Catholic Encyclopedia on Consecrations
Consecration, in general, is an act by which a thing is separated from a common and profane to a sacred use, or by which a person or thing is dedicated to the service and worship of God by prayers, rites, and ceremonies. The custom of consecrating persons to the Divine service and things to serve in the worship of God may be traced to the remotest times. We find rites of consecration mentioned in the early cult of the Egyptians and other pagan nations. Among the Semitic tribes it consisted in the threefold act of separating, sanctifying, or purifying, and devoting or offering to the Deity. In the Hebrew Law we find it applied to the entire people whom Moses, by a solemn act of consecration, designates as the People of God. As described in the Book of Exodus (xxiv), the rite used on this occasion consisted of the erection of an altar and twelve memorial stones (to represent the twelve tribes); of the selection of twelve youths to perform the burnt-offering of the holocaust; Moses read the covenant, and the people made their profession of obedience; Moses sprinkled upon the people the blood reserved from the holocaust. Later on we read of the consecration of the priests -- Aaron and his sons (Exod., xxix) -- who had been previously elected (Exod., xxviii). Here we have the act of consecration consisting of purifying, investing, and anointing (Lev., viii) as a preparation for their offering public sacrifice. The placing of the meat in their hands (Exod., xxix) was considered an essential part of the ceremony of consecration, whence the expression filling the hand has been considered identical with consecrating. As to the oil used in this consecration, we find the particulars in Exodus (xxx, 23, 24; xxxvii, 29). Distinct from the priestly consecration is that of the Levites (Num., iii, 6) who represent the first-born of all the tribes. The rite of their consecration is described in Numbers, viii. Another kind of personal consecration among the Hebrews was that of the Nazarites (Num., vi). It implied the voluntary separation from certain things, dedication to God, and a vow of special sanctity. Similarly, the rites of consecration of objects -- such as temples, altars, firstfruits, spoils of war, etc. -- are minutely described in the Old Testament. Among the Romans whatever was devoted to the worship of their gods (fields, animals, etc.) was said to be consecrated, and the objects which pertained intimately to their worship (temples, altars, etc.) were said to be dedicated. These words were, however, often used indiscriminately, and in both cases it was understood that the object once consecrated or dedicated remained sacred in perpetuum.
The Church distinguishes consecration from blessing, both in regard to persons and to things. Hence the Roman Pontifical treats of the consecration of a bishop and of the blessing of an abbot, of the blessing of a corner-stone and the consecration of a church or altar. In both, the persons or things pass from a common, or profane, order to a new state, and become the subjects or the instruments of Divine protection. At a consecration the ceremonies are more solemn and elaborate than at a blessing. The ordinary minister of a consecration is a bishop, whilst the ordinary minister of a blessing is a priest. At every consecration the holy oils are used; at a blessing customarily on holy water. The new state to which consecration elevates persons or things is permanent, and the rite can never be repeated, which is not the case at a blessing; the graces attached to consecration are more numerous and efficacious than those attached to a blessing; the profanation of a consecrated person or thing carries with it a new species of sin, namely sacrilege, which the profanation of a blessed person or thing does not always do.
Of consecration proper the Roman Pontifical contains one of persons, that is of a bishop, and four of things, that is, of a fixed altar, of an altar-stone, of a church, and of a chalice and paten. The consecration of a church is also called its dedication (q.v.) in accordance with the distinction between consecration and dedication among the ancient Romans pointed out above. To these might be probably added confirmation and Holy orders, for which, however, the Roman Pontifical, because they are distinct sacraments, has retained their proper names. If we except the consecration of a bishop, which is a sacrament -- although there is a question among theologians, whether the sacrament and the character imprinted by it are distinct from the sacrament and character of the priesthood, or only a certain extension of the sacerdotal sacrament and character -- all the other consecrations are sacramentals. These are inanimate things which are not susceptible of Divine grace, but are a medium of its communication, since by their consecration they acquire a certain spiritual power by which they are rendered in perpetuum fit and suitable for Divine worship. (St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa theol., III:83:3, ad 3 and 4.)
In the Eastern Churches the prayers at the consecration of altars and sacred vessels are of the same import as those used in the Latin Church, and they are accompanied by the sign of the cross and the anointing with holy oils (Renaudot, "Liturgiarum Orient. Collectio", I, Ad benedictiones). At the consecration of a bishop, the Orientals hold, with the Latins, that the essence consists in the laying-on of hands, and they entirely omit the anointing with holy oils (Morinus, De sacris Ecclesiæ ordinationibus, Pars III, Appendis).
When we speak of consecration without any special qualification, we ordinarily understand it as the act by which, in the celebration of Holy Mass, the bread and wine are changed into the body and blood of Christ. It is called transubstantiation, for in the Sacrament of the Eucharist the substance of bread and wine do not remain, but the entire substance of bread is changed into the body of Christ, and the entire substance of wine is changed into His blood, the species or outward semblance of bread and wine along remaining. This change is produced in virtue of the words: This is my body and This is my blood, or This is the chalice of my blood, pronounced by the priest assuming the person of Christ and using the same ceremonies that Christ used at the Last Supper. That this is the essential form has been the constant belief and teaching of both the Eastern and Western Churches (Renaudot, "Liturgiarum Orientalium Collection", I, i).
II. CONSECRATION OF A FIXED ALTAR
At the consecration of a church at least one fixed altar must be consecrated. Altars, permanent structures of stone, may be consecrated at other times, but only in churches that have been consecrated or at least solemnly blessed. We have instances in which a simply priest has performed this rite. Walafridus Strabo, in the Life of St. Gall (ch. vi), says that St. Columban, at that time being a priest, having dedicated the church of St. Aurelia at Bregenz on the Lake of Constance, anointed the altar, deposited the relics of St. Aurelia under it, and celebrated Mass on it. But according to the present discipline of the Church, the ordinary minister of its consecration is the diocesan bishop. Without the permission of the ordinary, a bishop of another diocese cannot licitly consecrate an altar, although without such permission the consecration would be valid. One and the same bishop must perform the rite from the beginning to the end. An altar may be consecrated on any day of the year, but a Sunday or feast day is to be preferred (Pontificale Romanum). It is difficult to determine when the rite used at present was introduced. To the essentials of consecration reference is made as early as the sixth century by the Council of Agde (506): "Altars are to be consecrated not only by the chrism, but with the sacerdotal blessing"; and by St. Caesarius of Arles (d. about 542) in a sermon delivered at the consecration of an altar: "We have today consecrated an altar, the stone of which was blessed or anointed" (Migne, P.L., LXVII, Serm. ccxxx).
The ceremonies of the exposition of the relics on the evening before the day of consecration, the keeping of the vigil, the blessing of the Gregorian water, the sprinkling of the altar, and the translation of the relics to the church are the same as those described at the consecration of a church (see IV, below). When the relics have been carried to the church, the consecrator anoints with holy chrism, at the four corners, the sepulchre of the altar (see ALTAR), in which the relics are to be enclosed, thereby sanctifying the cavity in which the venerated remains of the martyrs are to rest, and then reverently places therein the case containing the relics and incenses them. Having anointed with holy chrism the nether side of the small slab that is to cover the sepulchre, he spreads blessed cement over the ledge of the sepulchre on the inside and fits the slab into the cavity, after which he anoints the upper side of the slab and the altar-table near it. He then incenses the altar, first, on every side -- right, left, front and on top -- whilst the chanters sing the antiphon "Stetit angelus"; secondly, in the form of a cross on the top, in the middle, and at the four corners, thirdly, whilst going round the altar three times. After the third incensation, the censer is given to a priest, vested in surplice, who, till the end of the consecration, continues going around the altar, incensing it on all sides, save when the bishop uses the censer. The incense symbolizes the sweet odour of prayer which is to ascend from the altar to heaven, whilst the fullness of the grace of the Holy Ghost, which is to descend on the altar and the faithful, is indicated by the prayers recited after the three unctions which follow. The consecrator then anoints the table of the altar at the middle of the four corners, twice with the oil of catechumens, and the third time with holy chrism. After each unction he goes round the altar once, incensing it continuously, the first and second time passing by the Epistle side, and third time by the Gospel side. Finally, as if to indicate the complete sanctification of the altar, he pours and spreads over its table the oil of catechumens and holy chrism together, rubbing the holy oils over it with his right hand, whilst the chanters sing the appropriate antiphon, "Behold the smell of my son is as the smell of a plentiful field", etc. (Gen., xxvii, 27, 28). When the church is consecrated at the same time, the twelve crosses on the inner walls are now anointed with holy chrism and incensed. The consecrator then blesses the incense and sprinkles it with holy water. Then he forms it into five crosses, each consisting of five grains, on the table of the altar, in the middle and at the four corners. Over each cross of incense he places a cross made of thin wax taper. The ends of each cross are lighted and with them the incense is burned an consumed. This ceremony symbolizes the true sacrifice which is thereafter to be offered on the altar; and it indicates that our prayers must be fervent and animated by true and lively faith if they are to be acceptable to God and efficacious against our spiritual enemies. Finally, the bishop traces with holy chrism a cross on the front of the altar and on the juncture of the table and the base on which it rests at the four corners, as if to join them together, to indicate that this altar is to be in future a firmly fixed and constant source of grace to all who with faith approach it. Then follow the blessings of the altar-cloths, vases, and ornaments of the altar, the celebration of Mass, and the publication of the Indulgences, as at the end of the consecration of a church.
Loss of Consecration
An altar loses its consecration: (1) when the table of the altar is broken into two or more large pieces; (2) when at the corner of the table that portion which the consecrator anointed with holy oil is broken off; (3) when several large stones of the support of the table are removed; (4) when one of the columns which support the table at the corners is removed; (5) if for any reason whatever the table is removed from the support, or only raised from it -- e.g., to renew the cement; (6) by the removal of the relics, or by the fracture or removal, by chance or design, of the small cover, or slab, placed over the cavity containing the relics. (See also ALTAR, HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN.).
IV. CONSECRATION OF A CHURCH
By a decree of the Council of Trent (Sess. XXII), Mass should not be celebrated in any place except a consecrated or blessed church. Hence it is the wish of the Church that at least cathedrals and parish churches be solemnly consecrated, and that smaller churches be blessed (Cong. Sac. Rit., 7 Aug., 1875), but any church and public or semi-public oratory may be consecrated (Cong. Sac. Rit., 5 June, 1899). Both by consecration and by blessing a church is dedicated to Divine worship, which forbids its use for common or profane purposes. Consecration is a rite reserved to a bishop, who by the solemn anointing with holy chrism, and in the prescribed form, dedicates a building to the service of God, thereby raising it in perpetuum to a higher order, removing it from the malign influence of Satan, and rendering it a place in which favours are more graciously granted by God (Pontificale Romanum). The blessing of a church is a less solemn rite, which may be performed by a priest delegated by the diocesan bishop. It consists in the sprinkling with holy water and the recital of prayers, thus making it a sacred place, though not necessarily in perpetuum. Consecration differs from mere blessing in this, that it imprints an indelible mark (St. Thomas, II-II:34:3) on the building by reason of which it may never be transferred to common or profane uses.
The consecration of churches dates probably from Apostolic times and is, in a sense, a continuation of the Jewish rite instituted by Solomon. Some authors attribute its origin to Pope St. Evaristus (d. 105), but it is more probable that he merely promulgated formally as a law what had been the custom before his time, or prescribed that a church cannot be consecrated without the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice. That churches were consecrated before peace had been granted to the Church would appear not only from the life of St. Cecilia (Roman Breviary, 22 November), who prayed for a cessation from hostilities against the Christians in order that her home might be consecrated as a church by St. Urban I (222-230), but also from the life of St. Marcellus (308-309), who appears to have actually consecrated a church in the home of St. Lucina (Roman Breviary, 16 January). Before the time of Constantine the consecration of churches was, on account of the persecutions, necessarily private, but after the conversion of that emperor it became a solemn public rite, as appears from Eusebius of Cæsarea (Hist. Eccl., X): "After these things a spectacle earnestly prayed for and much desired by us all appeared, viz. the solemnization of the festival of the dedication of churches throughout every city, and the consecration of newly-built oratories." The passage clearly indicates that churches were consecrated before, and that accordingly the anniversaries of the dedication might now be publicly celebrated.
It is difficult to determine in what the rite of consecration consisted in early times. Many sermons preached on these occasions are still extant, and we find occasional notices of the vigil kept before the consecration, of the translation of the relics, and of the tracing of the Greek and the Latin alphabet on the pavement of the church. The relics were not always the whole body of a saint or even large portions of it, but sometimes merely articles with which the martyr came in contact. Churches were sometimes consecrated without depositing relics. Some ancient forms of consecration prescribe that the Host consecrated by the bishop be deposited. Often only the Greek alphabet or the Latin was written twice; and sometimes to the Greek and Latin the Hebrew alphabet was added (Martène, De Antiquis Ecclesiæ Ritibus, II). The rite does not appear to have always been one and the same, but the essential element of the ceremony--namely, the actual separation of any building from common to a sacred use, which would be the first religious act in the process of initiating and appropriating it to a Divine use--was always called its consecration. In allusion to this fact the first beginning of anything is often styled its dedication (Bingham, Origines sive Antiquit. Eccles., VIII, ix, sect. 1), which word the Roman Pontifical uses in this place only--"De Ecclesiæ Dedicatione seu Consecratione"--elsewhere the word consecratio only is used. It cannot be definitely decided when the rite of consecration in use at present began to be employed. The Pontifical of Egbert, Archbishop of York (733-767), bears a striking resemblance to it.
The ordinary minister of consecration is the diocesan bishop. He may, however, delegate another bishop to perform this function. A bishop of another diocese cannot licitly consecrate a church without the permission of the diocesan bishop, although without such permission the church would be validly consecrated. A priest cannot perform this rite unless he be delegated in a special manner by the Roman pontiff (Benedict XIV, Const. "Ex tuis precibus", 16 November 1748, xxx2). To consecrate a church licitly it is necessary to consecrate a fixed altar in the same church, which altar ordinarily ought to be in the main on (Cong. Sac. Rit., 19 Sept., 1665). If this altar is already consecrated, one of the side altars may be consecrated (Cong. Sac. Rit., 31 Aug., 1872). If all the altars of a church are already consecrated, it cannot be licitly consecrated except by special Apostolic indult. One and the same bishop must consecrate both the church and the altar (Cong. Sac. Rit., 3 March, 1866). Although the consecration of the altar may for some reason be invalid, yet the church remains consecrated (Cong. Sac. Rit., 17 June, 1843). The essence of the consecration of a church consists in the anointing of the twelve crosses on the inner walls with the form: "Sancificetur et consecretur hoc templum", etc. If before this ceremony the consecrator should become incapacitated for finishing the function, the whole rite must be repeated from the beginning (Cong. Sac. Rit., 12 April, 1614). The church should stand free on all sides so that the bishop may pass around it. If there be obstructions at only some points, the church may be consecrated (Cong. Sac. Rit., 19 September, 1665), but if the obstructions be of such a nature that the exterior walls cannot be reached, the church may not be consecrated without a special Apostolic indult (Cong. Sac. Rit., 22 February, 1888). On the walls inside the church twelve crosses must be painted, or (if they are made of stone or metal) attached to the walls. These crosses are not to be of wood or of any fragile material. They must never be removed (Cong. Sac. Rit., 18 February, 1696), and documents failing, they serve to prove that the church has been consecrated. Under each cross a bracket holding a candle is affixed.
The consecration may take place on any day of the year, but a Sunday or feast day is to be preferred (Pontificale Romanum). The consecrator and those who ask for the consecration (Van der Stappen, III, quæst. 32, iii, says, "all the parishioners, if it be a parish church"; Bernardk, "Le Pontifical", II, p. 7, only the clergy attached to the church; Marc, "Institutiones Morales", I, n. 1221 nota 2!, only the parish priest, if he alone asked) are obliged to observe the day before the consecration as a day of fasting and abstinence. If the consecration takes place on Monday, the fast is observed on the preceding Saturday. On the evening preceding the day of consecration, the consecrating bishop places in a reliquary the relics of the martyrs, which are to be placed in the altar, three grains of incense, and an attestation written on parchment. The Cong. Sac. Rit., 16 February, 1906, declared that for the valid consecration it suffices to have enclosed the relics of one martyr. The reliquary is then placed in an urn or in the tabernacle of an altar in a nearby church or oratory, or in an adjacent room or the sacristy. At least two candles are kept burning before these relics during the night, and Matins and Lauds de communi plurimorum martyrum or of the proper Office of the martyrs whose relics have been placed in the reliquary, are sung or recited. At the beginning of the consecration on the next day the candles under the crosses on the walls are lighted. After this the bishop and the clergy go to the place in which the relics of the martyrs were deposited the evening before , the church meanwhile being left in charge of a deacon. Whilst the bishop is being vested the Seven Penitential Psalms are recited, after which all proceed to the main entrance of the church, where, remaining outside, the bishop blesses the water. The bishop then goes three times round the outside of the church, the first time sprinkling the upper part of the walls, the second time the lower part, and the third time on a level with his face. After each circuit the bishop strikes the door with the base of his crosier and says, "Lift up your gates, ye princes, and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of Glory shall come in." Three times the deacon within the church asks, "Who is this King of Glory?" Twice the bishop answers, "The Lord, strong and mighty; the Lord mighty in battle"; and the third time he says, "The Lord of Armies, He is the King of Glory". This triple sprinkling and circuit of the walls, according to Bl. Yves of Chartres (Sermo de Sacramentis Dedicationis), symbolizes the triple immersion at holy baptism, the consecration of the soul as the spiritual temple of God, to which the material bears a certain analogy.
The bishop and his attendants now enter the church, leaving the clergy and the people outside, and the door is closed. The chanters sing the "Veni, Creator Spiritus" and chant or recite the Litany of the Saints. After this, whilst the canticle "Benedictus" is being chanted, the bishop traces with the point of his crosier, in the ashes spread on the floor, first, the Greek alphabet, beginning at the left side of the church door and proceeding to the Epistle corner of the church near the altar, then the Latin alphabet, beginning at the right side of the church door and proceeding to the Gospel corner of the church near the altar. The "Liber Sacramentorum" of St. Gregory I and the "Pontifical" of Egbert, Archbishop of York, attest the antiquity of this ceremony, which symbolized the instruction given to the newly baptized in the elements of faith and piety. The crossing of the two lines points to the cross, that is Christ crucified, as the principal dogma of the Christian religion. The Greek and Latin languages represent the Jews and Gentiles respectively. The Greek alphabet is written first because the Jews were first called to the Christian Faith. The bishop then blesses the Gregorian water, a mixture of water, salt, ashes, and wine, prescribed by St. Gregory I to be used at the consecration of a church (P.L., LXXVIII, 152 sqq.). After this he goes to the main door of the church and with the point of the crosier traces a cross on the upper part and another on the lower part of the door inside. The ingredients of this water are to recall to our mind the legal purifications and the sacrifices of the Jewish people, the wine taking the place of the blood. The symbolism of this mixture is explained by authors in various manners. The cross traced on the door is to be, as it were, a guard lest the work of redemption in the church be thwarted by the malignant influences from without. The bishop now traces, with the Gregorian water, five crosses on the altar and then sprinkles the support and tables of the altar seven times, passing round it seven times, whilst the chanters sing or recite the Psalm "Miserere". He then sprinkles the walls in the interior of the church three times, first the lower part, then on a level with his face, and lastly, the upper part, after which he sprinkles the floor of the church in the form of a cross, passing from the altar in the middle of the church. Having returned to the middle of the church, he sprinkles with one swing each time the floor before him, behind him, at his left, and at his right.
The anniversary of the consecration is kept solemnly as a double of the first class with an octave each recurring year, until the church falls into ruin or is profaned. In order to avoid the inconveniences likely to arise from its clashing with other solemnities, the bishop is empowered to appoint, in the act of consecration, another day for the anniversary, provided such day be not a double feast of the first or second class in the Universal Church, a privileged Sunday, or a local feast of the first class (Cong. Sac. Rit., 4 Feb., 1896), or a day of Advent or Lent (Cong. Sac. Rit., 12 June, 1660). Should the bishop fail to do so, or defer making such arrangement, the anniversary must be kept on the recurring actual day, or recourse must be had to the Apostolic See (Gardellini, Adnot. super Decr. dat. 6 Sept., 1834).
Besides the anniversary of the consecration of individual or parish churches, the anniversary of the consecration of the cathedral of a diocese is celebrated as a double of the first class with an octave by the secular clergy living within the limits of the cathedral city; the secular clergy living outside the cathedral city celebrate it as a double of the first class without an octave, the regular clergy living within the limits of the cathedral city celebrate it as a double of the second class without an octave; the regular clergy outside the cathedral city are not obliged to celebrate it in any manner (Cong. Sac. Rit., 9 July, 1895). In some dioceses the simultaneous celebration on a fixed day of the consecration of all the churches of a diocese, irrespective of the fact that some of the churches are not consecrated, is granted by special indult. In this case individual consecrated churches are not allowed to celebrate the anniversary of the consecration of their respective churches. This day of common celebration is a double of the first class for all the clergy in the diocese, with this distinction, that it is a primary feast for those attached to consecrated churches and a secondary feast for the others (Cong. Sac. Rit., 24 March, 1900).
Loss of Consecration
From the axiom in canon law "Consecratio adhæret parietibus Eccelesiæ", it follows that a church loses its consecration (1) when the walls of the church are totally or in greater part simultaneously demolished; (2) when the inner walls are totally or in greater part simultaneously destroyed by fire; (3) when an addition is made to the walls of the church in length, breadth, or height, greater than the original walls.
A.J. SCHULTE Transcribed by Marcia L. Bellafiore The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume IV Copyright © 1908 by Robert Appleton Company Online Edition Copyright © 1999 by Kevin Knight Nihil Obstat. Remy Lafort, Censor Imprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York