Church Word Search

• deacon: A deacon or diacon (from Greek διάκονος diakonos, meaning servant, or also waiter) is a term used in Christian churches for an appointed person who performs charitable and administrative duties, actively participates in worship services, reads sacred texts, teaches religion, and similar tasks. They must be ordained for their office. In the Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, Old Catholic, and Hussite churches, the diaconate is the first degree of the sacrament of holy orders.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• paschal candle: The Paschal candle, also known as the Paschal (from the Latin candela paschalis cerea), is a tall candle lit during the Easter Vigil in churches of the Western liturgical tradition, symbolizing the risen Christ.
• presbytery: The chancel or presbytery (from the Latin presbyterium), sometimes also called the choir, is the part of a Christian church or cathedral that is reserved for the clergy.
• worship service: A worship service is a religiously motivated gathering of people for the purpose of communicating with God, meeting with Him, or offering a sacrifice to Him.
• 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.
• 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…“.
• 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.
• altar: The New Testament uses the word altar to express the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross in Acts 14:13 and Hebrews 13:10. Because in Christianity there is no other sacrifice than that of the one priest, Jesus Christ, Christian altars are not perceived in the same way as in other religions. For the altar, Christians did not use the common Latin word ara, but instead introduced a new term, altare (meaning elevated place). In Christianity, the altar is used as the place where the gifts of bread and wine are offered during the celebration of the Eucharist.
• stoup: The stoup is a vessel for holy water, usually in the shape of a bowl. It is used in the Roman Catholic Church and some other churches (but not in the Greek Catholic Church or Orthodoxy) and is typically placed at the entrance to the church so that the faithful can dip their fingers in it before making the sign of the cross. Small stoups are sometimes also found in private homes.
• 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.
• 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.
• blessing: Blessing (also known as benediction) is a religious ceremony through which God's blessing is solemnly invoked upon certain things for their benefit to people.