Sacristy
A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records.[1][2]
The sacristy is usually located inside the church, but in some cases it is an annex or separate building (as in some monasteries). In most older churches, a sacristy is near a side altar, or more usually behind or on a side of the main altar.
In newer churches the sacristy is often in another location, such as near an entrance to the church.
Description
The sacristy is also where the priest and attendants vest and prepare before the service. They will return there at the end of the service to remove their vestments and put away any of the vessels used during the service. The hangings and altar linens are stored there as well. The parish registers may be kept in the sacristy and are administered by the parish clerk.
Sacristies usually contain a special wash basin, called a piscina, the drain of which is properly called a "sacrarium" in which the drain flows directly into the ground to prevent sacred items such as used baptismal water from being washed into the sewers or septic tanks. The piscina is used to wash linens used during the celebration of the Mass and purificators used during Holy Communion. The cruets, chalice, ciborium, paten, altar linens and sometimes the Holy Oils are kept inside the sacristy. Sacristies are usually off limits to the general public. The word "sacristy" derives from the Latin sacristia, sometimes spelled sacrastia, which is in turn derived from sacrista ("sexton, sacristan"), from sacra ("holy").[3][4]
A person in charge of the sacristy and its contents is called a sacrist or a sacristan. The latter name was formerly given to the sexton of a parish church, where he would have cared for these things, the fabric of the building and the grounds.[5]
In the Moravian Church, in addition to storing vestments and other vessels, the preparation room is where the Lovefeast is made ready for distribution to the congregation.[2]
In Eastern Christianity, the functions of the sacristy are fulfilled by the Diaconicon and the Prothesis, two rooms or areas adjacent to the Holy Table (altar).
Some churches have more than one sacristy, each of which will have a specific function. Often additional sacristies are used for maintaining the church and its items, such as candles and other materials. Work on finding the so-called "lost medieval sacristy of Henry III" at Westminster Abbey during an episode of the archaeological television programme Time Team revealed that the abbey originally had two separate sacristies. As well as a conventional sacristy for storage of ceremonial vessels such as the chalice and paten, the second, described in a 15th-century document as the "galilee of the sacristy" was determined to have been used for the robing and formation of the procession.[6] Work is planned to rebuild the demolished processional sacristy as an entry route for tourists and visitors to Westminster Abbey.
See also
From the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia
Sacristy — (Latin sacrastia, vestry).
A room in the church or attached thereto, where the vestments, church furnishings and the like, sacred vessels, and other treasures are kept, and where the clergy meet and vest for the various ecclesiastical functions. It corresponds to the secretarium or diaconicum of old. At present the almost universal practice is to have the sacristy directly behind the main altar or at either side. The sacristy should contain cases, properly labelled, for the various vestments in all the liturgical colors; a crucifix or other suitable image in a prominent position to which the clergy bow before going to the sanctuary and on returning (Ritus celebrandi missam, II, i); a lavatory, where the officiating clergy may wash their hands (op. cit. I, i); a copy of the Decree of Urban VIII prohibiting certain offices and masses (S. R. C., 460 ad 6; 555 § Et ne); a book containing the obligations of the Church regarding foundations and their fulfillment (Innocent XII, Nuper, § 26, 21 Dec., 1699). It is customary to have a holy water font, and a bell to admonish the congregation of the advent of the clergy, at the door leading to the sanctuary. The sacristy is not blessed or consecrated together with the church, and consequently is not a sacred place in the canonical sense. However, except where penalties are concerned, it enjoys on the whole the same prerogatives as the church. When a sacristy directly behind the sanctuary has two entrances, the clergy enter the sanctuary at the gospel side, and leave by the epistle side (S.R.C., 3029 ad 12). A double sacristy is sometimes provided, one for the clergy, one for the altar boys. Canons too usually have their own sacristy. In cathedrals, where there is no special chapel for this purpose, there should be a separate sacristy (secretarium) with an altar, where the bishop may assist at Terce and prepare for pontifical Mass (Cærem. Episcoporum, I, 137; II, 74; see SACRISTAN).
St. CHARLES BORROMMEO, Instructiones Fabric£ Eccl. 1, 28 in Acta Eccles. Mediol. (Paris, 1645), 206 sq.; Raym. Antonii Instructio Pastoralis, 8, 1, ed. EYST. (1877), 166 sq.
References
- Back to citation "Vestry". English Oxford Living Dictionaries. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on November 26, 2016.
- Back to citation occurrence 2.0 Back to citation occurrence 2.1 Riess, Michael, ed. (2011). Litiz Moravian celebrates with mortgage-burning Lovefeast. The Moravian. p. 28.
- Back to citation "sacristy". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. OCLC 1032680871. Retrieved 2021-09-25.
- Back to citation Harper, Douglas. "sacristy". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 2021-09-25.
- Back to citation Shorter Oxford English Dictionary (3rd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1972.
- Back to citation "Time Team Series 17 Episode 1 - Westminster". Channel 4. 18 April 2010. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
External links
- "Sacristy" article from the Catholic Encyclopedia