{"id":1369,"date":"2019-06-06T15:30:52","date_gmt":"2019-06-06T13:30:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.holyart.it\/com\/?p=1369"},"modified":"2021-05-12T16:32:28","modified_gmt":"2021-05-12T14:32:28","slug":"the-priest-chalice-short-guide-to-conscious-choice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.holyart.it\/com\/religious-items\/the-priest-chalice-short-guide-to-conscious-choice\/","title":{"rendered":"The Priest Chalice: a short guide to a conscious choice"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Priest Chalice, the vase that contains Christ’s Blood during a Mass. Symbol of communion between God and men, of the salvation incarnated in Jesus.<\/p>\n

The chalice is the sacred vase containing the wine that turns into Christ’s Blood during Eucharist. It symbolizes the chalice Jesus used during the Last Supper, therefore a normal glass. In fact, the Latin word calix means glass, cup, a common object in every house. Private houses were the first places of cult for Christians; it is therefore obvious that they used a normal glass to consecrate Liturgy wine.<\/em><\/h4>\n

The Chalice is then a symbol of the communion between God and men, of the ancient alliance of the Old Testament, which renovates and gains a totally new meaning through Jesus’ sacrifice. His blood, offered to atone for all sins, becomes symbol of Jesus son’s obedience on one side, and the mean of salvation for all men on the other side. Through consecrated Bread and Wine during each Mass, that sacrifice is renewed, as is the communion that saw apostles eat and drink during the Last Supper, becoming integral part of that immense Mystery.<\/p>\n

It is therefore obvious that the chalice for the Communion<\/a><\/strong> owes its importance mainly to what it will contain, that is, the wine turning into blood. But it also carries its own intrinsic symbolic value, since it recalls the cup Jesus used during the Last Supper, that Holy Grail that is the main character of many wonderful legends and stories passed on throughout centuries.<\/p>\n

\"Liturgical
Liturgical accessories used by Ministers during liturgical celebrations<\/center><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The same can be said for all other sacred furniture<\/a><\/strong> Priests use during the Liturgy. Next to the communion chalice, we can find the pyx<\/strong><\/a>, the chalice for the hosts (even if it can also be a bowl), which will contain the consecrated particles; the ampullas<\/strong><\/a>, usually in glass, which contain water and wine before they are poured: the paten<\/strong><\/a>, that is, the plate where the priest places the biggest host during the Consecration. There are also textiles, equally important for the ceremony: the corporal<\/strong><\/a>, which is the starched square cloth placed on the altar to receive Christ’s Body; the pall<\/strong><\/a>, a small starched cloth that covers the priest chalice; the purificator<\/strong>, a napkin used to cleanse the chalice and the paten after the communion; the manuterge<\/strong>, used by the priest as towel.<\/p>\n

The Liber Pontificalis<\/em>, a list of biographical notes written in chronological order about the Popes who seated on the Papal throne until the end of the IX century, often names the priest chalices, dividing them into calices<\/em> and scyphi<\/em>, depending on the use they were destined to: the consecration of wine, the distribution of Eucharist, or just as votive decors.<\/p>\n

According to the Liber Pontificalis<\/em>, chalices could be catalogued according to different features, and be:<\/p>\n