Italian - Pyx with Arabesques in Quatrofoil Frames - Walters 71314 - View A

A pyx or pix (, transliteration of

Greek Greek may refer to: 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 of all kno ...

: ''πυξίς'', boxwood receptacle, from ''πύξος'', box tree) is a small round container used in the

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Old Catholic The terms Old Catholic Church, Old Catholics, Old-Catholic churches, or Old Catholic movement, designate "any of the groups of Western Christians who believe themselves to maintain in complete loyalty the doctrine and traditions of the Great C ...

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

and

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

Churches to carry the

Eucharist The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...

, to the sick or those who are otherwise unable to come to a church in order to receive

Holy Communion The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an ordinance in others. Christians believe that the rite was instituted by J ...

. The term can also be used in

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

and art history to describe small, round lidded boxes designed for any purpose from antiquity or the Middle Ages, such as those used to hold coins for the

Trial of the Pyx The Trial of the Pyx () is a judicial ceremony in the United Kingdom to ensure that newly minted coins from the Royal Mint conform to their required dimensional and fineness specifications. Although coin quality is now tested throughout the year ...

in England.

Usage

The word ''pyx'' comes from the

word πυξίς, ''pyxis'' 'box, receptacle'. (The Greek-like plural, ', has given way to ' in English.) While the word may be applied to any covered carrier, in modern usage the term "pyx" usually denotes a small, flat, clamshell-style container, often about the size of a

pocket watch A pocket watch is a watch that is made to be carried in a pocket, as opposed to a wristwatch, which is strapped to the wrist. They were the most common type of watch from their development in the 16th century until wristwatches became popula ...

and usually made of brass or other metals, traditionally lined with gold. A fabric or leather pouch for carrying a pyx is known as a burse. Typically, this kind of burse can be securely closed and is fixed with cords so that the priest, deacon, or

extraordinary minister of Holy Communion An extraordinary minister of Holy Communion in the Catholic Church is, under the 1983 ''Code of Canon Law'', "an acolyte, or another of Christ's faithful deputed", in certain extraordinary circumstances, to distribute Holy Communion. The term ...

can affix it to his or her person during transport to prevent the consecrated host(s) from being accidentally lost. These objects, and others, such as the

lunette A lunette (French ''lunette'', 'little moon') is a crescent- or half-moon–shaped or semi-circular architectural space or feature, variously filled with sculpture, painted, glazed, filled with recessed masonry, or void. A lunette may also be ...

(and the

monstrance A monstrance, also known as an ostensorium (or an ostensory), is a vessel used in Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, High Church Lutheran and Anglican churches for the display on an altar of some object of piety, such as the consecrated Eucharisti ...

that holds it) that contain a consecrated host, are normally kept within the

church tabernacle A tabernacle or a sacrament house is a fixed, locked box in which the Eucharist in the Catholic Church, Eucharist (consecrated communion hosts) is stored as part of the "reserved sacrament" rite (Christianity), rite. A container for the same p ...

when they are not being carried. The tabernacle may be behind the main altar, at a side altar, or within a special Eucharistic chapel.

Liturgical history

In late antiquity, the custom developed in the East of suspending a vessel in the form of a

dove Columbidae is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with small heads, relatively short necks and slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. ...

(Greek: ''peristerion'', Latin: ''peristerium'') over the altar, which was used as a repository for the Blessed Sacrament. This custom is mentioned by

Gregory of Tours Gregory of Tours (born ; 30 November – 17 November 594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours during the Merovingian period and is known as the "father of French history". He was a prelate in the Merovingian kingdom, encom ...

in his ''Life of

Saint Basil Basil of Caesarea, also called Saint Basil the Great (330 – 1 or 2 January 379) was an early Roman Christian prelate who served as Bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia from 370 until his death in 379. He was an influential theologian who suppor ...

'', and in several ancient French documents. The custom probably came to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

from the East; it never seems to have existed in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Examples of this practice may still be found in use today; for instance, in the

Cathedral of the Dormition The Cathedral of the Dormition (), also known as the Assumption Cathedral or Cathedral of the Assumption, is a Russian Orthodox church dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos. It is located on the north side of Cathedral Square of the Mosco ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

In Eastern Christianity

In the

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

and

Greek Catholic Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to: * The Catholic Church in Greece * The Eastern Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Ea ...

Churches, the ''pyx ('') is the small "church tabernacle" which holds the lamb (host) that is reserved for the

Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts (Greek: λειτουργία τών Προηγιασμένων Δώρων) also referred to as ''The Divine Liturgy of Saint Gregory the Dialogist'' is a Byzantine Rite liturgical service which is performed ...

during

Great Lent Great Lent, or the Great Fast (Greek language, Greek: Μεγάλη Τεσσαρακοστή, ''Megali Tessarakosti'' or Μεγάλη Νηστεία, ''Megali Nisteia'', meaning "Great 40 Days", and "Great Fast", respectively), is the most impor ...

. This pyx may be either kept on 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 Christian ...

or on the Prothesis (Table of Oblation) on the north side of the sanctuary.

Gallery

File:Silver pyx MNMA Cl23528.jpg,

Silver gilt Silver-gilt or gilded/gilt silver, sometimes known in American English by the French term vermeil, is silver (either pure or sterling) which has been gilded. Most large objects made in goldsmithing that appear to be gold are actually silver-gi ...

pyx, south of France or Spain, 15th century (

Musée de Cluny The Musée de Cluny (), officially Musée de Cluny-Musée National du Moyen Âge (), is a museum of medieval art in Paris. It is located in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, bordered by square Samuel-Paty to the south, boulevard Saint-Michel to t ...

) File:Bronze pyx.JPG, Bronze pyx for carrying the Eucharist File:French - Eucharistic Dove - Walters 443 - Profile.jpg, Eucharistic dove (

Walters Art Museum The Walters Art Museum is a public art museum located in the Mount Vernon, Baltimore, Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. Founded and opened in 1934, it holds collections from the mid-19th century that were amassed substantially ...

) File:Rock crystal Pyx.jpg, Rock crystal with copper-gilt mounts pyx from 20th century (

Hunt Museum The Hunt Museum () is a museum located in The Custom House, Limerick, the Custom House in the city of Limerick, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It holds a personal collection donated by the John Hunt (antiquarian), Hunt family, it was originall ...

)

Notes and references

External links

Pyx
article from

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 Encyclopedi ...

*A.S. Duncan-Jones and D. C. Dunlop,
The Aumbry and Hanging Pyx
' (

Warham Guild __NOTOC__ The Warham Guild was an Anglican organization of craftsmen and artisans, founded to "augment the studies of the Alcuin Club and the directives of ''The Parson's Handbook''" with "the making of all the 'Ornaments of the Church and of the Mi ...