Ciborium (container)
A ciborium is a vessel in metal. It was a particular shape of drinking cup in Ancient Greece and Rome, but the word came to refer to a large covered cup designed to hold hosts for, after, the Eucharist, thus the counterpart of the chalice; the word is used for a large canopy over the altar of a church, a common feature of Early Medieval church architecture, now rare. 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, or in a similar shape; these vessels were common in ancient Egypt and the Greek East. The word "'ciborium'" was used in classical Latin to describe such cups, although the only example to have survived is in one of Horace’s odes. In medieval Latin, in English, "Ciborium" more refers to a covered container used in Roman Catholic, Anglican and related churches to store the consecrated hosts of the sacrament of Holy Communion, it resembles the shape of a chalice but its bowl is more round than conical, 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. 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, it is 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 main service of Holy Eucharist. A pyx is a circular container into which a few consecrated hosts can be placed. Pyxes are used to bring communion to the sick or housebound; the dictionary definition of ciborium at Wiktionary
Church of the Holy Sepulchre
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is a church in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. The church contains, according to traditions dating back to at least the fourth century, the two holiest sites in Christianity: the site where Jesus of Nazareth was crucified, at a place known as "Calvary" or "Golgotha", Jesus' empty tomb, where he is said to have been buried and resurrected; the tomb is enclosed by an 19th-century shrine called the Aedicula. The Status Quo, a 260-year-old understanding between religious communities, applies to the site. Within the church proper are the last four Stations of the Via Dolorosa, representing the final episodes of Jesus' Passion; the church has been a major Christian pilgrimage destination since its creation in the fourth century, as the traditional site of the Resurrection of Christ, thus its original Greek name, Church of the Anastasis. Today, the wider complex accumulated during the centuries around the Church of the Holy Sepulchre serves as the headquarters of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, while control of the church itself is shared among several Christian denominations and secular entities in complicated arrangements unchanged for over 160 years, some for much longer.
The main denominations sharing property over parts of the church are the Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic, to a lesser degree the Coptic Orthodox, Syriac Orthodox and Ethiopian Orthodox. Meanwhile, Protestants have no permanent presence in the Church; some Protestants prefer the Garden Tomb, elsewhere in Jerusalem, as a more evocative site to commemorate Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection. In 70 AD, the siege of Jerusalem by Emperor Titus saw the destruction of the Second Temple. Sixty years in 130 AD, the Roman emperor Hadrian started a Roman colony in Jerusalem, c. 135, ordered that a cave containing a rock-cut tomb be filled in to create a flat foundation for a temple dedicated to Jupiter or Venus. The temple referred to as Jupiter Capitolinus, remained until the early 4th century. After seeing a vision of a cross in the sky in 312, Constantine the Great converted to Christianity, signed the Edict of Milan legalising the religion, sent his mother Helena to Jerusalem to look for Christ's tomb.
With the help of Bishop of Caesarea Eusebius and Bishop of Jerusalem Macarius, three crosses were found near a tomb, leading the Romans to believe that they had found Calvary. Constantine ordered in about 326. After the temple was torn down and its ruins removed, the soil was removed from the cave, revealing a rock-cut tomb that Helena and Macarius identified as the burial site of Jesus. In 327, Constantine and Helena separately commissioned the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem to commemorate the birth of Jesus. Constantine's church was built as separate constructs over the two holy sites: the great basilica, an enclosed colonnaded atrium with the traditional site of Calvary in one corner, across a courtyard, a rotunda called the Anastasis, where Helena and Macarius believed Jesus to have been buried; the church was consecrated on 13 September 335. Every year, the Eastern Orthodox Church celebrates the anniversary of the Dedication of the Temple of the Resurrection of Christ; this building was destroyed by a fire in May of 614 A.
D when the Sassanid Empire, under Khosrau II, captured the True Cross. In 630, the Emperor Heraclius 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 city's Christian sites, prohibiting their destruction or use as living quarters. A story reports that the Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab visited the church and stopped to pray on the balcony, he feared that future generations would misinterpret this gesture, taking it as a pretext to turn the church into a mosque. Eutychius added; the building suffered severe damage due to an earthquake in 746. Early in the ninth 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 to the Church. In 938, a new fire came close to the rotunda. In 966, due to a defeat of Muslim armies in the region of Syria, a riot broke out, followed by reprisals.
The basilica was burned again. The doors and roof were burnt, the Patriarch John VII was murdered. On 18 October 1009, Fatimid caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah ordered the complete destruction of the church as part of a more general campaign against Christian places of worship in Palestine and Egypt; the damage was extensive, with few parts of the early church remaining, the roof of the rock-cut tomb damaged. Some partial repairs followed. Christian Europe reacted with shock and expulsions of Jews, serving as an impetus to Crusades. In wide-ranging negotiations between the Fatimids and the Byzantine Empire in 1027–28, an agreement was reached whereby the new Caliph Ali az-Zahir agreed to allow the rebuilding and redecoration of the Church; the rebuilding was completed wi
Liturgy of Preparation
The Liturgy of Preparation 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 before the public part of the Divine Liturgy begins, symbolizes the "hidden years" of Christ's earthly life. Only specific elements may be offered at the Divine Liturgy: The bread used for the Liturgy is referred to as prosphora. A prosphoron is a round loaf of leavened bread baked in two layers to represent the two natures of Christ, it has a square seal on the top side which has inscribed on it a cross and the Greek letters IC XC and NIKA. The portion of the loaf, cut out along this seal is the Lamb, from which all are communicated, therefore must be proportionately large for the number of communicants. Prosphora must be made using only the finest wheat flour, water and yeast, it should be freshly baked and without blemish. The Greeks use one large loaf for the Liturgy of Preparation, with a large round seal on it inscribed not only with the square seal mentioned above, but markings indicating where the portions for the Theotokos, the Ranks, the Living and Dead are removed.
Those churches which follow Slavic usage use five small loaves, recalling the five loaves from which Christ fed the multitude. All are stamped with a small square seal, though special seals for the Theotokos are sometimes used. In all traditions, only the Lamb is consecrated, other portions which are removed from the prosphora are memorials, but are never to be used for Communion; the Wine used must be red grape wine, it must be fermented. Orthodox tend to favor altar wine, somewhat sweet, though this is not a requirement; these elements are referred to collectively as the "Gifts", both before and after the Consecration. The Priest's Service Book states that, before celebrating the Divine Liturgy, the priest must be reconciled to all men, keep his heart from evil thoughts, 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 before the Reader finishes reading the Third Hour and Sixth Hour; the priests and deacons celebrating the liturgy stand together in front of the holy doors of the iconostasis, venerate the icons, say special entrance prayers before they enter into the altar.
At the end of these prayers, they bow to the throne of the bishop who oversees the church, or, if it is a monastery, the abbot, acknowledging the authority of their spiritual superiors, without whose permission they may not celebrate the divine services. They venerate the holy table and put on their vestments. Before putting on each vestment the priest says a prayer drawn from the Psalms, bless the vestment, kiss the cross, sewn onto it; the deacon brings his vestments to the priest to bless and kisses the priest's hand and withdraws to vest, saying the same prayers for the sticharia as the priest and kissing the cross on each vestment. Each subdeacon and server vesting bring his sticharion to the priest for him to bless, kisses the cross on it before vesting. 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 go to the Prothesis where the Gifts are to be prepared.
If there are several priests concelebrating only one—traditionally, the most junior— celebrates the Proskomedia. Others may assist in taking out particles for the dead. In the Greek traditions all particles are taken from one large prosphoron, stamped with a seal that serves as a template, but in the Slavic traditions there are several prosphora, from which particles are taken as described below; the priest takes a prosphoron and blesses it three times, making the sign of the cross over it with the liturgical spear. Cutting on all four sides of the square seal on the prosphoron, he removes a cube, taking from both layers of the loaf, places it in the center of the diskos, he cuts the underside of the Lamb, making a cross turns the Lamb right side up and pierces it with the spear, saying the words from the Gospel.. The deacon mingles a little water with the wine, poured in the chalice and presents it to the priest for him to bless; the deacon pours the wine and water into the chalice, as the priest says, "Blessed be the union of Thy holy things and and unto the ages of ages.
Amen." Next the priest takes up the second prosphoron, blesses it with the spear, cuts a large, triangular particle from it, which he places on the diskos next to the Lamb in commemoration of the Theotokos. This loaf is sometimes sealed with her monogram. Next, the priest takes up the prosphoron of the Nine Ranks. From this loaf are taken smaller triangular particles in commemoration of the various ranks of saints. There are some differences between the Greek and the Slavic texts as to which particular saints are named, but the intent is that all of the saints are included. Saint John the Forerunner and the Patron Saint of the church or monastery are always named; the number nine was chosen because, the traditional number of the ranks of angels. These nine particles are placed to the left of the Lamb (i.e. to the prie
Mary, mother of Jesus
Mary was a 1st-century BC Galilean Jewish woman of Nazareth, 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 conception took place when she was betrothed to Joseph. She accompanied Joseph to Bethlehem; the Gospel of Luke begins its account of Mary's life with the Annunciation, when the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary 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 Catholic and Orthodox teachings, at the end of her earthly life her body was raised directly into Heaven. Mary has been venerated since early Christianity, is considered by millions to be the most meritorious saint of the religion, she is claimed to have miraculously appeared to believers many times over the centuries. The Eastern and Oriental Orthodox, Catholic and Lutheran churches believe that Mary, as mother of Jesus, is the Mother of God.
There is significant diversity in the Marian beliefs and devotional practices of major Christian traditions. The Catholic Church holds distinctive Marian dogmas, namely her status as the Mother of God, her Immaculate Conception, her perpetual virginity, her Assumption into heaven. Many Protestants minimize Mary's role within Christianity, basing their argument on the relative brevity of biblical references. Mary has a revered position in Islam, where one of the longer chapters of the Quran is devoted to her. Mary's name in the original manuscripts of the New Testament was based on her original Aramaic name מרים, translit. Maryam or Mariam; the English name Mary comes from the Greek Μαρία, a shortened form of Μαριάμ. Both Μαρία and Μαριάμ appear in the New Testament. In Christianity, Mary is referred to as the Virgin Mary, in accordance with the belief that she conceived Jesus miraculously through the Holy Spirit without her husband's involvement. Among her many other names and titles are the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Mary, the Mother of God, the Theotokos, Our Lady, Queen of Heaven, although the title "Queen of Heaven" was a name for a pagan goddess being worshipped during the prophet Jeremiah's lifetime.
Titles in use vary among Anglicans, Catholics, Protestants and other Christians. The three main titles for Mary used by the Orthodox are Theotokos, Aeiparthenos as confirmed in the Second Council of Constantinople in 553, Panagia. Catholics use a wide variety of titles for Mary, these titles have in turn given rise to many artistic depictions. For example, the title Our Lady of Sorrows has inspired such masterpieces as Michelangelo's Pietà; the title Theotokos was recognized at the Council of Ephesus in 431. The direct equivalents of title in Latin are Deipara and Dei Genetrix, although the phrase is more loosely translated into Latin as Mater Dei, with similar patterns for other languages used in the Latin Church. However, this same phrase in Greek, in the abbreviated form ΜΡ ΘΥ, is an indication 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, sometimes referred to as the "King of Kings" due to his ancestral descent from King David. Other titles have arisen from special appeals, or occasions for calling on Mary. To give a few examples, Our Lady of Good Counsel, Our Lady of Navigators, Our Lady Undoer of Knots fit this description. In Islam, she is known as mother of Isa, she is referred to by the honorific title sayyidatuna, meaning "our lady". A related term of endearment is Siddiqah, meaning "she who confirms the truth" and "she who believes sincerely completely". Another title for Mary is Qānitah, which signifies both constant submission to God and absorption in prayer and invocation in Islam, she is called "Tahira", meaning "one, purified" and representing her status as one of two humans in creation to not be touched by Satan at any point. The Gospel of Luke mentions Mary the most identifying her by name twelve times, all of these in the infancy narrative.
The Gospel of Matthew mentions her by name six times, five of these in the infancy narrative and only once outside the infancy narrative. The Gospel of Mark names her once and mentions her as Jesus' mother without naming her in 3:31 and 3:32; the Gospel of John never mentions her by name. Described as Jesus' mother, she makes two appearances, she is first seen at the wedding at Cana. The second reference, listed only in this gospel, has her standing near the cross of Jesus together with Mary Magdalene, Mary of Clopas (or Cleophas
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained, consecrated, or appointed member of the Christian clergy, entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Anglican, Old Catholic and Independent Catholic churches and in the Assyrian Church of the East, bishops claim apostolic succession, a direct historical lineage dating back to the original Twelve Apostles. Within these churches, bishops are seen as those who possess the full priesthood and can ordain clergy – including another bishop; 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. One, ordained deacon and bishop is understood to hold the fullness of the priesthood, given responsibility by Christ to govern and sanctify the Body of Christ, members of the Faithful. Priests and lay ministers cooperate and assist their bishops in shepherding a flock.
The term epískopos, meaning "overseer" in Greek, the early language of the Christian Church, was not from the earliest times distinguished from the term presbýteros, but the term was clearly used in the sense of the order or office of bishop, distinct from that of presbyter in the writings attributed to Ignatius of Antioch.. 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 Acts 11:30 and Acts 15:22, we see a collegiate system of government in Jerusalem chaired by James the Just, according to tradition the first bishop of the city. In Acts 14:23, the Apostle Paul ordains presbyters in churches in Anatolia; the word presbyter was not yet distinguished from overseer, as in Acts 20:17, Titus 1:5–7 and 1 Peter 5:1. The earliest writings of the Apostolic Fathers, the Didache and the First Epistle of Clement, for example, show the church used two terms for local church offices—presbyters and deacon.
In Timothy and Titus in the New Testament a more defined episcopate can be seen. We are told that Paul had left Timothy in Titus in Crete to oversee the local church. Paul commands Titus to exercise general oversight. 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; the head or "monarchic" bishop came to rule more and all local churches would follow the example of the other churches and structure themselves after the model of the others with the one bishop in clearer charge, though the role of the body of presbyters remained important. As Christendom grew, bishops no longer directly served individual congregations. Instead, the Metropolitan bishop appointed priests to minister each congregation, acting as the bishop's delegate. Around the end of the 1st century, the church's organization became clearer in historical documents. In the works of the Apostolic Fathers, Ignatius of Antioch in particular, the role of the episkopos, or bishop, became more important or, rather was important and being defined.
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 don't 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. "Blessed be God, who has granted unto you, who are yourselves so excellent, to obtain such an excellent bishop." — Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians 1:1 "and that, being subject to the bishop and the presbytery, ye may in all respects be sanctified." — Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians 2:1 "For your justly renowned presbytery, worthy of God, is fitted as to the bishop as the strings are to the harp." — Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians 4:1 "Do ye, beloved, be careful to be subject to the bishop, the presbyters and the deacons."
— Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians 5:1 "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. "the bishop presiding after the likeness of God and the presbyters after the likeness of the council of the Apostles, with the deacons who are most dear to me, having been entrusted with the diaconate of Jesus Christ" — Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesians 6:1. "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, as the Apostles were to Christ and to the Father, that there may be union both of flesh and of spirit." — Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesians 13:2. "In like manner let all men respe
Episcopal conference
An episcopal conference, sometimes called a conference of bishops, is an official assembly of the bishops of the Catholic Church in a given territory. Episcopal conferences have long existed as informal entities; the first assembly of bishops to meet with its own legal structure and ecclesial leadership function, is the Swiss Bishops' Conference, founded in 1863. More than forty episcopal conferences existed before the Second Vatican Council, their status was confirmed by the Second Vatican Council and further defined by Pope Paul VI's 1966 motu proprio, Ecclesiae sanctae. Episcopal conferences are defined by geographic borders national ones, with all the bishops in a given country belonging to the same conference, although they may include neighboring countries. Certain authority and tasks are assigned to episcopal conferences with regard to setting the liturgical norms for the Mass. Episcopal conferences receive their authority under particular mandates. In certain circumstances, as defined by canon law, the decisions of an episcopal conference are subject to ratification from the Holy See.
Individual bishops do not relinquish their immediate authority for the governance of their respective dioceses to the conference. The operation and responsibilities of episcopal conferences are governed by the 1983 Code of Canon Law In addition, there are assemblies of bishops which include the bishops of different rites in a nation, both Eastern Catholic and Latin Catholic; the nature of episcopal conferences, their magisterial authority in particular, was subsequently clarified by Pope John Paul II in his 1998 motu proprio, Apostolos suos, which stated that the declarations of such conferences "constitute authentic magisterium" when approved unanimously by the conference. In the 2013 apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis expressed his concern that the intent of the Second Vatican Council, which would give episcopal conferences "genuine doctrinal authority, has not yet been sufficiently elaborated." On September 9, 2017, Pope Francis modified canon law, granting episcopal conferences specific authority "to faithfully prepare … approve and publish the liturgical books for the regions for which they are responsible after the confirmation of the Apostolic See."
The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, which had primary responsibility for translations, was ordered to "help the Episcopal Conferences to fulfil their task." On October 22, 2017, the Holy See released a letter that Pope Francis had sent to the Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Cardinal Robert Sarah, clarifying that the Holy See and its departments would have only limited authority to confirm liturgical translations recognized by a local episcopal conference. In late February, 2018, the Council of Cardinals and Pope Francis undertook a consideration of the theological status of episcopal conferences, re-reading Pope John Paul II's Apostolos Suos in the light of Pope Francis's Evangelii Gaudium. Episcopal Conference of Angola and São Tomé Episcopal Conference of Benin Conference of Bishops of Burkina Faso and of Niger Conference of Catholic Bishops of Burundi National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon Central African Episcopal Conference Episcopal Conference of Chad Episcopal Conference of the Congo Episcopal Conference of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Episcopal Conference of the Côte d'Ivoire Episcopal Conference of Equatorial Guinea Assembly of Catholic Hierarchs of Ethiopia and Eritrea Episcopal Conference of Gabon Inter-territorial Catholic Bishops' Conference of The Gambia and Sierra Leone Ghana Bishops' Conference Episcopal Conference of Guinea Episcopal Conference of the Indian Ocean Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops Lesotho Catholic Bishops' Conference Catholic Bishops' Conference of Liberia Episcopal Conference of Madagascar Episcopal Conference of Malawi Episcopal Conference of Mali Episcopal Conference of Mozambique Namibian Catholic Bishops' Conference Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria Regional Episcopal Conference of North Africa Conference of Catholic Bishops of Rwanda Conference of Bishops of Senegal, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference Sudan Catholic Bishops' Conference Tanzania Episcopal Conference Episcopal Conference of Togo Uganda Episcopal Conference Zambia Episcopal Conference Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference Conference of the Latin Bishops of the Arab Regions Catholic Bishops' Conference of Bangladesh Chinese Regional Bishops' Conference Conference of Catholic Bishops of India Bishops' Conference of Indonesia Catholic Bishops' Conference of Japan Conference of Catholic Bishops of Kazakhstan Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea Episcopal Conference of Laos and Cambodia Bishops' Conference of Malaysia and Brunei Catholic Bishops' Conference of Myanmar Catholic Bishops' Conference of Pakistan Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines Catholic Bishops' Conference of Thailand Episcopal Conference of Turkey Catholic Bishops' Conference of Sri Lanka Catholic Bishops' Conference of Vietnam Episcopal Conference of Albania Austrian Bishops' Conference Conference of Catholic Bishops of Belarus Episcopal Conference of Belgium Bishops' Conference of Bosnia and Herzegovina Episcopal Conference of Bulgaria Croatian Bishops' Conference Czech Bishops' Conference Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales
Chalice
A chalice or goblet is a footed cup intended to hold a drink. In religious practice, a chalice is used for drinking during a ceremony or may carry a certain symbolic meaning; the ancient Roman calix was a drinking vessel consisting of a bowl fixed atop a stand, was in common use at banquets. In Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodoxy, Anglicanism and some other Christian denominations, a chalice is a standing cup used to hold sacramental wine during the Eucharist. Chalices are made of precious metal, they are sometimes richly enamelled and jewelled; the gold goblet was symbolic for tradition. Chalices have been used since the early church; because of Jesus' command to his disciples to "Do this in remembrance of me.", Paul's account of the Eucharistic rite in 1 Corinthians 11:24-25, the celebration of the Eucharist became central to Christian liturgy. The vessels used in this important act of worship were decorated and treated with great respect. A number of early examples of chalices have two handles.
Over time, the size of the bowl diminished and the base became larger for better stability. Over time, official church regulations dictated the construction and treatment of chalices; some religious traditions still require that the chalice, at least on the inside of the cup, to be gold-plated. In Western Christianity, chalices will 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, the cups are quite narrow. Roman Catholic priests will receive chalices from members of their families when first ordained. In Eastern Christianity, chalices will have icons enameled or engraved on them, as well as a cross. 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, the faithful receive Communion on a spoon. 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 will kiss the cup. Although Orthodox monks are not permitted to hold personal possessions, the canons permit a hieromonk to keep a chalice and other vessels necessary to celebrate the Divine Liturgy. In the early and medieval church, when a deacon was ordained, he would be handed a chalice during the service as a sign of his ministry. Early written accounts of the ordination of deaconesses reflect this practice. In the West the deacon carries the chalice to the altar at the offertory. Only wine, water and a portion of the Host are permitted to be placed in the chalice, it may not be used for any profane purpose; the chalice is considered to be one of the most sacred vessels in Christian liturgical worship, it is blessed before use. In the Roman Catholic Church, some Anglo-Catholic churches, it was the custom for a chalice to be consecrated by being anointed with chrism, this consecration could only be performed by a bishop or abbot. Among the Eastern Churches there are varying practices regarding blessing.
In some traditions the act of celebrating the Sacred Mysteries is the only blessing necessary. In some Eastern traditions this blessing may be done only by a bishop, in some it may be done by a priest. In any case, in both the East and the West, once a chalice has been blessed, it may only be touched by an ordained member of the higher clergy. In the Russian Orthodox Church a subdeacon is permitted to touch the holy vessels, but only if they are wrapped in cloth. In Christian tradition the Holy Chalice is the vessel which Jesus used at the Last Supper to serve the wine. New Testament texts make no mention of the cup except within the context of the Last Supper and give no significance whatsoever to the object itself. Herbert Thurston in the Catholic Encyclopedia 1908 concluded that "No reliable tradition has been preserved to us regarding the vessel used by Christ at the Last Supper. In the sixth and seventh centuries pilgrims to Jerusalem were led to believe that the actual chalice was still venerated in the church of the Holy Sepulchre, having within it the sponge, presented to Our Saviour on Calvary."
Several surviving standing cups of precious materials are identified in local traditions as the Chalice. An different and pervasive tradition concerns the cup of the Last Supper. In this muddled though better-known version, the vessel is known as the Holy Grail. In this legend, Jesus used the cup at the Last Supper to institute the Mass. Other stories claim that Joseph of Arimathea used the cup to collect and store the blood of Christ at the Crucifixion. At the opening of Unitarian Universalist worship services, many congregations light a flame inside a chalice. A flaming chalice is the most used symbol of Unitarianism and Unitarian Universalism, the official logo of the Unitarian Universalist Association and other Unitarian and UU churches and societies; the design was originated by the artist Hans Deutsch, who took his inspiration from the chalices of oil burned on ancient Greek and Roman altars. It became an underground symbol in occupied Europe during World War II for assistance to h
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