The antimins (from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

, ''Antimension'': "instead of the table"), is one of the most important furnishings of the

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

in many

Eastern Christian Eastern Christianity comprises Christian traditions and church families that originally developed during classical and late antiquity in Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Caucasus, Northeast Africa, the Fertile Crescent and ...

liturgical traditions. It is a rectangular piece of cloth of either linen or silk, typically decorated with representations of the Descent of Christ from the Cross, the Four Evangelists, and inscriptions related to the Passion. A small relic of a

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

is sewn into it. In the

Western Rite Latin liturgical rites, or Western liturgical rites, are Catholic rites of public worship employed by the Latin Church, the largest particular church ''sui iuris'' of the Catholic Church, that originated in Europe where the Latin language once ...

, the

altar stone An altar stone is a piece of natural stone containing relics in a cavity and intended to serve as the essential part of an altar for the celebration of Mass in the Catholic Church. Consecration by a bishop of the same rite was required. In the ...

, serves a similar function. It is not permitted to celebrate the

Divine Liturgy Divine Liturgy ( grc-gre, Θεία Λειτουργία, Theia Leitourgia) or Holy Liturgy is the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine Rite, developed from the Antiochene Rite of Christian liturgy which is that of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of ...

without an antimins. The antimins is kept folded in the centre of the

Holy Table An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paganism ...

(altar) and is unfolded only during the

at the dismissal of the catechumens the end of the Liturgy, the antimins is folded in thirds, and then in thirds again, so that when it is unfolded the creases form a cross (see photo, right). When folded, the antimins sits in the centre of another, slightly larger cloth called the ''eileton'' (Greek: {{lang, grc, Εἰλητόν; Slavonic: ''Ilitón'')—similar to the

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non- ...

, except it is usually red in colour—which is then folded around it in the same manner (3 x 3), encasing it completely. A flattened natural sponge is also kept inside the antimins, which is used to collect any crumbs which might fall onto the Holy Table. When the antimins and eileton are folded, the

Gospel Book A Gospel Book, Evangelion, or Book of the Gospels (Greek: , ''Evangélion'') is a codex or bound volume containing one or more of the four Gospels of the Christian New Testament – normally all four – centering on the life of Jesus of Nazareth ...

is laid on top of them. The antimins is consecrated and signed by a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

and, together with the

chrism Chrism, also called myrrh, ''myron'', holy anointing oil, and consecrated oil, is a consecrated oil used in the Anglican, Assyrian, Catholic, Nordic Lutheran, Old Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Latter Day Saint churches in th ...

, remains the property of the bishop, and these are the means by which a bishop indicates his permission for the

Holy Mysteries Sacred mysteries are the areas of supernatural phenomena associated with a divinity or a religious belief and praxis. Sacred mysteries may be either: # Religious beliefs, rituals or practices which are kept secret from the uninitiated. # Beliefs ...

to be celebrated in his absence. It is, in effect, a church's licence to hold divine services; were a bishop to withdraw his permission to serve the Mysteries, he would do so by taking the antimins and chrism back. Whenever a bishop visits a church or monastery under his jurisdiction, he enters the

(sanctuary) and inspects the antimins to be sure that it has been properly cared for, and that it is in fact the one that he issued. Only a bishop, priest, or deacon is allowed to touch an antimins, and because it is a consecrated object, they should be vested when they do so—a deacon should be fully vested and a priest should vest in at least the

epitrachil The ''epitrachelion'' ( grc-gre, ἐπιτραχήλιον "around the neck"; Slavic: епитрахиль, ''epitrachil''; often called simply a '' stole'' in casual English-language usage) is the liturgical vestment worn by priests and bisho ...

(and, in the Russian tradition,

epimanikia Epimanikia (singular ''epimanikion'') are liturgical vestments of the Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Churches. They are cuffs (Russian: ''porútchi'') made of thickened fabric, usually brocade, that lace onto the wrists of a bishop, ...

The antimins may also function as a substitute altar, in that a priest may celebrate the Eucharist on it in the absence of a properly consecrated altar. In emergencies, war and persecution, the antimins thus serves a very important pastoral need. Formerly if the priest celebrated at a consecrated altar, the sacred elements were placed only on the eileton, but in current practice the priest always uses the antimins even on a consecrated altar that has relics sealed in it. At the Divine Liturgy, during the

Ektenia An ektenia (from el, ἐκτενής , translit=ektenés; literally, "diligence"), often called by the better known English word litany, consists of a series of petitions occurring in the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic liturgies. The pr ...

s (Litanies) that precede the

Great Entrance In Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic churches, an entrance is a procession during which the clergy enter into the sanctuary through the Holy Doors. The origin of these entrances goes back to the early church, when the liturgical books and s ...

, the eileton is opened fully and the antimins is opened two-thirds of the way, leaving the top portion folded. Then, during the Ektenia of the Catechumens, when the

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

says, "That He (God) may reveal unto them (the catechumens) the Gospel of righteousness," the priest unfolds the last portion of the antimins, revealing the mystery of Christ's death and resurrection. After the Entrance, the

chalice A chalice (from Latin 'mug', borrowed from Ancient Greek () 'cup') or goblet is a footed cup intended to hold a drink. In religious practice, a chalice is often used for drinking during a ceremony or may carry a certain symbolic meaning. R ...

and

diskos A paten or diskos is a small plate, used during the Mass. It is generally used during the liturgy itself, while the reserved sacrament are stored in the tabernacle in a ciborium. Western usage In many Western liturgical denominations, the p ...

are placed on the antimins and the Gifts (bread and wine) are consecrated. The antimins remains unfolded until after all have received Holy Communion and the chalice and diskos are taken back to the Prothesis (Table of Oblation). The deacon (or, if there is no deacon, the priest) must very carefully inspect the antimins to be sure there are no crumbs left on it, and then it is folded up, the eileton is folded, and the Gospel Book placed on top of it.

Oriental Orthodox practice

A wooden tablet, the ''ţablîtho'', is the liturgical equivalent of the antimins in the churches of Syriac tradition. However, it is no longer used by the

Antiochian Orthodox Church The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch ( el, Ελληνορθόδοξο Πατριαρχείο Αντιοχείας), also known as the Antiochian Orthodox Church and legally as the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East ( ar ...

(which follows the liturgical practice of Constantinople, and thus uses the antimins) or the Assyrian Church of the East and Chaldean Catholic Church. In the Ethiopian Tawahedo Church, the ''tâbot'' is functionally similar to the tablitho. However, this word is also used in the Ge'ez language to describe the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark is symbolically represented by the ''manbara tâbôt'' ('throne of the Ark'), a casket that sits on the altar. In the Coptic Orthodox church, a wooden tablet, the maqta‘ or al-lawh al-muqaddas, is the liturgical equivalent of the antimins in contemporary usage. Usually it is decorated with a cross and bears letters in Coptic which signify "Jesus Christ Son of God" in the four squares between the arms of the cross. The Armenian Orthodox tradition also has the antimins, known as ''gorbura''.

External links

Antimensium
article in the

Catholic Encyclopedia The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...

Coptic Antimensium
article in the Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia Eucharistic objects Christian religious objects Altars Eastern Christian liturgical objects

Oriental Orthodox practice

See also

External links