Peristerium

A Peristerium called (from the Greek peristera = diminutive of pigeon ), also eucharistic dove, pigeon or Columba Eucharist, is a ciborium for the storage of wafers in the form of a dove.

History

It is a golden or silver container in shape of a dove, which in this form. Medieval churches in the storage of the Blessed Sacrament The consecrated hosts were in the Pyxis, which could be put there by a flap in the back of the pigeon.

The first evidence for a dove as a container for hosts in a transcript of Tertullian Also in the Lives of the Church Father St. Basil and St.. Innocent I and the Liber Pontificalis, Pope Sylvester ( 314-335 ) mention the appropriate container. A bloom time experienced the Peristerien since 11 until the end of the 13th century, in the 14/15 until they. Century were replaced by the sacrament houses as a repository of the Blessed Sacrament.

Dove as a religious symbol

In the Old Testament, the pigeon showed at the end of the Flood. As a victim of the poor animal it is already called the Federal sacrifice of Abraham ( 1Mo 15.9 ), pigeons were kept as sacrificial animals in the forecourt of the temple and could be purchased (Matt. 21,12 there. Marc. 11.15. Joh 2,14.16 ).

In the New Testament and in Christian iconography, the dove symbolizes the Holy Spirit (Matt. 3:16). As a symbol of the resurrection of pigeons were also placed in the tombs of the martyrs and also grave lamps in the form of pigeons were common.

Sarcophagus from the 3rd century AD, with monogram of Christ and dove

Host pigeons from Limoges

Host doves with inlaid enamel were a specialty of the goldsmiths' workshops of Limoges, which had developed in the 12th century into an outstanding center for enamel art. The sacred vessels manufactured there were widespread throughout Europe, including the location of the city on the Camino was conducive. The pigeons of copper were provided with a trough with lid, in which the hosts could be stored, as well as with devices that allowed a suspension of the pigeons. They were manufactured since the turn of the 12th/13th. Century, a strong upswing in the production began during the 13th century. As a rule, had the gilded doves deposits from mine melting along tail, wings and base plates in the typical Limoges white, blue and green, occasionally also fitted with offerings of red and yellow, in single copies are on the transverse bands of the wings gemstones.