A Thurible

A thurible is a metal censer suspended from chains, in which incense is burned during worship services. It is used in Christian churches including the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic and Oriental Orthodox, as well as in some Lutheran, Old Catholic, and Anglican churches (with its use almost universal amongst Anglo Catholic Anglican churches). In Roman Catholic, Lutheran, and Anglican churches, the altar server who carries the thurible is called the thurifer. The practice is rooted in the earlier traditions of Judaism in the time of the Second Jewish Temple.^[1]
Beyond its ecclesiastical use, the thurible is also employed in various other spiritual or ceremonial traditions, including some Gnostic Churches, Freemasonry^[2] (especially in the consecration of new lodges), and in Co-Freemasonry. Thuribles are sometimes employed in the practice of ceremonial magic.^[3][4]


The workings of a thurible are quite simple. Each thurible consists of a censer section, chains (typically three or four, although single-chain thuribles also exist), a metal ring around the chains (used to lock the lid of the censer section in place), and usually (although not always) a removable metal crucible in which the burning charcoals are placed. Many thuribles are supplied with a stand, allowing the thurible to be hung safely when still hot, but not in use. Burning charcoal is placed inside the metal censer, either directly into the bowl section, or into a removable crucible if supplied, and incense (of which there are many different varieties) is placed upon the charcoal, where it melts to produce a sweet smelling smoke. This may be done several times during the service as the incense burns quite quickly. Once the incense has been placed on the charcoal the thurible is then closed and used for censing.^[5]
A famous thurible is the huge Botafumeiro in Santiago de Compostela Cathedral, Spain^[5]
The word "thurible" comes from the Old French thurible, which in turn is derived from the Latin term thuribulum. The Latin thuribulum is further formed from the root thus, meaning incense. Thus is an alteration of the Greek word θύος (thuos), which is derived from θύειν (thuein) "to sacrifice".^[5]

Roman Rite

The Roman Missal, as revised in 1969, allows the use of incense at any Mass: in the entrance procession; at the beginning of Mass to incense the cross and the altar; at the Gospel procession and proclamation; after the bread and the chalice have been placed upon the altar, to incense the offerings, the cross, and the altar, as well as the priest and the people; at the elevation of the host and the chalice after the consecration.^[6]
The number of swings of the thurible to be used when incensing persons or objects is specified in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal:

• Three double swings: the Most Blessed Sacrament, a relic of the Holy Cross and images of the Lord exposed for public veneration, the offerings for the sacrifice of the Mass, the altar cross, the Book of the Gospels, the Paschal Candle, the priest, and the people.
• Two double swings (and only at the beginning of the celebration, after the incensing of the altar): relics and images of the Saints exposed for public veneration.
• A series of single swings: the altar.
• The priest may incense the offerings for Mass by tracing a cross over them with the thurible instead of using three swings of the thurible,^[7]

The responsibilities of a thurifer include:

• Holding the thurible open to enable the priest to put incense in it, after which he blesses it with the sign of the cross without using any formula of words.
• Carrying the thurible in procession (gently swinging if needed to keep the charcoal burning).
• Presenting the thurible to the priest or deacon when they need to use it
• Incensing (in the absence of a deacon) the priest after the priest has incensed the offering at Mass.

Another server, previously called a boat boy and now more commonly a boat bearer,^[5] may carry a boat or container of incense to add as the thurible burns low.
These rules, except for the manner of incensing the offerings at Mass, applied also before 1969. Earlier editions of the Roman Missal prescribe that the offerings be incensed by forming over them with the thurible first three crosses and then three circles, the first two anticlockwise and last clockwise, while also saying a prescribed prayer.^[8] They also direct that incensing of the altar be done with single swings at 29 designated points of an altar attached to the rear wall of the sanctuary, and at 22 points of a freestanding altar.^[5]
Pre-1969 editions of the Roman Missal did not allow the use of incense at Low Mass.
In accordance with the conditions laid down in the document Summorum Pontificum of 2007, use of the 1962 edition as an extraordinary form of the Roman Rite is permitted. Other extraordinary forms such as that employed by the Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen, who call the 1962 version "mutilated and deformed",^[9] are not authorized.

Ambrosian Rite

In the Ambrosian Rite the thurible has no top cover, and is swung clockwise before the censing of a person or object.^[10]

Anglicanism

Boat bearer with incense boat

In the Anglican Communion, the use of incense is a fairly reliable^{[citation needed]} guide to how 'high' (more Catholic in liturgical style) or how 'low' (more Protestant) a church is. Anglo-Catholic churches may use generous quantities of incense. In recent years, some middle-of-the-road Anglican churches have taken to using incense a few times a year for special occasions.
Traditionally, at High Mass, the following rule is observed when censing, which differs from the common Roman Rite:

• Three sets of triple swings: When censing the Most Blessed Sacrament
• Three sets of double swings: When censing images, relics, and other sacramentals, also when censing the celebrant.
• Two sets of double swings: When censing a Deacon.
• One set of double swings: When censing a Sub-Deacon.
• Three sets of single swings: When censing the congregation

In Anglo-Catholic churches, the Thurible is carried in procession in front of the Crucifer and Acolytes. The Celebrant then censes the altar on which the Eucharist is to be offered, in the following form (at a Nave Altar):

• After venerating the altar, the Priest receives the thurible from the server at the North end of the altar.
• The Priest circles the altar, making small movements in the thurible, in an anti-clockwise direction until s/he reaches the west side of the altar, facing east.
• The Priest then makes three sets of triple swings towards east, then continues around the altar to his original position facing west.

This same pattern is followed when censing the altar at the offertory, with the following prequel:

• The Priest makes 6 swings (3+3) over the gifts, making the sign of the cross.
• The Priest then makes 3 circles, two counter-clockwise and one clockwise, over and around the gifts.

At the Gospel, the deacon (or whoever is reading the Gospel) censes following the introduction to the Gospel (i.e.: Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to N... then cense) using three sets of double swings, one set South, one set North, and one set West.
At the elevations of the Blessed Sacrament, during the prayer of consecration, either the deacon, sub-deacon, or other appropriate person (including the thurifer), makes three sets of triple swings, as the parish bell and sanctuary bells are rung.
Should the Regina Coeli (during Easter) or the Angelus be said or sung, then the celebrant or other appropriate person may cense the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the following form:

• Regina Coeli: Three sets of triple swings during the verse (Joy to thee, O Queen of Heaven, Alleluia...) and then three sets of triple swings during the concluding prayer.
• Angelus: One set of triple swings during each 'Ave Maria', then three sets of triple swings during the prayer (Pour forth, we beseech thee, thy grace into our hearts...)

Incense can be used at any celebration of the Eucharist throughout the year, but especially in the seasons of Christmas, Epiphany and Easter, Maundy Thursday vigil, Palm Sunday, on the feasts of Pentecost, Trinity Sunday, Ascension, Feasts of saints and martyrs, Corpus Christi, and at the Dedication Festival or Patronal Festival of a church.

Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Rites

Orthodox priest and deacon making the Entrance with the censer at Great Vespers.

An Eastern Orthodox censer, gold with four chains and bells.

Armenian Church, Kolkata

The Eastern Orthodox Church and the Byzantine Rite Eastern Catholic Churches make frequent use of incense, not only at the Divine Liturgy ^[5] (Eucharist), but also at Vespers, Matins and a number of other occasional services (see Euchologion). During funeral services and memorial services (Panikhida), the censer is swung almost continuously.
Incense is understood as symbolizing the sanctifying grace of the Holy Spirit and the prayers of the Saints rising to heaven. Incense is offered by the priest or deacon during the services. In some traditions, the ecclesiarch (sacristan) and his assistant (paraecclesiarch) will perform the censing at specific moments of the service.
The thurible (Greek: Θυμιατο, Thymiato; Church Slavonic: Кадилница, kadilnitsa) used is often gold plated (combining in itself at the offering of incense the three gifts of the Biblical Magi: gold, frankincense, and myrrh). The thurible consists of a metal bowl (usually with a base so it can stand upright) into which the charcoal and incense are placed, and a lid (often topped with a cross), pierced by holes to allow the fragrance from the incense to escape. The censer will usually have three outer chains (for the Holy Trinity) attached to the bowl, and a fourth inner chain (for the Oneness of God) attached to the lid. The three outer chains are gathered together and attached to a round conical plate attached to a ring; the inner chain passes through a hole in the conical plate and is attached to another ring to make it easier to lift the lid. In the Greek and some Russian practice twelve bells will be attached to the chains (their ringing symbolizes the teaching of the twelve Apostles).^[5] Sometimes the bowl and lid of the thurible are decorated with crosses or icons in repousse, and may even be decorated with semi-precious stones. When not in use the thurible is usually hung from a hook in the sanctuary.
When censing, the priest or deacon holds the censer below the conical plate with only one hand (the right hand) allowing it to swing freely. He will make the Sign of the Cross with the censer by making two vertical swings and a third horizontal swing (the three swings together symbolizing the Holy Trinity).
When the temple (church building) is censed, the priest or deacon will move in a sunwise (clockwise) direction, moving to his right as he censes in order the Holy Table (altar), sanctuary, Iconostasis, walls of the temple, clergy and faithful. There are two types of censing: a Greater Censing (which encompasses the entire temple and all of the people therein), and a Lesser Censing (which, depending upon the liturgical context, consists of censing only a portion of the temple and the people).
During some censings, especially the Greater Censing, the clergyman who is performing the censing will often carry a candle in his left hand. During Bright Week (the week which begins on Easter Sunday) the priest and the deacon will carry special Paschal candles at every censing, even the Lesser Censing. While carrying the Paschal candles, the priest or deacon will greet the members of the congregation with the Paschal greeting while censing them. Simple tapers are carried while censing during funerals and memorial services.
During the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire) the emperor used to be permitted to offer incense on the Feast of the Nativity (no doubt as a memorial of the gifts of the Magi), but was permitted to perform no other priestly function.
If no priest is available, incense may be offered by a reader or senior layman, but with a hand censer which has no chains on it, but rather a handle (it often has bells as well, suspended from the handle or around the rim). The hand censer is also used in some monasteries even when a priest is present for certain censings which are done by a monastic other than a vested priest or deacon.
During Holy Week it is customary in some places for even the priest and deacon to use the hand censer for all of the censings, as a sign of humility and mourning at the Passion of Christ.
The faithful will often burn incense, using a hand censer, in the home during Morning and Evening Prayers, and it is not unusual for the head of the household to bless the Holy Icons and all of the members of the household with a hand censer.

Boat boy

The boat boy or boat bearer is a junior altar server position found in Catholic and Anglican Churches. The role of a boat boy is to assist the thurifer, the senior altar server who carries the thurible.^[5] The boat bearer carries the boat, a small metal container, Latin navicula, which holds the supplies of incense. The boat has a small spoon inside which is used to transfer the grains of incense onto the red-hot charcoals in the thurible. Although at times the boat bearer transfers the incense himself, more usually he simply holds the boat open as the priest performs this task.

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A monstrance,

A monstrance, also known as an ostensorium (or an ostensory),^[1] is the vessel used in Roman Catholic, Old Catholic and Anglican churches for the more convenient exhibition of some object of piety, such as the consecrated Eucharistic host during Eucharistic adoration or Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. It is also used as reliquary monstrance for the public display of relics of some saints.^[2] The word monstrance comes from the Latin word monstrare,^[3] while the word ostensorium came from the Latin word ostendere. Both terms, meaning "to show", are used for vessels intended for the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, but ostensorium has only this meaning.^[2]

Liturgical context

In the Catholic tradition, at the moment of consecration the elements (called "gifts" for liturgical purposes) are transformed (literally transubstantiated) into the body and blood of Christ. Catholic doctrine holds that the elements are not only spiritually transformed, but are (substantially) transformed into the body and blood of Christ. Although the elements retain the appearance, or "accidents," of bread and wine, they become the body and blood of Christ. The presence of Jesus in the Eucharist is known as the doctrine of the Real Presence within the Roman Catholic tradition. Other Christians (notably Anglicans, Old Catholics, Mar Thoma, and Lutherans) accept the doctrine of the Real Presence, whilst rejecting transubstantiation as a philosophical concept. Owing to these beliefs, the consecrated elements are given the same adoration and devotion that Christians of these traditions accord to Christ himself.
Within churches of these traditions the reserved sacrament serves as a focal point of religious devotion. In many of them, during Eucharistic adoration, the celebrant displays the sacrament in the monstrance, typically on the altar. When not being displayed, the reserved sacrament is locked in a tabernacle (more common in Roman Catholicism) or aumbry (more common in the other traditions mentioned).

Use and design

The Blessed Sacrament in a monstrance carried in a procession by Cardinal Danneels, wearing a humeral veil

Two monstrances, showing the contrast between the modern simplified design on the right with its more ornate predecessor on the left

In the service of Benediction, the priest blesses the people with the Eucharist displayed in the monstrance. This blessing differs from the priest's blessing, as it is seen to be the blessing by Christ rather than that of the individual priest. The exposition of the monstrance during Benediction is traditionally accompanied by chanting or singing of the hymn Tantum Ergo.
Monstrances are usually elaborate in design; most are carried by the priest. Others may be much larger fixed constructions, typically for displaying the host in a special side chapel, often called the "Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament". For portable designs, the preferred form is a sunburst^[4] on a stand, usually topped by a cross.
Medieval monstrances were more varied in form than contemporary ones. Those used for relics, and occasionally for the host, typically had a crystal cylinder in a golden stand, and those usually used for hosts had a crystal window in a flat-faced golden construction, which could stand on its base. The monstrance was most often made of silver-gilt or other precious metal, and highly decorated. In the center of the sunburst, the monstrance normally has a small round glass the size of a Host, through which the Blessed Sacrament can be seen. Behind this glass is a round container made of glass and gilded metal, called a luna, which holds the Host securely in place. When not in the monstrance, the Host in its luna is placed in a special standing container, called a standing pyx, in the Tabernacle. Before the current design, earlier "little shrines" or reliquaries of various shapes and sizes were used.
When the monstrance contains the Host, the priest will not touch the vessel with his bare hands. Out of respect, he holds it with a humeral veil, a wide band of cloth that covers his shoulders (humera) and has pleats on the inside, in which he places his hands.

Controversy over the monstrance in the Ukrainian Byzantine Catholic Church

In recent years, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church has embarked on a campaign of de-Latinization reforms. These include the removal of the stations of the cross, the rosary and the monstrance from their liturgy and parishes. In response a group called the Society of Saint Josaphat (abbreviated as SSJK) has formed, with a seminary in Lviv. It currently has thirty students enrolled and is affiliated with the Society of St. Pius X.
Critics claim that the SSJK's liturgical practice favours severely abbreviated services and imported Latin Rite devotions over the traditional and authentic practices of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. Proponents counter that these symbols and rituals, influenced long ago by their Polish Catholic neighbors, have been practiced by Ukrainian Greek Catholics for centuries and that to deny them today is to deprive the people of a part of sacred heritage which they have learned to regard as their own.

Noted monstrances

• The Cathedral of Toledo, Spain boasts one of the most famous monstrances in European medieval history. Made of pure silver and encrusted with several jewels, it has merited several papal processions, acclamations and usage. Most recently among these is Pope Benedict XVI in his World Youth Day Apostolic Visit in 2011. It has also been immortalized in several 18th-century and 19th-century devotional handbooks.
• The Vatican monstrance (Latin: Ostensorio Vaticana) of is one of the most exquisite monstrances used by recent Popes, as it is an exact miniature of the Baldachin inside St. Peter's Basilica. It is complete in ornamentation including the angels adorning its rooftop. It was most recently used by Pope Benedict XVI.
• Saint Raymond Nonnatus and Saint Clare of Assisi are often portrayed with monstrances. Nonnatus used a Gothic box-style monstrance while Clare is often portrayed with a solar version.
• Founder of the Eternal World Television Network, Mother Angelica of the Annunciation is often portrayed with a golden solar monstrance pendant.
• The Church of St. Stanislaus Kostka, one of Chicago's famed Polish Cathedrals, is home to the largest monstrance in the world, a 9-foot-wide (2.7 m) Iconic Monstrance of Our Lady of the Sign. It is part of the planned Sanctuary of The Divine Mercy, which is being constructed adjacent to the church.^[5] The Monstrance is to be installed in the sanctuary's adoration chapel, to be the focus of 24-hour Eucharistic Adoration. The clergy will conduct no liturgies or vocal prayers in the chapel, either by individuals or groups, as the space is meant for private meditation and contemplation.
• In the treasury at the St. Loreta Church in Prague, there is on display a monstrance featuring 6,000 diamonds.
• On top of the main dome of the Mariavite Temple of Mercy and Charity in Płock, Poland is a large monstrance. The monstrance is adored by four angels, each measuring almost 4 feet in height. The following Polish phrase is inscribed below the monstrance: Adorujmy Chrystusa Króla panującego nad narodami (in English, "Let us adore Christ the King reigning over all nations".)
• Perrot's Ostensorium was presented by 17th century fur trader Nicolas Perrot to the priests at the St. Francis Xavier Mission in 1686, located at what is now modern Green Bay, Wisconsin. It was buried by the priests when the local Indians became hostile and burned the mission buildings. It was dug up by accident in 1802 and is currently in the Neville Public Museum in Green Bay, Wisconsin. It is the oldest surviving physical artifact of French settlement west of the Alleghenies.^[6]

Monstrances for displaying the Sacred host

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  Ca. 1400. Gift of Władysław Jagiełło to the Corpus Christi Church in Poznań, Poland.
  
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  Monstrance given to the Monastery of Alcobaça by Dom João Dornelas in 1412, with some later additions during the baroque period, National Museum of Ancient Art, Portugal.
  
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  Gold and enamel monstrance made in 1506 by Gil Vicente, and offered by king Dom Manuel I of Portugal to the Jerónimos Monastery. Nowadays in the National Museum of Ancient Art, Portugal.
  
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  Mostrance of silver-gilt Ca. 1517 Cathedral of Toledo. Spain.
  
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  Monument with a Monstrance in Rybnik, Poland in front of the Church of St. Laurence.
  
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  a 16th-century design for a Monstrance by Daniel Hopfer.
  
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  The large Patriarchal Monstrance was a gift from king D. João V to the Patriarchal Cathedral of Lisbon, and is made of solid gold, diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds. It was commissioned in 1748 and finished in the second half of the 18th century, Lisbon Cathedral Museum, Portugal.
  
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  Monstrance from the museum in Pelplin, Poland.
  
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  18th century Portuguese silver gilt and gems, National Museum of Ancient Art, Portugal.
  
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  Monstrance from the museum of the Melk Abbey, Austria.
  
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  Fixed monstrance in the Old Catholic church in Oudewater, the Netherlands.
  
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  Polish Rococo monstrances.
  
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  18th century monstrance from the Bemposta palace chapel National Museum of Ancient Art, Portugal.
  
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  Late 18th to early 19th century 1,30 metres monstrance Asilo de Inválidos Militares de Runa, Portugal.
  

Monstrances as reliquaries

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  Reliquary monstrance, True Cross, Toulouse
  
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  Reliquary monstrance. Cathedral Treasury, Cologne, Germany.
  
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  Monstrance with a relic of Saint Rita of Cascia at the Minalin Church in Pampanga, Philippines.
  
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  A relic of Saint Augustinus at the Minalin Church in Pampanga, Philippines.
  
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  Saint Isidore the Laborer relic at the St. Isidore Church in Talavera, Nueva Ecija, Philippines.
  

 

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A Cruet

A cruet /ˈkruː.ɨt/, also called a caster,^[1] is a small flat-bottomed vessel with a narrow neck. Cruets often have an integral lip or spout, and may also have a handle. Unlike a small carafe, a cruet has a stopper or lid. Cruets are normally made from glass, ceramic, or stainless steel.

Uses

Cruets today typically serve a culinary function, holding liquid condiments such as olive oil and balsamic vinegar. They often have a filter built into them to act as a strainer, so that vinegar containing herbs and other solid ingredients will pour clear. Cruets also serve as decanters for lemon juice and other oils. They are also used for the serving of the wine and water in a Catholic mass. In the UK a small cruet can also hold previously ground salt or pepper.[citation needed

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Paten

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.


 

Traditional gold chalice and paten inscribed with IHS.

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.^{[citation needed]}
In more traditional denominations or parishes, altar servers may also use a small paten, usually attached to a short pole, which is placed under the chin of those receiving the Eucharist on the tongue; thus if the host accidentally falls, it would land on the paten rather than the floor.^[1]
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."^[2]

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."^[3]
It is also used among Lutherans.[4]

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A pyx

A pyx or pix (Latin: pyxis, transliteration of Greek: πυξίς, box-wood receptacle, from πυξος, box-tree) is a small round container used in the Catholic, Old Catholic and Anglican Churches to carry the consecrated host (Eucharist), to the sick or those otherwise unable to come to a church in order to receive Holy Communion. 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

Silver gilt pyx, south of France or Spain, 15th century (Musée de Cluny).
The word "pyx" comes from the Greek word πυξίς, "pyxis" meaning box or receptacle. The plural is pyxides. While the word may be applied to any covered carrier, in the modern usage the term is usually applied to small, flat, clamshell-style containers 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 in which the pyx may be carried is known as a burse. 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.
The term pyx is also a standard term used in the Catholic Church to refer to a flat, circular container, sometimes called a lunette, composed of a ring of metal (usually lined with gold) holding two glass or crystal disks, to create a round, flat, glass-enclosed space for the Eucharistic Host. This is used together with a monstrance for exposition and Benediction services. The lunette is often kept in another object, itself sometimes called a pyx, luna, or custodia, which is usually a round box often on a small stand, giving the impression of a faceless, old-fashioned, alarm clock.
All of these objects, whenever they 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.

Eucharistic dove, Walters Art Museum.

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 in his Life of Saint Basil, and in several ancient French documents. The custom probably came to France from the East, for it never seems to have existed in Italy.^[1] Examples of this practice may still be found in use today; for instance, in the Cathedral of the Dormition in Moscow.

Eastern Christian

For more details on this topic, see Reserved sacrament.

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

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Ciborium (container)

 

A ciborium (plural ciboria; Latin from the Ancient Greek κιβώριον (kibōrion)^[1]) is a vessel, normally in metal. It was originally a particular shape of drinking cup in Ancient Greece and Rome, but later used to refer to a large covered cup designed to hold hosts for, and after, the Eucharist, thus the equivalent for the bread of the chalice for the wine. The word is also used for a large canopy over the altar, which was a common feature of Early Medieval church architecture, now relatively rare.

 

 

History

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,^[1] or in a similar shape. These vessels were particularly common in Egypt and the Greek East. The word "'ciborium'" was also used in classical Latin to describe such cups, although the only example to have survived is in one of Horace’s odes (2.7.21–22).^[2]
In medieval Latin, and in English, "Ciborium" more commonly refers to a covered container used in Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, 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, and takes its name from its cover,^{[clarification needed]} 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 usually kept in a tabernacle or aumbry. In some cases, it may be veiled (see photograph below) to indicate the presence of the consecrated hosts. It is typically made, or at least plated, in a precious metal.
Other containers for the host include the paten (a small plate) or a basin (for loaves of bread rather than wafers) used at the time of consecration and distribution at the main 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.

• Silver Baroque Ciborium, Church of St Peter, Ayerbe, 18th century
  
• Ciborium covered by a veil
  
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  A collection of ciboria from the 18th-20th centuries, Our Lady of Manaoag Museum, Philippines
  
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  Ciboria, Our Lady of Manaoag Museum, Philippines
  

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chalice

The cup-shaped vessel or goblet used at Mass to contain the Precious Blood of Christ. For centuries it was made of precious material; if it was not of gold, the interior of the cup was gold-plated. Since the Second Vatican Council, chalices may be of other materials. A chalice is consecrated with holy chrism by a bishop. Regilding the inside does not destroy the consecration. sometimes the word chalice designates its contents. (Etym. Latin calix, cup, goblet, drinking vessel, chalice.)

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