The Consecration of a Church.

        The material church is the visible image of the spiritual body called, “the Church of Christ,” the Head of which is Christ, and the members are all who believe in Christ. Therefore, as every human being enters into the Church through the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation, so every new church becomes a House of God, for the dispensing within its walls of the gifts of the grace of the Holy Spirit, only after it has been consecrated by means of certain sacred offices, which bear some similitude to the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation.

Rite at the Laying of the Foundation of a Church.

        This rite is performed at the laying of the foundation, and consists of the placing of the foundation stone. The bishop, or a priest deputed by him, comes with Cross and icons to the spot dug for the foundation. The service begins with a moleben and consecration of water; then, to the singing of appropriate troparia in honor of the person in whose name the church is to be built, the bishop or priest censes around the spot and offers a prayer, wherein he asks that “the Lord may keep the builders of the temple unharmed and the foundations thereof unimpaired, and that He may help the completion thereof unto the glory of God.” After this prayer he takes a square-cut stone, (a cube), in which is graven a Cross, and under the Cross is a hollow place to hold sacred relics, sprinkles the stone with holy water, and having made, with it the sign of the Cross, places it in the foundation with the words: “The Most High hath founded this church; God is in the midst of her, she shall not be shaken; God shall help her right early in the morning.” Upon the stone is laid a metallic plate with an inscription, setting forth in whose honor the church is founded, and giving the names of the reigning Emperor, the local bishop, and the persons at whose expense the church is to be built, and also the name of the Saint whose relics, if any, are deposited in the foundation.

        After this ceremony, the bishop or priest plants a wooden Cross on the spot where the altar is to stand, with a prayer, “that the Lord may bless and sanctify this spot by the force and operation of the precious and life-giving tree of the Cross.” On the Cross there also is an inscription, setting forth in whose name the altar is consecrated, under the reign of what Emperor, and with what bishop’s blessing, also in what year, month and date the foundation was laid.

The Rite of the Consecration of a Church.

        On the eve of the consecration of a newly-built church an All-night Vigil is celebrated before the sanctuary, with the Royal Gates closed.

The consecration itself is performed in different ways, according to who the consecrator is — a bishop, or a priest deputed by a bishop.

Consecration by a Bishop.

        The following preparations for the consecration are made: Before the Royal Gates, upon a table covered with a white linen cloth, are placed: a Gospel, a Cross, the sacred vessels, the spoon, the spear, the veils, the aërs, the cloths with which the Altar and the Table of Oblations are to be dressed, a rope for fastening the altar, and nails. Around this table are placed four candlesticks. In the Sanctuary near the Bema are placed upon a separate table, the holy chrism, rose water, the twig for anointing with chrism, an aspergilla, and some stones. Before the icon of the Saviour in the screen (ikonostas), upon a lectern, are placed the sacred relics, on a paten, covered with the asterisk and aër.

        On the day of consecration, the sacred relics are transferred to the nearest church and there placed upon the altar. If there is no church near enough, they remain where they are, before the icon of the Saviour.

        The rite of consecration begins with a moleben with consecration of water, after which the celebrants put on full vestments, and, over them, a wide and long apron, tied round the neck and waist, and under the arms, and then carry the table with the church belongings into the Sanctuary; this done, the Royal Gates are closed.

        When the Royal Gates are closed and all persons who are not participants in the ceremony have gone out of the sanctuary, the Altar is established, thus: The bishop sprinkles with holy water the props of the Altar, then pours into the hollows prepared for the nails some cero-mastix (a preparation of wax mixed with sundry fragrant and adhesive substances, incense and white sulfur), and sprinkles the top board of the altar, the nails and stones. Thereupon the priests lay the top board upon the props and hammer in the nails with the stones. During all these proceedings Psalms are sung. When the Altar is established, the Royal Gates are opened, and the bishop, kneeling, offers a prayer that the Lord may send down the Holy Spirit and sanctify the temple and altar. He then re-enters the Sanctuary and the Royal Gates are closed once more.

        Then begins the ablution of the altar. To the singing of psalms, the bishop rubs the board with soap in the form of a Cross, and pours upon it tepid water, which has been sanctified by prayer, when the priests take cloths and rub the altar dry. Then he takes red wine mixed with rose water, pours the mixture upon the altar in the shape of a Cross and rubs it in, wherein he is assisted by the priests. With the same wine he sprinkles the Antimins prepared for the new church. The priests take sponges sprinkled with holy water and wipe off the altar. This ceremony of ablution is symbolical of the altar’s high significance. The tepid water symbolizes the grace of the Holy Spirit, which warms the hearts of the faithful; the rose water recalls the precious myrrh brought by the women for Christ’s entombing, while the red wine signifies the Blood of Christ, shed for our salvation.

        After the ablution, the bishop anoints with holy chrism the top board and the props, as also the Antimins prepared for the Altar. Then begins the vesting of the Altar: First in a white cover, which is tied to the Altar, cross-wise, with the rope; over this first cover a second one, of brilliant material, is slipped; (it is called endyton, i.e., “covering,” “garment” — a Greek word); then on the altar is laid the eilyton (“wrap,” also a Greek word), and in that the Antimins is enfolded. All these articles are put in place after having been sprinkled with holy water, to the chanting of a psalm. This completes the consecration of the altar, after which the bishop and priest put away the aprons, and the Royal Gates are opened.

        The bishop now proceeds to the consecration of the church. Preceded by candle-bearers, while a psalm is chanted, he walks around the whole church, censing it as he goes; two priests follow him: one sprinkles the wall with holy water, and the other anoints with chrism the wall above the Bema, above the western door, and the northern and southern wall above the doors and windows. Reentering the Sanctuary, the bishop lights a light on the Bema; from this all the candles and lamps are lit.

        After the consecration the bishop goes in procession, while troparia are chanted, in honor of the martyrs, to the nearest church, to bring thence the holy relics. There, approaching the altar, upon which the relics are reposing, he prays, kneeling, that the Lord, hearing the holy martyrs’ prayers, may grant us a share in His inheritance; then he censes the holy relics, takes the paten containing them upon his head, and, thus carrying them, returns in procession to the newly built church and walks around it on the outside, to the singing of troparia on the upbuilding and establishing of the Church of the Saviour, at the same time sprinkling the external walls with holy water. Then he stops before the western entrance, places the paten with the relics on a lectern, and blesses his assistant celebrants. Thereupon the choir enters the church and the doors are closed after them. The processional circumambulation of the church signifies that the building is consecrated to God forever.

Note.— If the holy relics were in the newly built church itself, the bishop takes them on his head, to the singing of troparia in honor of the martyrs, and having offered the prayer, goes forth and carries them in procession around the church. If this is not possible, the bishop, having taken up the holy relics, places them on a lectern before the western door of the church, or before a curtain hung up temporarily in the place of that door.

Standing before the closed door of the church, the bishop calls out, “Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of Glory shall enter in.” The choir, from within the church, sing in reply, “Who is this King of Glory?” While these words are sung, the bishop censes the relics. Then he calls out again, “Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of Glory shall enter in.” Again, the choir reply from within the church, “Who is this King of Glory?” The bishop here offers a prayer, “that the Lord may stablish the newly built temple and let it endure unto the end of time.” Then he takes up the paten with the holy relics, and, making with it the sign of the Cross before the entrance, calls out, “The Lord of hosts, He is the King of Glory.” These words are repeated by the choir within the church. At this moment, the doors are thrown open, and the bishop enters in procession, bearing the paten with the relics on his head, places it on the altar, anoints a particle of the relics with chrism, places it in a small casket which he fills with cero-mastix, and which a priest, having taken it from him, and closed down the lid, deposits inside the central prop of the altar; the other particle of the holy relics the bishop deposits in the Antimins, after having also anointed it with chrism. When the holy relics have been deposited in their places, a prayer is offered for the builders of the church and dismissal of the consecration is made, after which follow the Hours and the Liturgy.

The Rite of the Consecration of a Church by a Priest.

        The special features of the consecration of a church when performed by a priest are the following: 1) It is not a paten with holy relics which is placed on a lectern before the icon of the Saviour, but an Antimins, consecrated beforehand by a bishop and containing holy relics; 2) at the establishing of the Altar, the prescribed psalms are sung, but no prayer is offered, as that was offered by the bishop at the consecration of the Antimins; 3) at the ablution of the Altar, it is not washed with red wine and rosewater, as this act was performed by the bishop with the Antimins; 4) the Altar is fastened with the rope not crosswise, but in the usual way; 5) the walls are not anointed with chrism; 6) it is the Antimins which is carried in procession around the church; 7) no holy relics are placed inside the prop under the Altar.