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Spear (liturgy)
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. Significance The Spear symbolizes the Holy Lance, lance of St. Longinus, Longinus that was used at the time of Christ's death on the Cross to pierce his side, from which flowed blood and water (). This event is traditionally interpreted as prefiguring the Sacred Mysteries (Sacraments) of the Eucharist and Baptism. Form The Spear is one of the Sacred Vessels usually kept on the Table of Oblation (Prothesis), where the bread and wine are prepared for the Eucharist. Often when a Chalice (cup), Chalice and Diskos (Paten) are made, an Asterisk_(liturgy), Asterisk and a Spoon (liturgy), Spoon and Spear will be made to match them. The Spear is normally made of precious metal (or at least plated with silver and/or gold), has a point sharp enough to cut the bread, and will often have a cross at the end of the handle. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diskos
A paten or diskos is a small plate used for the celebration of the Eucharist (as in a mass). It is generally used during the liturgy itself, while the reserved sacrament are stored in the tabernacle in a ciborium. Western usage 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 securely sit on top of the chalice, as shown in the illustration on the left here. Roman rite The General Instruction of the Roman Missal lays down rules for patens: Sacred vessels should be made from precious metal. If they are made from metal that rusts or from a metal less precious than gold, they should generally be gilded on the inside. However, provisions for vessels made from non-precious metals are made as well, provided they are "made from other solid materials which in the common estimation in each region are considered precious or noble." Some call the commun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Euchologion
The Euchologion (Greek: ; Slavonic: Трeбник, ''Trebnik''; ) is one of the chief liturgical books of the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic churches, containing the portions of the services which are said by the bishop, priest, or deacon. The Euchologion roughly corresponds to a combination of the missal, ritual, and pontifical as they are used in Latin liturgical rites. There are several different volumes of the book in use. Types The comprehensive version is called the Great Euchologion (Greek: Εὐχολόγιον τό μέγα, ''Euchológion to méga''; Slavonic: Больший Иерейский Молитвослов, ''Bolshiy Iereyskiy Molitvoslov''; Romanian: ''Arhieraticon''), and contains the following: * The parts for the priest and deacon at Vespers, Orthros (Matins), and the Divine Liturgy, together with supplementary material ( Prokeimena, Calendar of Saints, etc.) * The remaining Sacred Mysteries (sacraments), monastic tonsure, Blessing of Waters ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Holy Communion
The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an ordinance in others. Christians believe that the rite was instituted by Jesus at the Last Supper, the night before his crucifixion, giving his disciples bread and wine. Passages in the New Testament state that he commanded them to "do this in memory of me" while referring to the bread as "my body" and the cup of wine as "the blood of my covenant, which is poured out for many". According to the synoptic Gospels, this was at a Passover meal. The elements of the Eucharist, sacramental bread, either leavened or unleavened, and sacramental wine (non-alcoholic grape juice in some Protestant traditions, such as Methodism), are consecrated on an altar or a communion table and consumed thereafter. The consecrated elements are the end product of the Eucharistic Prayer. Christians generally recognize a special presen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Consecration
Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a " sacred artifact" that is venerated and blessed), or places (" sacred ground"). French sociologist Émile Durkheim considered the dichotomy between the sacred and the profane to be the central characteristic of religion: "religion is a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to ''sacred things'', that is to say, things set apart and forbidden." Durkheim, Émile. 1915. '' The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life''. London: George Allen & Unwin. . In Durkheim's theory, the sacred represents the interests of the group, especially unity, which are embodied in sacred group symbols, or using team work to help get out of trouble. The profane, on the other hand, involve mundane individual concerns. Etymology The word ''sacred' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prosphora
A prosphora (, ''offering'', or in Demotic Greek πρόσφορον) is a small loaf of leavened bread used in Orthodox Christian, Eastern Lutheran and Greek Catholic (Byzantine) liturgies. The classical plural form is ''prosphorai'' (). The term originally meant any offering made to a temple, but in Orthodox Christianity, as well as Byzantine Rite Lutheranism and Catholicism it has come to mean specifically the bread offered at the Eucharist during Divine Liturgy. Baking A prosphoron is made from only four ingredients, wheat flour (white), yeast, salt, and water. Salt was not used in early times and is still not used in the Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem. Any member of the church who is in good standing, has sufficient baking knowledge, and whose conscience is clean may bake prosphora. Often in a parish church the women will take turns baking the prosphora; in monastery, monasteries, the task is often assigned by the Hegumen (abbot or abbess) to one or several mon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lamb (Liturgy)
The Lamb (; ) is the square portion of bread cut from the prosphora in the Liturgy of Preparation at the Divine Liturgy in the Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Rite, Byzantine Eastern Catholic Churches, Catholic churches. The Lamb is cut from a specially prepared loaf of leavened bread and placed in the center of the paten, diskos. The loaf, called a prosphoron, has had stamped in the top of its dough the seal of the Greek letters Christogram#ICXC, IC, XC, and NIKA, "Jesus Christ conquers", divided by a Greek cross, and the portion by the seal is cutout as the Lamb. The loaf must be made only from the finest flour, yeast, salt and water. It is formed in two layers to symbolize the hypostatic union. Liturgy of preparation The priest cuts the Lamb from the prosphoron using a liturgical knife called a "spear (liturgy), spear", with a blade shaped like a spearpoint to recall the spear used at the crucifixion to pierce Jesus' side. Cutting along each edge, and r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liturgy Of Preparation
The Liturgy of Preparation, also Prothesis () or Proskomedia ( 'an offering, an oblation'), is the name given in the Eastern Orthodox Churchand those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite to the act of preparing the bread and wine for the Eucharist. Eucharistic elements Only very specific elements may be offered at the Divine Liturgy: Bread 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 (an abbreviation in Greek for "Jesus") XC ("Christ") and NIKA ("Conquers"). The portion of the loaf that is cut out along this seal is the Lamb (Host), from which all are communicated, and therefore must be proportionately large for the number of communicants. Prosphora must be made using only the finest wheat flour, water, salt, and yeast. It should be freshly ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spoon (liturgy)
The Spoon (, ''Kochliárion''; Slavonic: Лжица, ''Lzhítza'') is a liturgical implement used to distribute Holy Communion to the laity during the Divine Liturgy in some Eastern Christian rites. It is also called a cochlear, Latin for "spoon". In Western Christianity (within traditions such as Anglicanism, Lutheranism, and Methodism) a perforated spoon is used to remove any foreign particulate matter that falls into the wine. It is one of the items, in Western Christian Churches, that lies on the credence table. Purpose In the Early Church everyone, clergy and laity alike, received Holy Communion in the same manner: receiving the consecrated Body of Christ (in the form of bread) in their hands and then placing it in their own mouth, and sipping directly from the chalice. In time, concern over the danger of crumbs being accidentally dropped on the floor or some of the consecrated Blood of Christ (in the form of wine) being spilt, led to the use of tongs, with which the el ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asterisk (liturgy)
The Asterisk (; Church Slavonic language, Slavonic: ''Звездица'', ''Zvezdítsa''), or Star-cover (from the Greek ''αστήρ'', ''astêr'', meaning ''star''), 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. Form An asterisk is a small, folding metal covering which keeps the Veil#Liturgical veils, veil and Aër (larger veil) from disturbing the particles of prosphora, bread on the Paten#Byzantine-Rite Usage, diskos (paten). 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 small star will be suspended from the aster ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chalice (cup)
A chalice (from Latin 'cup', taken from the Ancient Greek () 'cup') is a drinking cup raised on a stem with a foot or base. Although it is a technical archaeological term, in modern parlance the word is now used almost exclusively for the cups used in Christian liturgy as part of a service of the Eucharist, such as a Catholic mass. These are normally made of metal, but neither the shape nor the material is a requirement. Most have no handles, and in recent centuries the cup at the top has usually been a simple flared shape. Historically, the same shape was used for elite secular vessels, and many individual examples have served both secular and liturgical uses over their history, for example the Lacock Cup and Royal Gold Cup, both late medieval cups. Cups owned by churches were much more likely to survive, as secular drinkware in precious metal was usually melted down when it fell out of fashion. The same general cup shape is also called a goblet (from Old French , dimi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Divine Liturgy
Divine Liturgy () or Holy Liturgy is the usual name used in most Eastern Christian rites for the Eucharistic service. The Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Lutheranism, Eastern Lutheran Churches and the Eastern Orthodox Church believe the Divine Liturgy transcends both time and the world. All believers are seen as united in worship in the Kingdom of God along with the departed saints and the angels of heaven. Everything in the liturgy is seen as symbolic, but not merely so, for it makes present the unseen reality. According to Eastern tradition and belief, the liturgy's roots go back to the adaptation of Jewish liturgy by Early Christians. The first part, termed the "Liturgy of the Catechumens", includes the Lection, reading of scriptures like those in a synagogue, and in some places, also a Sermon#Christianity, sermon/homily. The second half, the "Liturgy of the Faithful", is based on the Last Supper and the first Eucharistic celebrations by Early Christians. Eastern Christian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
