitted even to the diaconate unless he is legitimately destined to remain a deacon. Marriage after ordination is not possible, and attempting it can result in canonical penalties, Latin Mass Church of Rome Particular church General Roman Calendar Eastern Catholic Churches Catholic Encyclopedia, Latin Church
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Icon
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An icon is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity and certain Eastern Catholic churches. The most common subjects include Christ, Mary, saints and/or angels, icons may also be cast in metal, carved in stone, embroidered on cloth, painted on wood, done in mosaic or fresco work, printed on paper or metal, etc. Comparable images from Western Christianity are generally not described as icons, Eastern Orthodox tradition holds that the creation of Christian images dates back to the very early days of Christianity, and there is has been a continuous tradition since then. The icons of later centuries can be linked, often closely, to images from the 5th century onwards, there was enormous destruction of images during the Byzantine Iconoclasm of 726-842, although this did settle for good the question of the appropriateness of images. Since then icons have had a continuity of style and subject. At the same time there has been change and development, Christian tradition dating from the 8th century identifies Luke the Evangelist as the first icon painter. Aside from the legend that Pilate had made an image of Christ and he relates that King Abgar of Edessa sent a letter to Jesus at Jerusalem, asking Jesus to come and heal him of an illness. In this version there is no image, further legends relate that the cloth remained in Edessa until the 10th century, when it was taken to Constantinople. It went missing in 1204 when Crusaders sacked Constantinople, but by then numerous copies had firmly established its iconic type. They crown these images, and set them up along with the images of the philosophers of the world that is to say, with the images of Pythagoras, and Plato, and Aristotle, and the rest. They have also other modes of honouring these images, after the manner of the Gentiles. And he called him and said, Lycomedes, what do you mean by this matter of the portrait, can it be one of thy gods that is painted here. For I see that you are living in heathen fashion. Later in the passage John says, But this that you have now done is childish and imperfect, at least some of the hierarchy of the Christian churches still strictly opposed icons in the early 4th century. At the Spanish non-ecumenical Synod of Elvira bishops concluded, Pictures are not to be placed in churches, so that they do not become objects of worship and adoration. to our religion. After the emperor Constantine I extended official toleration of Christianity within the Roman Empire in 313 and this period of Christianization probably saw the use of Christian images became very widespread among the faithful, though with great differences from pagan habits. Robin Lane Fox states By the early century, we know of the ownership of private icons of saints. 480-500, we can be sure that the inside of a saints shrine would be adorned with images and votive portraits, when Constantine himself apparently converted to Christianity, the majority of his subjects remained pagans
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Jesus
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In Christology, the Person of Christ refers to the study of the human and divine natures of Jesus Christ as they co-exist within one person. There is no discussion in the New Testament regarding the dual nature of the Person of Christ as both divine and human. Hence, since the days of Christianity theologians have debated various approaches to the understanding of these natures. In the period following the Apostolic Age, specific beliefs such as Arianism and Docetism were criticized. On the other end of the spectrum, Docetism argued that Jesus physical body was an illusion, docetic teachings were attacked by St. Ignatius of Antioch and were eventually abandoned by proto-orthodox Christians. However, after the First Council of Nicaea in 325 the Logos, historically in the Alexandrian school of christology, Jesus Christ is the eternal Logos paradoxically humanized in history, a divine Person who became enfleshed, uniting himself to the human nature. The views of these schools can be summarized as follows, Alexandria, Antioch, Logos assumes a specific human being The First Council of Ephesus in 431 debated a number of views regarding the Person of Christ. At the same gathering the council debated the doctrines of monophysitism or miaphysitism. The council rejected Nestorianism and adopted the term hypostatic union, referring to divine, the language used in the 431 declaration was further refined at the 451 Council of Chalcedon. However, the Chalcedon creed was not accepted by all Christians, because Saint Augustine died in 430 he did not participate in the Council of Ephesus in 431 or Chalcedon in 451, but his ideas had some impact on both councils. On the other hand, the major theological figure of the Middle Ages. The Third Council of Constantinople in 680 held that both divine and human wills exist in Jesus, with the divine will having precedence, leading and guiding the human will. John Calvin maintained that there was no element in the Person of Christ which could be separated from the person of The Word. Calvin also emphasized the importance of the Work of Christ in any attempt at understanding the Person of Christ, the study of the Person of Christ continued into the 20th century, with modern theologians such as Karl Rahner and Hans von Balthasar. Balthasar argued that the union of the human and divine natures of Christ was achieved not by the absorption of human attributes, thus in his view the divine nature of Christ was not affected by the human attributes and remained forever divine
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Nativity of Jesus
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The nativity of Jesus or birth of Jesus is described in the gospels of Luke and Matthew. The two accounts agree that Jesus was born in Bethlehem in the time of Herod the Great to a virgin whose name was Mary. In Christian theology the nativity marks the incarnation of Jesus as the second Adam, in fulfillment of the divine will of God, undoing the damage caused by the fall of the first man, Adam. The artistic depiction of the nativity has been an important subject for Christian artists since the 4th century, the nativity plays a major role in the Christian liturgical year. Christian congregations of the Western tradition begin observing the season of Advent four Sundays before Christmas, the traditional feast-day of his birth, which falls on December 25. The date of birth for Jesus of Nazareth is not stated in the gospels or in any secular text, the Gospels of both Matthew and Luke place the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. However, Luke 1, 26–27 clearly states that Mary lived in Nazareth before the birth of Jesus, at the time of the Annunciation. The Gospel of Luke states that Mary gave birth to Jesus and placed him in a manger “because there was no place for them in the inn, but does not say exactly where Jesus was born. This could be a place to keep the sheep within the Bethlehem area, in the 2nd century, Justin Martyr stated that Jesus had been born in a cave outside the town, while the Protoevangelium of James described a legendary birth in a cave nearby. In Contra Celsum 1.51, Origen, who from around 215 travelled throughout Palestine, the Quranic birth of Jesus, like the Gospels, places the virgin birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about, Mary, the mother of Jesus, was betrothed to Joseph, but was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Joseph intended to divorce her quietly, but an angel told him in a dream that he should take Mary as his wife and name the child Jesus, Joseph awoke and did all that the angel commanded. Chapter 1 of Matthews Gospel recounts Jesus birth and naming and the beginning of chapter 2 reveals that Jesus was born in Bethlehem during the time of Herod the Great. Magi from the east came to Herod and asked him where they would find the King of the Jews, advised by the chief priests and teachers, Herod sent the Magi to Bethlehem, where they worshiped the child and gave him gifts. When they had departed an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and warned him to take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, for Herod intended to kill him. The Holy Family remained in Egypt until Herod died, when Joseph took them to Nazareth in Galilee for fear of Herods son who now ruled in Jerusalem, so was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene. When the time of the birth drew near the Roman Emperor commanded a census of all the world, and Joseph took Mary to Bethlehem, the city of David, as he was of the House of David. In accordance with the Jewish law his parents presented the infant Jesus at the Temple in Jerusalem, Joseph and Mary then returned to Nazareth
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Cross
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A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally, a cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is also termed a saltire in heraldic terminology. The word [[wikt, cross|crossded from Old Irish, possibly via Old Norse, ultimately from the Latin crux, stake, the English verb to cross arises from the noun c. 1200, first in the sense to make the sign of the cross, the Latin word was, however, influenced by popular etymology by a native Germanic word reconstructed as*krukjo. This word, by conflation with Latin crux, gave rise to Old French crocier, Latin crux referred to the gibbet where criminals were executed, a stake or pole, but not necessarily to intersecting or cruciform beams. The Latin word derived from the verb crucio to torture, Latin crux originally referred to the tree or stake on which criminals were crucified in the pre-imperial period. This was later specified as crux acuta or crux simplex, the method of execution may have been adopted from the Phoenicians. The addition of a bar, to which the criminal would be fastened with nails or cords. The Latin name of the cross is crux decussata, the heraldic term saltire is introduced only towards the end of the medieval period. The Greek equivalent of Latin crux stake, gibbet is σταυρός stauros stake, the letter Tau was associated with the stauros or crux, while the notion of cruciform shapes, i. e. intersecting lines, were associated with the letter Chi. The Greek term for crossing was χίασμα chiasma, from a verb χιάζω chiázō to shape like the letter Chi, Latin had the comparable decussatus shaped like the numeral ten. Also of prehistoric age are numerous variants of the cross mark, including the crux gammata with curving or angular lines. Speculation of this kind became popular in the mid- to late-19th century in the context of comparative mythology seeking to tie Christian mythology to ancient cosmological myths. Influential works in this vein included G. de Mortillet, L. Müller, W. W. Blake, Ansault, in the European Bronze Age the cross symbol appeared to carry a religious meaning, perhaps as a symbol of consecration, especially pertaining to burial. The cross sign occurs trivially in tally marks, and develops into a number symbol independently in the Roman numerals, the Chinese rod numerals and the Brahmi numerals. In the Phoenician alphabet and derived scripts, the symbol represented the phoneme /t/, i. e. the letter taw. The letter name taw means mark, presumably continuing the Egyptian hieroglyph two crossed sticks, according to W. E. Vines Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, worshippers of Tammuz in Chaldea and thereabouts used the cross as symbol of that god. The shape of the cross, as represented by the letter T, clements contemporary Tertullian rejects the accusation that Christians are crucis religiosi, and returns the accusation by likening the worship of pagan idols to the worship of poles or stakes
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Theotokos
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Theotokos is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations, Dei Genetrix or Deipara, are translated as Mother of God or God-bearer, the Council of Ephesus decreed in 431 that Mary is the Theotokos because her son Jesus is both God and man, one divine person with two natures intimately and hypostatically united. Similar to this is the title of Mother of God, Mother of God is most often used in English, largely due to the lack of a satisfactory equivalent of Greek τόκος / Latin genetrix. The title has been in use since the 3rd century, in the Syriac tradition in the Liturgy of Mari and Addai, Theotokos is an adjectival compound of two the Greek words Θεός God and τόκος childbirth, parturition, offspring. A close paraphrase would be whose offspring is God or who gave birth to one who was God, the usual English translation is simply Mother of God, Latin uses Deipara or Dei Genetrix. The Church Slavonic translation is Bogoroditsa, in an abbreviated form, ΜΡ ΘΥ, it often is found on Eastern icons, where it is used to identify Mary. The Russian term is Матерь Божия, variant forms are the compounds Θεομήτωρ and Μητρόθεος, which are found in patristic and liturgical texts. The theological dispute over the term concerned the term Θεός God vs. Χριστός Christ, and not τόκος vs. μήτηρ, to make it explicit, it is sometimes translated Mother of God Incarnate. This decree created the Nestorian Schism, Cyril of Alexandria wrote, I am amazed that there are some who are entirely in doubt as to whether the holy Virgin should be called Theotokos or not. For if our Lord Jesus Christ is God, how is the holy Virgin who gave birth, not. But the argument of Nestorius was that divine and human natures of Christ were distinct, at issue is the interpretation of the Incarnation, and the nature of the hypostatic union of Christs human and divine natures between Christs conception and birth. Within the Orthodox doctrinal teaching on the economy of salvation, Marys identity, role, for this reason, it is formally defined as official dogma. The only other Mariological teaching so defined is that of her virginity, both of these teachings have a bearing on the identity of Jesus Christ. The term was certainly in use by the 3rd century, athanasius of Alexandria in 330, Gregory the Theologian in 370, John Chrysostom in 400, and Augustine all used theotokos. Origen is often cited as the earliest author to use theotokos for Mary, although this testimony is uncertain, the term was used c.250 by Dionysius of Alexandria, in an epistle to Paul of Samosata. The Greek version of the hymn Sub tuum praesidium contains the term, in the vocative, the oldest record of this hymn is a papyrus found in Egypt, mostly dated to after 450. But according to a suggestion by de Villiers possibly older, dating to the mid-3rd century, the use of Theotokos was formally affirmed at the Third Ecumenical Council held at Ephesus in 431. Nestorius opponents, led by Cyril of Alexandria, viewed this as dividing Jesus into two persons, the human who was Son of Mary, and the divine who was not
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Asterisk (liturgy)
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The Asterisk, or Star-cover, is one of the holy vessels used in the Divine Liturgy of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches. The asterisk symbolizes the Star of Bethlehem, historically, it was also used in some parts of the Roman Catholic Church. An asterisk is a small, folding metal covering which keeps the veil, the asterisk is made of two strips of metal laid one on top of the other and joined in the center by a brad or screw. When the two pieces are turned perpendicular to each other it forms a cross, the ends of the metal pieces are bent down so that it makes a standing frame. Sometimes, in Greek Catholic usage, a star will be suspended from the asterisk where the two strips of metal are joined. Among Orthodox, however, the asterisk itself is considered to be the star, so no addition to it is deemed necessary. As the asterisk is one of the vessels, it is usually kept on the Prothesis, where the bread and wine are prepared for the Eucharist. Often when a chalice and diskos are made, an Asterisk, and a liturgical spoon, during the Liturgy of Preparation, after the priest has prepared the bread and the wine, he will cense the asterisk by holding it over the open censer. He then places it on the diskos as he says the words, And a star came, the deacon kisses the asterisk, folds it, and lays it aside on the Antimension, as the priest begins the Prayer of the Anaphora. After the Communion of the Faithful, the veils, spear, spoon, the priest hands them to the deacon, who carries them back to the Prothesis. In Arabic it is referred to as the Dome and is believed to represent both Christs tomb and the cave in which he was born, either the asterisk itself or the cross above it also symbolises the Star of Bethlehem. For this reason, the item is sometimes simply called the Star. In the Roman Rite, a special twelve-ray asterisk was used in Papal Masses, as a covering for the host on the paten, unlike the Eastern asterisk, which has four rays, the Papal asterisk had twelve rays, each inscribed with the name of an Apostle. Its use has recently revived by Pope Benedict XVI. Liturgy of Preparation The Asterisk is in the foreground, resting on a red Aër Deacon striking the Diskos with the Asterisk
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Spoon (liturgy)
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It is also called a cochlear, Latin for spoon. In Western Christianity a perforated spoon is used to any foreign particulate matter that falls into the wine. It is one of the items, in Western Christian Churches, by the 9th century, the Church began to use the Communion spoon for the same practical reasons, and it is this practice that remains in place today. In the Byzantine Rite, when it time for the Communion of the faithful, the Lamb is cut into smaller portions and placed in the chalice. In this way, the faithful receive both the Body and the Blood of Christ, without taking the Mysteries into their hands. At the end of the Liturgy, the deacon will use the Spoon to consume the remaining Gifts, since the Spoon is one of the Sacred Vessels it is usually kept on the Table of Oblation, where the bread and wine are prepared for the Eucharist. Often when a Chalice and Diskos are made, an Asterisk, Spoon, because it touches the Body and Blood of Christ, the liturgical spoon should be made of gold, or at least be gold plated. The Spoon is also used to prepare the Presanctified Gifts at the Sunday Liturgies during Great Lent, the priest will take up the Lamb in his left hand and hold it over the Chalice. With the Spoon in his hand, he will pour some of the Blood of Christ onto the underside of the Lamb. The Spoon, being an object, may not be used for any purpose other than the liturgical uses for which it is appointed. The spoon is often found as part of the ware of the altar. This is also true for the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, the Holy Spoon and Proper Hygiene article by the Orthodox Research Institute
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Spear (liturgy)
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The Spear or Lance is a liturgical implement used during the Divine Liturgy in the Byzantine Rite of the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches. The Spear symbolizes the lance of Longinus that was used at the time of Christs death on the Cross to pierce his side, from which flowed blood and this event is traditionally interpreted as prefiguring the Sacred Mysteries of the Eucharist and Baptism. The Spear is one of the Sacred Vessels usually kept on the Table of Oblation, often when a Chalice and Diskos are made, an Asterisk and a Spoon and Spear will be made to match them. The Spear is normally made of metal, has a point sharp enough to cut the bread. The Spear is used during the Liturgy of Preparation when the priest cuts the Lamb out of the Prosphoron which will be consecrated to become the Body of Christ. The Spear is also used before Holy Communion to cut the Lamb into pieces for the clergy, in the Euchologion there is also a special Prayer of the Spear which may be said by the priest when one is sick. The Spear, being an object, may not be used for any purpose than the litugical uses for which it is appointed
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Lamb (liturgy)
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The Lamb is the square portion of bread cut from the prosphora in the Liturgy of Preparation at the Divine Liturgy in the Orthodox Church and in the Eastern Rites of the Catholic Church. The Lamb is placed in the center of the diskos, the prosphoron from which the Lamb is cut is a loaf of leavened bread, formed in two layers to symbolize the hypostatic union of the human and divine natures of Christ. The portion of the loaf demarcated by the seal will be cut out as the Lamb. When the priest cuts the Lamb from the prosphoron, he uses a knife called a spear. As he cuts along the four edges of the seal, the priest says the words from Isaiah 53, 7-8, which St. Philip interprets as referring to the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross. The priest repeats a phrase from the prophecy as he cuts along each of the four sides of the seal, on the right side, on the left side, And as a spotless lamb before His shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth. At the top, In his humiliation his judgement was taken away, at the bottom, And who shall declare His generation. As he removes the Lamb from the prosphoron, For His life is taken up from the earth and he then places the Lamb face down on the seal, and cuts it cross-wise almost all the way through, leaving it connected as one piece by the seal. This will facilitate the fraction after the anaphora, as he makes these cuts, he says, Sacrificed is the Lamb of God Who taketh away the sins of the world, for the life of the world, and the salvation thereof. And he that saw it bare witness, and his witness is true, there are other particles also cut from prosphora as part of the Liturgy of Preparation. These commemorate the Theotokos, nine ranks of saints, the living, and these smaller particles are arranged around the Lamb on the diskos. A metal frame, the asterisk or star-cover, is placed over the diskos to support the small veil with which it is covered and this veil remains in place until the diskos is set upon the altar. At the anaphora only the Lamb is actually consecrated, the particles are considered to remain only bread. When it comes time for Communion, the priest will divide the Lamb into four portions, the deacon will say, Break, Master, the Holy Bread. And, as he breaks it, the priest says, Broken and distributed is the Lamb of God, broken and he then puts the four portions of the Lamb on the rim of the diskos in the form of a cross. They remain in this arrangement only briefly, the upper portion is placed whole in the Chalice to signify the oneness of Christ. The deacon says, Fill, Master, the Holy Cup, as he places the particle in the Chalice, the priest says, The fullness of the Holy Spirit. The lower portion, is cut into smaller particles with which the clergy are communicated, the portions on the left and right are cut into much smaller particles
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Liturgy of Preparation
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The Liturgy of Preparation, also Prothesis or Proskomedia, is the name given in the Eastern Orthodox Church to the act of preparing the bread and wine for the Eucharist. The Liturgy of Preparation is done quietly before the part of the Divine Liturgy begins. Only very specific elements may be offered at the Divine Liturgy, a prosphoron is a round loaf of leavened bread baked in two layers to represent the two natures of Christ. It has a seal on the top side which has inscribed on it a cross. The portion of the loaf that is cut out along this seal is the Lamb, from which all are communicated, prosphora must be made using only the finest wheat flour, water, salt, and yeast. It should be baked and without blemish. Those churches which follow Slavic usage use five small loaves, recalling the five loaves from which Christ fed the multitude, normally all are stamped with a small square seal, though special seals for the Theotokos are sometimes used. In all traditions, only the Lamb is actually consecrated, other portions which are removed from the prosphora are memorials, the Wine used must be red grape wine, and it must be fermented. Orthodox tend to favor altar wine that is sweet, though this is not a requirement. These elements are referred to collectively as the Gifts, both before and after the Consecration, the Priests Service Book states that, before celebrating the Divine Liturgy, the priest must be reconciled to all men, keep his heart from evil thoughts, and be fasting since midnight. The same rules apply to the deacon, the beginning of the Liturgy of Preparation should be timed so that it is concluded slightly before the Reader finishes reading the Third Hour and Sixth Hour. The priests and deacons celebrating the liturgy stand together in front of the doors of the iconostasis, venerate the icons. They then venerate the holy table and put on their vestments, before putting on each vestment the priest says a prayer, usually drawn from the Psalms, bless the vestment, and kiss the cross that is sewn onto it. Each subdeacon and server vesting bring his sticharion to the priest for him to bless, if a bishop is present, the clergy bring their vestments for him to bless before putting them on. After vesting, the priest and deacon wash their hands, saying the Prayer of the Washing of Hands They then go to the Prothesis where the Gifts are to be prepared, if there are several priests concelebrating, usually only one—traditionally, the most junior— celebrates the Proskomedia. Others may assist in taking out particles for the living and the dead, the priest takes a prosphoron and blessed it three times, making the sign of the cross over it with the liturgical spear. Then, cutting on all four sides of the seal on the prosphoron, he removes a cube. He then cuts the underside of the Lamb, making a cross, then turns the Lamb right side up and pierces it with the spear, saying the words from the Gospel
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Eastern Christianity
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Eastern Christianity consists of four main church families, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, and the Assyrian Church of the East, as well as the Eastern Catholic Churches. The term is used in contrast with Western Christianity, the term does not describe a single communion or religious denomination. Some Eastern churches have more in common historically and theologically with Western Christianity than with one another, the various Eastern churches do not normally refer to themselves as Eastern, with the exception of the Assyrian Church of the East and its offshoots. Eastern Christians do not share the religious traditions, but do share many cultural traditions. Christianity divided itself in the East during its early centuries both within and outside of the Roman Empire in disputes about Christology and fundamental theology, as well as national divisions and it would be many centuries later that Western Christianity fully split from these traditions as its own communion. The Eastern churches differences from Western Christianity have as much, if not more, to do with culture, language, for the non-Catholic Eastern churches, a definitive date for the commencement of schism cannot usually be given. Oriental Orthodoxy separated after the Council of Chalcedon in 451, since the time of the historian Edward Gibbon, the split between the Church of Rome and the Orthodox Church has been conveniently dated to 1054, though the reality is more complex. This split is referred to as the Great Schism. Eastern Orthodox Christians accept the decisions of the First seven Ecumenical Councils, the Eastern Orthodox Church is organized into self-governing jurisdictions along geographical, national, ethnic, and/or linguistic lines. Eastern Orthodoxy is thus made up of 15 or 16 autocephalous bodies, smaller churches are autonomous and each have a mother church that is autocephalous. This is in contrast to the Catholic Church and its various Churches, members of the latter are all in communion with each other, parts of a top-down hierarchy. The majority of Catholics accept both the Filioque clause and, since 1950, the Assumption of Mary and this puts them in sharp contrast with the Eastern Orthodox. Yet some Catholics who are not in communion with the Catholic Church side with the Eastern Orthodox here and reject these teachings and it is estimated that there are approximately 240 million Eastern Orthodox Christians in the world. Today, many adherents shun the term Eastern as denying the universal character. They refer to Eastern Orthodoxy simply as the Orthodox Church, hence, these churches are also called Old Oriental churches. Oriental Orthodoxy developed in reaction to Chalcedon on the limit of the Byzantine Empire and in Egypt. In those locations, there are also Eastern Orthodox patriarchs, thereafter it was often known, possibly inaccurately, as the Nestorian Church in the West. Surviving a period of persecution within Persia, the Church of the East flourished under the caliphate and branched out, in the 16th century dynastic struggles sent the church into schism, resulting in the formation of two rival churches
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Mary, mother of Jesus
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Mary, also known by various titles, styles and honorifics, was a 1st-century Galilean Jewish woman of Nazareth and the mother of Jesus, according to the New Testament and the Quran. The gospels of Matthew and Luke in the New Testament and the Quran describe Mary as a virgin, the miraculous birth took place when she was already betrothed to Joseph and was awaiting the concluding rite of marriage, the formal home-taking ceremony. She married Joseph and accompanied him to Bethlehem, where Jesus was born, the Gospel of Luke begins its account of Marys life with the Annunciation, when the angel Gabriel appeared to her and announced her divine selection to be the mother of Jesus. According to canonical gospel accounts, Mary was present at the crucifixion and is depicted as a member of the early Christian community in Jerusalem. According to the Catholic and Orthodox teaching, at the end of her life her body was assumed directly into Heaven. Mary has been venerated since Early Christianity, and is considered by millions to be the most meritorious saint of the religion and she is claimed to have miraculously appeared to believers many times over the centuries. The Eastern and Oriental Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran churches believe that Mary, there is significant diversity in the Marian beliefs and devotional practices of major Christian traditions. The Roman Catholic Church holds distinctive Marian dogmas, namely her status as the Mother of God, her Immaculate Conception, her perpetual virginity, many Protestants minimize Marys role within Christianity, based on the argued brevity of biblical references. Mary also has a position in Islam, where one of the longer chapters of the Quran is devoted to her. Marys name in the manuscripts of the New Testament was based on her original Aramaic name ܡܪܝܡ. The English name Mary comes from the Greek Μαρία, which is a form of Μαριάμ. Both Μαρία and Μαριάμ appear in the New Testament, in Christianity, Mary is commonly referred to as the Virgin Mary, in accordance with the belief that she conceived Jesus miraculously through the Holy Spirit without her husbands involvement. The three main titles for Mary used by the Orthodox are Theotokos, Aeiparthenos as confirmed in the Second Council of Constantinople in 553, Catholics use a wide variety of titles for Mary, and these titles have in turn given rise to many artistic depictions. For example, the title Our Lady of Sorrows has inspired such masterpieces as Michelangelos Pietà, the title Theotokos was recognized at the Council of Ephesus in 431. However, this phrase in Greek, in the abbreviated form ΜΡ ΘΥ, is an indication commonly attached to her image in Byzantine icons. The Council stated that the Church Fathers did not hesitate to speak of the holy Virgin as the Mother of God, some Marian titles have a direct scriptural basis. For instance, the title Queen Mother has been given to Mary since she was the mother of Jesus, the scriptural basis for the term Queen can be seen in Luke 1,32 and the Isaiah 9,6. Queen Mother can be found in 1 Kings 2, 19-20 and Jeremiah 13, other titles have arisen from reported miracles, special appeals or occasions for calling on Mary
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Church of the Holy Sepulchre
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The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is a church in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, a few steps away from the Muristan. The tomb is enclosed by the 18th-century shrine, called the Aedicule, within the church proper are the last four Stations of the Via Dolorosa, representing the final episodes of Jesus Passion. The main denominations sharing property over parts of the church are the Greek Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox and Roman Catholic, and to a lesser degree the Egyptian Copts, Syriacs and Ethiopians. According to Eusebius of Caesarea, the Roman emperor Hadrian in the 2nd century AD built a dedicated to the goddess Venus in order to bury the cave in which Jesus had been buried. The first Christian emperor, Constantine the Great, ordered in about 325/326 that the temple be replaced by a church, during the building of the Church, Constantines mother, Helena, is believed to have rediscovered the tomb. Socrates Scholasticus, in his Ecclesiastical History, gives a description of the discovery. The remains are enveloped by a marble sheath placed some 500 years before to protect the ledge from Ottoman attacks. However, there are several thick window wells extending through the marble sheath and they appear to reveal an underlying limestone rock, which may be part of the original living rock of the tomb. The church was starting in 325/326, and was consecrated on 13 September 335. From pilgrim reports it seems that the housing the tomb of Jesus was freestanding at first. Each year, the Eastern Orthodox Church celebrates the anniversary of the consecration of the Church of the Resurrection on 13 September and this building was damaged by fire in May of 614 when the Sassanid Empire, under Khosrau II, invaded Jerusalem and captured the True Cross. In 630, the Emperor Heraclius restored it and rebuilt the church after recapturing the city, after Jerusalem came under Arab rule, it remained a Christian church, with the early Muslim rulers protecting the citys Christian sites. A story reports that the Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab visited the church and stopped to pray on the balcony and he feared that future generations would misinterpret this gesture, taking it as a pretext to turn the church into a mosque. Eutychius added that Umar wrote a decree prohibiting Muslims from praying at this location, the building suffered severe damage due to an earthquake in 746. Early in the century, another earthquake damaged the dome of the Anastasis. The damage was repaired in 810 by Patriarch Thomas, in the year 841, the church suffered a fire. In 935, the Orthodox Christians prevented the construction of a Muslim mosque adjacent the Church, in 938, a new fire damaged the inside of the basilica and came close to the rotunda. In 966, due to a defeat of Muslim armies in the region of Syria, the doors and roof were burnt, and the Patriarch John VII was murdered
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Divine Liturgy
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Divine Liturgy is the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine Rite which is the Rite of the The Great Church of Christ and was developed from the Antiochene Rite of Christian liturgy. As such, it is used in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, Armenian Christians, both of the Armenian Apostolic Church and of the Armenian Catholic Church, use the same term. Some Oriental Orthodox employ the term holy offering for their Eucharistic liturgies instead, the term is sometimes applied also to Roman Rite Eucharistic liturgies, though the term Mass is more commonly used there. In Eastern traditions, those of the Eastern Catholic and Orthodox Churches, the Divine Liturgy is seen as transcending time, all believers are believed to be united in worship in the Kingdom of God along with departed Saints and the celestial Angels. To this end, everything in the Liturgy is seen as symbolic, yet also not just merely symbolic, according to Eastern tradition and belief, the Liturgys roots go back to Jewish worship and the adaptation of Jewish worship by Early Christians. This can be seen in the first parts of the Liturgy termed the Liturgy of the Catechumens that includes reading of scriptures and, the latter half was added based on the Last Supper and the first Eucharistic celebrations by Early Christians. Each Liturgy has its differences from others, but most are similar to each other with adaptations based on tradition, purpose, culture. The Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great, used on the 5 Sundays of Great Lent, on the eves of the Nativity and Theophany, and on Holy Thursday and Holy Saturday, it is celebrated as a vesperal liturgy. In some traditions, Saint Basils Liturgy is also celebrated on the Exaltation of the Life-giving Cross on September 14, all together, St. Basils liturgy is celebrated 10 times out of the liturgical year. The Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, is used during Great Lent on Wednesdays, Fridays, and a handful of other occasions, and also on the first three days of Holy Week. Nowadays it is celebrated as a vesperal liturgy, the Liturgy of the Faithful has no Anaphora. It is traditionally attributed to St. Gregory the Dialogist, although some believe it originated with Patriarch Severus of Antioch. The Liturgy of Saint Mark was also observed in the Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria on at least that Saints day until recent times. As numbers in a diocese increased dramatically the bishop as presiding over the Eucharistic assembly appointed presbyters as celebrant in the local community, still, the Church is understood in Eastern Orthodoxy not in terms of the presbyter, but the diocesan bishop. When the latter is present, he is chief celebrant, phrases and hymns are also added. The hierarch commemorates his hierarch demonstrating unity with the greater Orthodox community, note, Psalms are numbered according to the Greek Septuagint. For the Hebrew Masoretic numbering that is familiar in the West. The format of Divine Liturgy is fixed, although the specific readings and hymns vary with season, in modern times, this restriction applies only to Holy Communion — reception of the sacrament of holy communion
