Church Word Search

• 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.
• 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.
• navicular: The navicular or less commonly naviculary (Latin navicularius) is an altar server who carries the boat with incense during services. In the entrance procession, the navicular walks to the right of the thurifer, who carries the censer, and behind them is the crucifer with the processional cross.
• 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.
• ciborium: The term ciborium comes from the Greek word kiborion. It is a liturgical vessel used in the Catholic Church and other churches that celebrate the Eucharist to store consecrated hosts – that is, the Eucharist. In early Christian times, containers made of wood, ivory, clay, textile, or base metal with enamel decoration, similar to pyxides (known in Czech as 'puška'), were used. Since the late Middle Ages (15th century), the shape of a ciborium has resembled that of a chalice, but the cup (cuppa in Latin) has a larger volume and is equipped with a lid. A knob with a cross is very often found on the top of the lid. In the Roman Catholic and Greek Catholic churches, the material of the cup is required to be a precious metal, most often silver with gilding on the inner walls.
• 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.
• sedes: Sedes is a chair permanently installed in the presbytery, from which the main celebrant leads the service. It began to be used after the liturgical reform following the Second Vatican Council, and unlike sedilia, it is placed facing the congregation. From the sedes, the priest conducts the opening and closing rites, leads the Liturgy of the Word and intercessions, and may also deliver the homily from there. Deacons and other assistants have their places near the sedes.
• confirmation: Confirmation (from German firmen, Latin firmare – to strengthen) is one of the seven sacraments of the Catholic, Orthodox, and Czechoslovak Hussite Churches. Along with baptism and the Eucharist, it is one of the sacraments of initiation. According to the doctrine of these churches, confirmation is a sacrament instituted by Jesus Christ, through which the Christian receives from God the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit. Together with baptism and holy orders, confirmation, according to Catholic teaching, imprints an indelible mark (character) on the soul, and therefore these sacraments can only be received once in a lifetime.
• Aspergillum: The aspergillum is a liturgical tool used for sprinkling holy water. It is usually made of metal, with a handle and a hollow perforated head filled with a sponge, which is dipped into holy water in the aspersorium. By waving the aspergillum, holy water is then sprinkled onto the area or object being blessed. In some regions, the aspergillum takes the form of a bundle of twigs tied together.
• monstrance: Monstrance (from Latin monstrare, meaning to show, or more loosely, to demonstrate), also known as custodia, is an ornate glass container on a stand, made of precious metals (most commonly gilded silver). It is part of the sacred utensils and vessels venerated on the altars of Catholic churches, referred to in Latin as Vasa sacra. In the earliest times (around the 12th century), it was used to display holy relics (in Latin ostensio), so it was originally an ostensorium, an open (glazed or fitted with crystal or beryl) reliquary, also known as a monstrantia pro reliquiis.
• 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…“.
• abacus: An abacus, or Abak, is part of the liturgical equipment of a church. It is a table used for preparing items for Holy Mass, usually placed in the sanctuary near the altar. It is most often located against the wall on the epistle side of the church. It may be covered with a linen cloth and is usually attended to by acolytes or altar servers. On it may be placed the bread and wine before consecration, a bowl, patens, cruets, and a towel for the lavabo, etc. During the service, hosts for the congregation may be kept here in a ciborium or pyx.
• baptismal font: The baptismal font is a basin or vessel with holy water used in Christian churches for the sacrament of baptism. It contains holy water with which a person is baptized and through baptism becomes a Christian.
• 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.
• boat: The boat (Latin navicula) is a liturgical vessel used to store incense, which the priest adds to the censer. Traditionally, boats had the shape of a ship's hull, but now their shape is often circular. During services, the boat with a spoon is carried by an altar server known as the navicular.