Presbyterium

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Presbyterium

Presbyterium is a modern term used in the Catholic Church and Eastern Catholic Churches after the Second Vatican Council

Second Vatican Council

The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, or Vatican II, was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. It opened under Pope John XXIII in 1962 and closed under Pope Paul VI in 1965....
in reference to a college

College

File:Government college for Women Dhoke Kala Khan.JPGCollege is a term most often used today to denote an education institution. More broadly, it can be the name of any group of collegialitys, for example, an electoral college, a College of Arms or the College of Cardinals....
of priest

Priest

A priest or priestess is a person having the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities....
s, in active ministry, of an individual particular church

Particular Church

In Catholic theology and Canon law , a particular Church is an ecclesial community headed by a bishop or someone recognized as the equivalent of a bishop....
such as a diocese

Diocese

In many rites of the Roman Catholic Church and in Anglicanism, a diocese is an administrative territorial unit administered by a bishop. It is also referred to as a bishopric or Episcopal Area or episcopal see, though strictly the term episcopal see refers to the domain of ecclesiastical authority officially held by the bi...
or eparchy

Eparchy

Eparchy is an anglicized Greek language word, authentically latinized as eparchia and loosely translating as 'rule over something', but has the following specific meanings, both in political history and in the hierarchy of the Eastern Churches....
. The body, in union with their bishop

Bishop

A bishop is an ordination or consecration member of the Clergy#Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight....
as a collective, is a symbol of the collaborative and collegial nature of their sacerdotal ministry as inspired by the reforms made during the Second Vatican Council.

The presbyterium is most visible during the ordination of new priests and bishops and the Mass of the Chrism: the Holy Thursday Mass where the blessing of the oil

Oil

An oil is a chemical substance that is in a viscosity liquid state at room temperature or slightly warmer, and is both hydrophobic and lipophilic ....
s used in the sacraments of Baptism

Baptism

In Christianity, baptism is the ritual act, with the use of water, by which one is admitted as a full member of the Christian Church and, in the view of some, as a member of the particular Church in which the baptism is administered....
, Confirmation, Anointing of the Sick

Anointing of the Sick

Anointing of the Sick is distinguished from other forms of religious anointing or "unction" in that it is intended, as its name indicates, for the benefit of a sick person....
, and Holy Orders

Holy Orders

Historically, the word "order" designated an established civil body or corporation with a hierarchy, and :wikt:ordinatio meant legal incorporation into an ordo....
takes place.

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Presbyterium is a modern term used in the Catholic Church and Eastern Catholic Churches after the Second Vatican Council

Second Vatican Council

College

Priest

Particular Church

In Catholic theology and Canon law , a particular Church is an ecclesial community headed by a bishop or someone recognized as the equivalent of a bishop....
such as a diocese

Diocese

Eparchy

Bishop

Oil

An oil is a chemical substance that is in a viscosity liquid state at room temperature or slightly warmer, and is both hydrophobic and lipophilic ....
s used in the sacraments of Baptism

Baptism

Anointing of the Sick

Anointing of the Sick is distinguished from other forms of religious anointing or "unction" in that it is intended, as its name indicates, for the benefit of a sick person....
, and Holy Orders

Holy Orders

Historically, the word "order" designated an established civil body or corporation with a hierarchy, and :wikt:ordinatio meant legal incorporation into an ordo....
takes place. They are also visible during other special liturgical

Liturgy

A liturgy is the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to their particular traditions. The word may refer to an elaborate formal ritual such as the Eastern Orthodox Divine Liturgy and Mass , or a daily activity such as the Muslim salat and Jewish Jewish services....
functions such as the wake

Wake

A wake is the region of turbulence immediately to the rear of a solid body caused by the flow of air or water around the body.In fluid dynamics, a wake is the region of separated flow downstream of a solid body moving relative to the fluid, caused by the flow of liquid around the body....
and burial

Burial

Burial, also called interment and inhumation, is the act of placing a person or object into the ground. This is accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing an object in it, and covering it over....
of their bishop.

In early Christianity

Christianity

Christianity is a Monotheistic religion #Christian view religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus as New Testament view on Jesus' life....
, the presbyterium expressed the shared ministry of the bishops and priests before the establishment of the monarchial-style episcopate of the middle ages

Middle Ages

File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi...
.

Liturgically, within Catholicism, the presbyterium is the area of the church in which the clergy functions. It is more commonly called the sanctuary

Sanctuary

Sanctuary has multiple meanings. A sanctuary is the consecrated area of a church or temple around its church tabernacle or altar. An animal sanctuary is a place where animals live and are protected....
.

Etymology

The word presbyterium is the latinised form of the Greek

Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
p?esß?t????? ( presbuterion), "council of elders, presbytery",, from Greek

Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
p?esß?te??? (presbuteros), the comparative form of p??sß?? (presbus), "elder".

Presbyterate

The presbyterate is another term used to refer to the sacerdotal collegiality of priests with their bishop, commonly used in the Anglican Communion

Anglican Communion

The Anglican Communion is an international association of national Anglican churches. There is no single "Anglican Church" with universal juridical authority as each national or regional church has full autonomy....
. Within churches which hold apostolic succession

Apostolic Succession

Apostolic Succession is the doctrine in some of the more ancient Christian communions that the succession of bishops, in uninterrupted lines, is historically traceable back to the original twelve Apostles Within Catholic Christianity it "is one of four elements which define the true Church of Jesus Christ" and legitimizes the existing sacr...
, it is reflected in the concelebration of the Eucharist

Eucharist

The Eucharist, also called Holy Communion or Lord's Supper and other names, is a Christianity sacrament commemorating, by consecrating bread and wine, the Last Supper, the final meal that Jesus Christ shared with his disciples before his arrest, and eventual crucifixion, when he gave them bread saying, "This is my body", and wine...
, in joining the bishop in the laying on of hands on an ordinand to the priesthood, in collegial processions, at inductions, funerals, and other liturgical activities. In the Catholic Church it is used to refer to the second order of priesthood - one is said to be "ordained to the presbyterate". Paragraph 1536 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church

Catechism of the Catholic Church

The Catechism of the Catholic Church or CCC, is an official exposition of the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. It was first published in Latin and French in 1992 by the authority of Pope John Paul II....
states that there are three degrees of apostolic in the sacrament of apostolic ministry: episcopate, presbyterate and diaconate

Presbyterium

Etymology

Presbyterate

See also

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