Dedication

Feast of the dedication or consecration (also: consecration ) is the act of celebratory consecration of a church, by the church of the parish is passed for liturgical use; at the consecration of a cathedral in the sense of an Episcopal consecration of the cathedral church will use that term. A consecration takes place when a newly built church is first put into service as a church or for example after a renovation.

Roman Catholic Church

In the tradition of the Roman Catholic Church, the feast of the dedication will take place during a solemn Holy Mass which is celebrated by a bishop. The consecration of a church is celebrated every year as a big celebration. The Missal contains devotes a special measurement form. Moreover, the dedication of the cathedral church of a diocese can be celebrated in each of their parishes as hard. A global celebration for the Roman Catholic Church is the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica on November 9, since the Lateran Basilica the title " mother and head of all churches of the earth " leads.

The church interior is mostly dedicated to one or several cartridges whose Remembrance Day is also celebrated every year in this church as a wedding feast. More Patrozinien for churches can be: the Holy Trinity; Jesus Christ with reference to a liturgically celebrated his mysteries and his title; the Holy Spirit; the Blessed Virgin Mary with one of their liturgical title; the holy angels.

Rite

The consecration of the church preceded the laying of the cornerstone, the rite has been formed in the 10th and 13th centuries. The actual consecration begins with the lustration, a ceremonial purification of the church from the outside. On the feeder ritual sprinkling of the altar and the interior with Gregoriuswasser done. Then, the transmission and the burial of relics close in and under the altar, and the anointing of the same and the anointing of certain places in the church with chrism on. This is followed by incense offering on the altar, the Weihepräfation ( the liturgical introduction of the Eucharistic Prayer ), the re- anointing, subsequent purification and clothing of the altar. Finally done the first Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, which is offered by the consecrator or from another priest.

Since, according to canon law, a church can only be consecrated, if not more mortgage bearing down on her, it may be that the timing of the actual completion and thus the beginning of use and the date of the consecration of the church are far apart.

History

In the early Christian period the feast of the dedication was celebrated with a ceremony held the first Mass that was celebrated by the local bishop or a representative appointed by this. The information to be here consecration of the church building is considered according to Catholic doctrine as sacramental. With the increasingly to ausprägenden martyr cult harvesting of relics and their burial in or under the altar became common from the 4th century to a consecration. Since the end of the 8th century, the rite is in the Frankish Empire consciously theological basis of Old Testament models developed ( lustration, water ordinations, anointing ). The origin of the various rites in detail is often difficult to determine. This complex rite has been greatly simplified with only the liturgical reform in 1977. The first celebration of the Eucharist in a church is, therefore, again as the ultimate and only necessary act of consecration. Prayers of consecration over the church and altar, anointing and fumigation of the altar and the walls or the festive lighting of all the lights in the church can illustrate the importance of the church building.

Evangelical Church

The Reformers and in its wake the Protestant Church rejected the consecration of the church in the sense of transfer of supernatural forces on a holy place, ie in the sense of a consecratio, from. They point at the dedication of the building only as a space for church use in the sense of dedicatio from. In particular, the Reformation rejected the cult of saints as well as to subject churches the patronage of a saint. In larger cities, but were often older names of churches exist. ( " Confessing Church ", " Church of Peace " " Reformation Church " ) are new churches sometimes after the evangelists, but more often by mysteries of faith ( " Church of the Resurrection ," " Church of the Redeemer ", " Trinity Church ", "Grace Church," " Church of Christ " ) or events of the Reformation named. The Protestant church consecration takes place at a formal worship. When present, the community bids farewell to the old place of worship, then moves to the new house of worship, where passed before the church door the keys. After that altar with crucifix and altar devices, baptismal font, pulpit, and the bells are consecrated.

The fair as a folk festival

For Dedication or patronage of a church, many people came together in the middle ages. After the liturgical celebration was market and folk festival. Even today the annual fun fair takes place at the consecration or the patronal feast in many places.

Irrespective of the day of remembrance of a particular church and a general church festival is celebrated in some places ( " Allerweltskirchweih " ), is mostly as fair takes place in the fall and also fair, Kärwa, Kirwa or notch is called. Especially in southern Bavaria held on the third Sunday in October, the Allerweltskirchweih instead. This was introduced in 1866 in order to avoid the many and sometimes quite extensive fair celebrating the towns and villages.