Pyx

Pyx

:"This article refers to an object used in Christian church services. For the British coinage procedure, see Trial of the Pyx. Pyx is also the abbreviation for the constellation Pyxis."

A pyx or pix (Latin: "pyxis", transliteration of Greek: "pyxis", box-wood receptacle, from "pyxos", box-tree) is a small container used in the Roman Catholic, Old Catholic and Anglican Churches to carry the consecrated Host (i.e., the consecrated Eucharist), to the sick or invalid or those otherwise unable to come to a church in order to receive Holy Communion.

Usage

The word pyx comes from the Greek word πυξίς, "pyxis" meaning box or receptacle. The plural is "pyxides". While the word may be applied to any covered carrier, in the modern usage the term is usually applied to small, flat, clamshell-style containers often about the size of a pocket watch and usually made of brass or other metals, traditionally lined with gold. A fabric or leather pouch in which the pyx may be carried is known as a burse. Typically, this kind of burse can be securely closed and is fixed with cords so that the priest or other Eucharistic Minister can affit it to his or her person during transport to prevent the consecretated host(s) from being accidentally lost.

The term "pyx" is also a standard term used in the Roman Catholic Church to refer to a flat, circular container, sometimes called a lunette, composed of a ring of metal (usually lined with gold) holding two glass or crystal disks, to create a round, flat, glass-enclosed space for the Eucharistic Host. This is used together with a monstrance for exposition and Benediction services. The lunette is often kept in another object, itself sometimes called a pyx, "luna", or "custodia", which is usually a round box often on a small stand, giving the impression of a faceless, old-fashioned, alarm clock.

All of these objects, whenever they contain a consecrated host, are normally kept in a safe or cabinet within the tabernacle. The tabernacle may reside either behind the main altar or within a special Eucharistic chapel.

History

In late antiquity, the custom developed in the East of suspending a vessel in the form of a dove (Greek: "peristerion", Latin: "peristerium") over the altar and used as a repository for the Blessed Sacrament. This custom is mentioned by Gregory of Tours in his "Life of St. Basil", and in several ancient French documents. The custom probably came to France from the East, for it never seems to have existed in Italy. [Citation | last =Catholic History | contribution =Dove. Symbol of the Holy Ghost | year =March 1997 | title =The Seraph | volume =XVII No. 7 | url = http://friarsminor.org/xvii7-2.html | accessdate = 2007-08-01] Examples of this practice may still be found in use today; for instance, in the Cathedral of the Dormition in Moscow.

Eastern Christian

In the Eastern Orthodox and Greek-Catholic Churches, the term "pyx" may be used as an English equivalent to describe the small tabernacle which is used to contain the Lamb (Host) which is reserved for the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts during Great Lent. This pyx may be either kept on the Holy Table (altar) or on the Prothesis (Table of Oblation) on the north side of the sanctuary.

ee also

*Ciborium

Notes and References

External links

* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12588a.htm Pyx] article from Catholic Encyclopedia


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Synonyms:
(especially that in which the host is kept), , ,


Look at other dictionaries:

  • Pyx — • Small vessel in which the Holy Eucharist is carried to the sick. Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Pyx     Pyx     † …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Pyx|is — «PIHK sihs», noun, plural pyx|i|des «PIHK suh deez». 1. a boxlike vase; casket. 2. Botany. pyxidium. ╂[< Latin pyxis, idis < Greek pyxís, ídos a box; see etym. under pyx (Cf. ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

  • pyx|is — «PIHK sihs», noun, plural pyx|i|des «PIHK suh deez». 1. a boxlike vase; casket. 2. Botany. pyxidium. ╂[< Latin pyxis, idis < Greek pyxís, ídos a box; see etym. under pyx (Cf. ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

  • Pyx — Pyx, n. [L. pyxis a box, Gr. pyxi s a box, especially of boxwood, fr. py xos the box tree or boxwood. See {Box} a receptacle.] [Written also {pix}.] 1. (R. C. Ch.) The box, case, vase, or tabernacle, in which the host is reserved. [1913 Webster]… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Pyx — Pyx, v. t. To test as to weight and fineness, as the coins deposited in the pyx. [Eng.] Mushet. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • pyx|id|i|um — «pihk SIHD ee uhm», noun, plural i|a « ee uh». a seed vessel that bursts open transversely into a top and bottom part, the top part acting as a lid. ╂[< New Latin pyxidium < Greek pyxídion (diminutive) < pyxís, ídos box; see etym. under… …   Useful english dictionary

  • pyx|ie — «PIHK see», noun. 1. a very small, trailing evergreen shrub that has numerous small, white, star shaped blossoms, found in pine barrens of the eastern United States. 2. Botany. a pyxidium. ╂[American English, contraction of New Latin Pyxidanthera …   Useful english dictionary

  • Pyx — ist: ein Synonym für Faustkampf, eine Disziplin im Fünfkampf der Olympischen Spiele der Antike Pyx als Abkürzung steht für: Schiffskompass (Sternbild) (lateinisch: Pyxis), ein Sternbild des Südhimmels Diese Seite ist …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • pyx — [ pıks ] noun count a small container used for storing the holy bread used in Christian COMMUNION …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • pyx — c.1400, a box, esp. the vessel in which the host or consecrated bread is preserved, from L. pyxis, from Gk. pyxis box, from pyxos box tree, of uncertain origin …   Etymology dictionary

  • pyx — (also pix) ► NOUN Christian Church ▪ the container in which the consecrated bread of the Eucharist is kept. ORIGIN Greek puxis box …   English terms dictionary

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