Consecrated Information

Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word "consecration" literally means "to associate with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups. Consecrated persons, places, things, even topics for discussion or subject matter (such as special teachings or doctrines), are also "circumscribed", i.e. a "circle is drawn" around them (from Latin circumscribere, from circum "around" + scribere "to write"): a boundary is set which must not be crossed, limiting or regulating rules and laws and warnings are in place, unauthorized approach is forbidden or barred or is deflected or redirected, and careless or casual treatment or use of the person, place, thing, doctrine or subject is a punishable offense (sacrilege) which (normally) discourages any unconsidered disrespect (see taboo). Circumscription includes consecration but has a much broader meaning. Whatever is circumscribed is "off limits", "out of bounds", "restricted", as a military base, hospital, secret government documents, knowledge of F.B.I. and C.I.A. and security agency operations and intelligence, persons under "house arrest", certain criminals and their operations and organizations, scientists participating in special research, juries during trial deliberations, or certain social customs and topics of conversation (which excite awe, or dread, or disgust), and even racial and ethnic groups. To disregard the circumscribed quality of what has been "set apart" is to "cross the line" and to "step over the boundary" of the "circle drawn" around it.^[1] Not all that is circumscribed is sacred, but all that is consecrated is circumscribed. A synonym for consecration is to sanctify. An antonym is desecrate.

Roman Catholic Church

The word "consecration" is used in the Catholic Church as the setting apart for the service of God of both persons and objects.

The ordination of a new bishop is also called a consecration. While the term "episcopal ordination" is now more common^{[citation needed]}, "consecration" was the preferred term in the centuries immediately preceding the Second Vatican Council (11 October 1962—8 December 1965).

The Vatican II document Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy n. 76 states,

"Both the ceremonies and texts of the ordination rites are to be revised. The address given by the bishop at the beginning of each ordination or consecration may be in the mother tongue.

"When a bishop is consecrated, the laying of hands may be done by all the bishops present."

The English text of Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition, 1997, under the heading "Episcopal ordination—fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders", uses "episcopal consecration" as a synonymous term, using "episcopal ordination" and "episcopal consecration" interchangeably. (CCC nn. 1556-1558)

The Code of Canon Law Latin-English Edition, (1983), under "Title VI—Orders" uses the term sacrae ordinationis minister "minister of sacred ordination" and the term consecratione episcopali "episcopal consecration". (CCL cc. 1012, 1014)

The life of those who enter religious orders and similar institutes is also described as Consecrated Life.

A rite of consecration of virgins can be traced back at least to the fourth century.^[2] By the time of the Second Vatican Council, use of this rite was limited to cloistered nuns.^[3] The Council directed that the then existing rite should be revised.^[4] Two similar versions were prepared, one for women living in monastic orders, another for consecrated virgins living in the world. An English translation of the rite for those living in the world is available on the web site of the United States Association of Consecrated Virgins.

Objects such as chalices are also consecrated, normally by a bishop, using chrism.

A more solemn rite exists for the consecration of an altar, either of the altar alone or as the central part of the rite of consecration of a church. Since it would be contradictory to consecrate to the service of God a mortgage-burdened building, the rite of consecration or dedication of a church is carried out only if the building is debt-free. Otherwise, it is only blessed.

A very special act of consecration is that of the bread and wine used in the Eucharist, which according to Catholic belief involves their change into the body and blood of Christ, a changed referred to as transubstantiation.

Eastern churches

In the Eastern Orthodox Churches and the Eastern Catholic Churches, the term "consecration" can refer to either the Sacred Mystery (Sacrament) of Cheirotonea (Ordination through laying on of hands) of a Bishop, or the sanctification and solemn dedication of a church building. It can also (more rarely) be used to describe the change of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ at the Divine Liturgy. The Chrism used at Chrismation and the Antimension placed on the Holy Table are also said to be consecrated.

Various Christian churches

Church buildings, chapels and altars are consecrated to the purpose of religious worship, baptismal fonts and vessels are consecrated for the purpose of containing the Eucharistic elements, the bread and wine/the body and blood of Christ.

A person may be consecrated for a specific role within a religious hierarchy, or a person may consecrate his or her life in an act of devotion. In particular, the ordination of a bishop is often called a consecration. In churches which follow the doctrine of Apostolic Succession (the historical episcopate) the bishops who consecrate a new bishop are known as the consecrators and form an unbroken line of succession back to the Apostles. Also, those who take the vows of religious life are said to be living a consecrated life.

Among some religious groups there is also a service of "deconsecration", to return a formerly consecrated place to secular purpose (for instance, if the building is to be sold or demolished). In the Church of England, an order closing a church may remove the legal effects of consecration.

Latter Day Saints

In the nineteenth-century Latter Day Saint tradition, consecration involved the giving of member's worldly possessions to the church. While it might be considered a type of voluntary religious communism, Latter Day Saint consecration does not involve the abolition of private property. It was practiced off and on during the 19th century, but is now extremely rare among Latter Day Saint denominations. The priesthood of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also perform a consecration of oil, for use of blessing the sick. The term 'consecration', as it applies to the Lord's Supper in other Christian churches, is simply called a 'blessing' by the Latter-day Saint priesthood.

See also

• Cornerstone
• Dedication
• Nazirite
• Vow

Notes

1. ^ "Weave a circle 'round him thrice/ and close your eyes with holy dread/ for he on honeydew hath fed/ and drunk the milk of paradise." From "Kubla Khan" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
2. ^ The Sacraments (Liturgical Press, 1987, ISBN 0-8146-1365-9, 9780814613658), p. 211
3. ^ Apostolic Constitution Sponsa Christi - AAS 43 (1951), 16
4. ^ Sacrosanctum Concilium, 80

Bibliography

• Service Book of the Holy Orthodox-Catholic Apostolic Church, Isabel F. Hapgood (Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, New York) 1975.
• Orthodox Dogmatic Theology: A Concise Exposition, Protopresbyter Michael Pomazansky (Tr. Hieromonk Seraphim Rose, Saint Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, Platina CA) 1984.
• The Law of God, Archpriest Seraphim Slobodskoy (Tr. Holy Trinity Monastery, Jordanville NY) 1996.

External links

• Consecration article in Catholic Encyclopedia
• Consecration of an Orthodox Church 6 pages of photos, Serbian Orthodox Church
• Photos of Consecration of Altar and Antimens in the Russian Orthodox Church
• The Sanctification of Holy Chrism by the Ecumenical Patriarchate
• Virginity article in Catholic Encyclopedia discussing Consecration of a Virgin

Categories: Religious behaviour and experience | Eucharist (Catholic Church) | Eastern Orthodoxy | Eastern Catholicism | Lutheran Eucharistic theology | Eucharist | Christian terms

Related 'Consecrated' Searches: