Italian - Pyx with Arabesques in Quatrofoil Frames - Walters 71314 - View A

A pyx or pix (, transliteration of Greek: ''πυξίς'', boxwood receptacle, from ''πύξος'', box tree) is a small round container used in the Catholic, Old Catholic, Lutheran and

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

Churches to carry the

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

, to the sick or those who are otherwise unable to come to a church in order to receive

Holy Communion The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instituted ...

. The term can also be used in archaeology and art history to describe small, round lidded boxes designed for any purpose from antiquity or the Middle Ages, such as those used to hold coins for the Trial of the Pyx in England.

Usage

The word ''pyx'' comes from the Greek word πυξίς, ''pyxis'' 'box, receptacle'. (The Greek-like plural, ', has given way to ' in English.) While the word may be applied to any covered carrier, in modern usage the term "pyx" usually denotes a small, flat, clamshell-style container, often about the size of a pocket watch and usually made of brass or other metals, traditionally lined with gold. A fabric or leather pouch for carrying a pyx is known as a

burse Burse is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Charlie Burse (1901–1965), African-American blues musician * Denise Burse (born 1952), American actress * Isaiah Burse (born 1991), American football wide receiver * Janell Burse (bo ...

. Typically, this kind of burse can be securely closed and is fixed with cords so that the priest, deacon, or extraordinary minister of Holy Communion can affix it to his or her person during transport to prevent the consecrated host(s) from being accidentally lost. These objects, and others, such as the

lunette A lunette (French ''lunette'', "little moon") is a half-moon shaped architectural space, variously filled with sculpture, painted, glazed, filled with recessed masonry, or void. A lunette may also be segmental, and the arch may be an arc take ...

(and the

monstrance A monstrance, also known as an ostensorium (or an ostensory), is a vessel used in Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, High Church Lutheran and Anglican churches for the display on an altar of some object of piety, such as the consecrated Eucharistic Sa ...

that holds it) that contain a consecrated host, are normally kept within the church tabernacle when they are not being carried. The tabernacle may be behind the main altar, at a side altar, or within a special Eucharistic chapel.

Liturgical history

In late antiquity, the custom developed in the East of suspending a vessel in the form of a dove (Greek: ''peristerion'', Latin: ''peristerium'') over the altar, which was used as a repository for the Blessed Sacrament. This custom is mentioned by

Gregory of Tours Gregory of Tours (30 November 538 – 17 November 594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of the area that had been previously referred to as Gaul by the Romans. He was born Georgius Florenti ...

in his ''Life of Saint Basil'', and in several ancient French documents. The custom probably came to France from the East; it never seems to have existed in Italy. Examples of this practice may still be found in use today; for instance, in the Cathedral of the Dormition in Moscow.

In Eastern Christianity

In the Eastern Orthodox and Greek Catholic Churches, the ''pyx ('') is the small "church tabernacle" which holds the lamb (host) that is reserved for the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts during

Great Lent Great Lent, or the Great Fast, (Greek: Μεγάλη Τεσσαρακοστή or Μεγάλη Νηστεία, meaning "Great 40 Days," and "Great Fast," respectively) is the most important fasting season of the church year within many denominat ...

. This pyx may be either kept on the Holy Table or on the Prothesis (Table of Oblation) on the north side of the sanctuary.

Gallery

File:Silver pyx MNMA Cl23528.jpg, Silver gilt pyx, south of France or Spain, 15th century ( Musée de Cluny) File:Bronze pyx.JPG, Bronze pyx for carrying the Eucharist File:French - Eucharistic Dove - Walters 443 - Profile.jpg, Eucharistic dove ( Walters Art Museum) File:Rock crystal Pyx.jpg, Rock crystal with copper-gilt mounts pyx from 20th century ( Hunt Museum)

Notes and references

External links