Church Word Search

• aspersorium: Aspersorium (from the Latin aspergere, to sprinkle) is a portable container for holy water, into which the aspergillum is dipped during the blessing with holy water in the Roman Catholic Church. In a broader sense, it can also refer to a holy water stoup. The person carrying the aspersorium is called an asperferary.
• pall: The pall (sometimes also called pala) is a decorated linen square reinforced with cardboard, used to cover the chalice with the sacramental wine (the Blood of Christ) during Mass to prevent any impurities or insects from falling into it. It developed from the back part of the corporal and is used in the Roman Catholic and Lutheran churches.
• small jugs: During a Catholic Mass, a pair of small liturgical cruets are used on a tray, one of which is for water (it may be marked with the letter A according to the Latin aqua, or it may be unmarked) and the other for wine (with the letter V for vinum). The priest pours wine and water into the chalice from them during the service. Then he would pray Psalm 26:6, which begins with the word lavabo, and rinse his fingers with water from a larger cruet, poured onto his hands by the altar server. A small towel, which was used to cover the cruets, serves for drying his hands. The entire act was called lavabo in Latin, and this term was metaphorically transferred to this towel as well. Since 1968, the ritual has been simplified, and the priest prays Psalm 51:4, asking for forgiveness of his sins before the sacrifice. Liturgical cruets are usually made of glass, but they could also be made of precious metal, such as gilded silver, or of pewter or brass. The larger cruet for hand rinsing is typically made of metal.
• host: The host (from Latin hostia meaning sacrifice, sacrificial animal) refers to the bread prepared for the celebration of the Eucharist in Christian tradition. In most liturgies, the host is referred to as the 'Body of Christ' after consecration, though there is no consensus among different Christian churches regarding the manner of Christ's presence during the Eucharist.
• chalice: The chalice (Latin calix) has two archetypes: the crater—a two-handled ancient vessel of various sizes used for mixing wine with water and for drinking it—and the wine cup on an articulated stem. In Christianity, it is the established term for a liturgical vessel, meaning an object used during worship. According to the Gospels, Jesus Christ gave a chalice filled with wine to His disciples at the Last Supper with the words of the future prayer, „Take and drink from it, all of you…“.
• pyx: The pyx (also known as a repository or custodia) is a liturgical vessel used in the Catholic Church to store the consecrated large host until it is displayed in the monstrance. In the pyx, the host is placed in a lunula, which is a clip made of precious material (often gold and ornamented) in the shape of a horizontally laid crescent and serves to hold the host in the monstrance. The pyx is made of precious material, usually shaped like a circular box standing on a foot, and it typically has a cross on its top. The interior of the box is gilded, and at the bottom, there are rails where the lunula with the consecrated host is inserted. The pyx with the consecrated host is kept in the tabernacle in the church. To emphasize reverence for the Eucharist, only a priest, deacon, or acolyte may handle the container when it is not empty.
• corporal: The corporal is a white linen cloth in the shape of a square used during the celebration of the Mass in the Catholic Church. During the Mass, the paten, chalice, and sometimes the ciborium are placed on the corporal. In the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, the host itself is also placed on it.
• thurifer: The thurifer (older spelling thuriferář, Latin thuriferarius), also known in Czech as kadidelník, is an altar server who carries the censer for incensing during services. In the entrance procession, the thurifer walks to the left of the navicular, who carries the boat, and behind them is the crucifer with the processional cross.
• lavabo: The manutergium, sometimes incorrectly called the lavabo (after the liturgical act during which it is used), is a white towel (cloth) into which the priest wipes his hands during Mass after the lavabo (the washing of hands). Sometimes a small cross is embroidered on it, usually on its edge (to safely distinguish it from the purificator, which has a cross embroidered in the center), or it may have the letter 'L' or be without any cross. It is usually placed on the cruets with wine and water or on the lavabo.
• purificator: The purificator (from Latin purificatio, meaning purification) is a white rectangular cloth used in Catholic worship. It is folded into six parts to form a narrow strip, which is placed between the chalice and the pall. It typically has a small cross embroidered in the center, and the narrower sides may be adorned with embroidery. For most of the service, it rests on the chalice; during the Offertory, it is placed on the corporal.
• celebrant: Celebrant (from Latin celebrare meaning to celebrate) is the term for a priest who serves Mass. After the Second Vatican Council, it became possible in the Roman Catholic Church for several priests to serve (concelebrate) the same Mass together (which was previously reserved for exceptional occasions)—these priests are then referred to as concelebrants, with one of them being the main celebrant of the collective concelebration. In the Christian East, concelebration has long been a common practice.
• eucharist: The Eucharist (Greek for thanksgiving) is a Christian ritual that commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus Christ before His crucifixion. The essence of the ritual is the symbolic consumption of bread and wine, which, according to Christian belief, become the Body and Blood of Christ. The term Eucharist also refers to this bread and wine.
• censer: The censer (Latin turibulum or thuribulum) is a Christian thurible, a portable metal vessel with openings and a lid, usually suspended on three chains with a handle. It is a ceremonial object used since the early Middle Ages, first documented in the second half of the 2nd century in the catacombs during burials. It has appeared in liturgy since about the 6th century. It is used by a priest or his assistant (altar server) during services and other church rituals for the sacred purification—incensation of persons and the consecration of churches, their altars, statues, and other objects. A metal bowl with hot charcoal or self-lighting briquettes is placed in the vessel. Incense—a fragrant resin—is then sprinkled on the charcoal and is stored in the so-called boat.
• paten: The paten or patina (from Ancient Greek πατήνα through Latin patina, medieval Latin patena dish) is a liturgical vessel used in Christian churches during the celebration of the Eucharist. It is usually shaped like a round plate and is typically made of gold or gilded silver. Sometimes the term paten also refers to the offertory dish. In the Roman Catholic Church, two types of patens are used: the chalice paten and the paten for Holy Communion.
• tabernacle: The Eucharistic tabernacle (referred to in different periods and according to its location as the sanctuary or sacristy, pastoforium, or tabernacle derived from the Latin tabernaculum) is the most sacred place in Catholic churches, designated for storing liturgical vessels containing the Eucharist. Access to the sanctuary is restricted to the priest or someone authorized by the priest; no one else (altar servers, sacristans, visitors to the church, etc.) is allowed to place anything inside, remove anything, or otherwise handle it.