A Pontifical High Mass, also called Solemn Pontifical Mass, is a Solemn or High Mass celebrated by a bishop using certain prescribed ceremonies. Although in modern English the word "pontifical" is almost exclusively associated with the pope, any bishop may be properly called a pontiff. Thus, the celebrant of a Pontifical High Mass may be the pope, any bishop or any other prelate who is allowed to wear pontificals.
An altar server is a lay assistant to a member of the clergy during a Christian liturgy. An altar server attends to supporting tasks at the altar such as fetching and carrying, ringing the altar bell, helping bring up the gifts, and bringing up the liturgical books, among other things. If young, the server is commonly called an altar boy or altar girl. In some Christian denominations, altar servers are known as acolytes.
Chrism, also called myrrh, myron, holy anointing oil, and consecrated oil, is a consecrated oil used in the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Assyrian, Nordic Lutheran, Anglican, and Old Catholic churches in the administration of certain sacraments and ecclesiastical functions.
A Papal Mass is the Solemn Pontifical High Mass celebrated by the Pope. It is celebrated on such occasions as a papal coronation, an ex cathedra pronouncement, the canonization of a saint, on Easter or Christmas or other major feast days.
A sacristan is an officer charged with care of the sacristy, the church, and their contents.
A ciborium is a vessel, normally in metal. It was originally a particular shape of drinking cup in Ancient Greece and Rome, but the word later came to refer to a large covered cup designed to hold hosts for, and after, the Eucharist, thus the counterpart of the chalice.
A paten or diskos is a small plate, used during the Mass. It is generally used during the liturgy itself, while the reserved sacrament are stored in the tabernacle in a ciborium.
An altar cloth is used in the Christian liturgy to cover the altar. It serves as a sign of reverence as well as a decoration and a protection of the altar and the sacred vessels. In the orthodox churches it is covered by the antimension, which also contains the relics of saints.
A piscina is a shallow basin placed near the altar of a church, or else in the vestry or sacristy, used for washing the communion vessels. The sacrarium is the drain itself. Lutherans and Anglicans usually refer to the basin, calling it a piscina. For Catholics and Lutherans, a sacrarium is "special sink used for the reverent disposal of sacred substances. This sink has a cover, a basin, and a special pipe and drain that empty directly into the earth, rather than into the sewer system". Precious or sacred items are disposed of, when possible, by returning them to the ground. They are in some cases used to dispose of materials used in the sacraments and water from liturgical ablutions. They are found in Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran churches, and a similar vessel is used in Eastern Orthodox churches.
The diaconicon is, in Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, the name given to a chamber on the south side of the central apse of the church, where the vestments, books, etc., that are used in the Divine Services of the church are kept. Diaconicon and prothesis are collectively known as pastophoria.
Solemn Mass is the full ceremonial form of a Mass, predominantly associated with the Tridentine Mass where it is celebrated by a priest with a deacon and a subdeacon, requiring most of the parts of the Mass to be sung, and the use of incense. It is also called High Mass or Solemn High Mass.
An ambry is a recessed cabinet in the wall of a Christian church for storing sacred vessels and vestments. They are sometimes near the piscina, but more often on the opposite side. The word also seems in medieval times to have been commonly used for any closed cupboard or even a bookcase.
The Aër is the largest and outermost of the veils covering the Chalice and Diskos (paten) in the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite. It is rectangular in shape and corresponds to the veil used to cover the chalice and paten in the Latin liturgical rites, but is larger. It is often made of the same material and color as the vestments of the officiating priest, and often has a fringe going all the way around its edge. Tassels may also be sewn at each of the corners.
The Spoon is a liturgical implement used to distribute Holy Communion to the laity during the Divine Liturgy in some Eastern Christian rites.
The corporal is an altar linen used in Catholicism for the celebration of the Mass. Originally called corporax, from Latin corpus ("body"), it is a small square of white linen cloth; modern corporals are usually somewhat smaller than the width of the altar on which they are used, so that they can be placed flat on top of it when unfolded.
A credence table is a small side table in the sanctuary of a Christian church which is used in the celebration of the Eucharist..
St Nicholas' Church, Sturry, is a joint Anglican and Methodist church standing on a bank beside the River Stour, in the village of Sturry, near Canterbury, in East Kent. The Local Ecumenical Partnership enables the congregation to be of mixed denomination - either Methodist or Anglican.
An altar society or altar guild is a group of laypersons in a parish church who maintain the ceremonial objects used in worship. Traditionally, membership was limited to women and their most common functions are making floral arrangements for the sanctuary, caring for linens, and holding fundraisers to purchase items for the sanctuary, including vestments and altar vessels.
The Stripping of the Altar or the Stripping of the Chancel is a ceremony carried out in many Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, and Anglican churches on Maundy Thursday.
A communion-plate is a metal plate held under the chin of a communicant while receiving Holy Communion in the Catholic Church. Its use was common in the last part of the nineteenth century and during most of the twentieth.
