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26-399: Construction began in the 11th century of the original church on the site, which was consecrated in 1132. It was demolished in the mid-19th century to make way for the current structure, which incorporates from its predecessor the mosaic floor of the presbytery and a chapel dedicated to Saint Syrus . The present Neo-Classical cathedral was designed by the architect Alessandro Antonelli and

52-408: A choir school to occupy the choir. In many orders "choir monk" was a term used to distinguish the educated monks who had taken full vows, or were training to do so, from another class, called "lay brothers" or other terms, who had taken lesser vows and mostly did manual tasks, including farming the monastery's land. These usually sat in the nave, with any lay congregation. Following the exposition of

78-531: A large group of laity into the chancel. Different approaches to worship in the 20th century again tended to push altars in larger churches forward, to be closer to the congregation, and the chancel again risks being a less used area of the church. Credence table A credence table is a small side table in the sanctuary of a Christian church which is used in the celebration of the Eucharist ( Latin credens, -entis , believer ). The credence table

104-556: Is generally the only barrier; despite being essentially a Counter-Reformation invention, this has proved useful and accepted in the Protestant churches that dispense communion. However the screen enjoyed a small revival in the 19th century, after the passionate urgings of Augustus Pugin , who wrote A Treatise on Chancel Screens and Rood Lofts , and others. After the Reformation Protestant churches generally moved

130-517: Is usually placed near the wall on the epistle (south) side of the sanctuary, and may be covered with a fine linen cloth. It is sometimes tended by an acolyte or altar server , and contains on it the implements that are used in the Eucharistic celebration, which may include the bread and wine prior to their consecration , a bowl, perforated spoon , ewer and towel for the lavabo and the ablutions after Holy Communion , etc. The wafers for

156-581: The Roman Rite Mass , the chalice and paten , covered with their cloths and veil (see chalice cloths for details) are to be placed on the credence table from the beginning of the service until the Offertory . At a Mass at which only one minister and no congregation assists, these vessels may instead be placed on the right (south) side of the altar. In the Low Mass form of Tridentine Mass ,

182-474: The maestri di cappella here. 45°26′45″N 8°37′06″E  /  45.44583°N 8.61833°E  / 45.44583; 8.61833 This article on a Catholic cathedral in Italy is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Presbytery (architecture) In church architecture , the chancel is the space around the altar , including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called

208-428: The presbytery ), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse . The chancel is generally the area used by the clergy and choir during worship, while the congregation is in the nave . Direct access may be provided by a priest's door , usually on the south side of the church. This is one definition, sometimes called the "strict" one; in practice in churches where

234-521: The West the ciborium , an open-walled but usually roofed structure sheltering the altar, became common, and was originally fitted with curtains that were drawn and pulled back at different points in the Mass, in a way that some Oriental Orthodox churches still practice today. A large (or "deep") chancel made most sense in monasteries and cathedrals where there was a large number of singing clergy and boys from

260-474: The altar (now often called the communion table ) forward, typically to the front of the chancel, and often used lay choirs who were placed in a gallery at the west end. The rear of deep chancels became little used in churches surviving from the Middle Ages, and new churches very often omitted one. With the emphasis on sermons, and their audibility, some churches simply converted their chancels to seat part of

286-414: The broader definition of chancel. In a cathedral or other large church, there may be a distinct choir area at the start of the chancel (looking from the nave), before reaching the sanctuary, and an ambulatory may run beside and behind it. All these may be included in the chancel, at least in architectural terms (see above). In many churches, the altar has now been moved to the front of the chancel, in what

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312-566: The chancel was the responsibility of the rector , whereas the construction and upkeep of the nave was the responsibility of the parish . Barriers demarcating the chancel became increasingly elaborate, but were largely swept away after both the Protestant Reformation and then the Counter-Reformation prioritized the congregation having a good view of what was happening in the chancel. Now the low communion rail

338-413: The communion of the faithful may be stored in a ciborium , or host box (sometimes erroneously referred to as a pyx ). The wine and water for the chalice will be in cruets . The chalice , and paten , covered with their cloths and veil (see chalice cloths for details) may be placed on the credence from the beginning of the service until the Offertory , at which time they are moved to the altar. In

364-517: The congregation may gather on three sides or in a semicircle around the chancel. In some churches, the pulpit and lectern may be in the chancel, but in others these, especially the pulpit, are in the nave . The presbytery is often adorned with chancel flowers . The word "chancel" derives from the French usage of chancel from the Late Latin word cancellus ("lattice"). This refers to

390-679: The congregation. In 19th-century England one of the battles of the Cambridge Camden Society , the architectural wing of the Anglo-Catholics in the Church of England , was to restore the chancel as a necessary part of a church. By pushing the altar back to its medieval position and having the choir used by a lay choir, they were largely successful in this, although the harder end of the High Church objected to allowing

416-488: The crossing and the roof. This is an arch which separates the chancel from the nave and transept of a church. If the chancel, strictly defined as choir and sanctuary, does not fill the full width of a medieval church, there will usually be some form of low wall or screen at its sides, demarcating it from the ambulatory or parallel side chapels. As well as the altar, the sanctuary may house a credence table and seats for officiating and assisting ministers . In some churches,

442-421: The doctrine of transubstantiation at the fourth Lateran Council of 1215, clergy were required to ensure that the blessed sacrament was to be kept protected from irreverent access or abuse; and accordingly the area of the church used by the lay congregation was to be screened off from that used by the clergy. This distinction was enforced by the development of canon law , by which the construction and upkeep of

468-413: The eastern end contains other elements such as an ambulatory and side chapels, these are also often counted as part of the chancel, especially when discussing architecture. In smaller churches, where the altar is backed by the outside east wall and there is no distinct choir, the chancel and sanctuary may be the same area. In churches with a retroquire area behind the altar, this may only be included in

494-405: The lavabo bowl and the first server (if there are two) will pour water over the priest's hands; the second server then hands the priest the lavabo towel for him to dry his fingers. During the washing, the priest says some words from Psalm 25 . When a bishop is celebrating Mass, a larger and more ornate basin and ewer may be used to wash his hands. After Communion, when the priest or deacon consumes

520-420: The nave by altar rails , or a rood screen , a sanctuary bar, or an open space, and its width and roof height is often different from that of the nave; usually the chancel will be narrower and lower. In churches with a traditional Latin cross plan, and a transept and central crossing , the chancel usually begins at the eastern side of the central crossing, often under an extra-large chancel arch supporting

546-405: The priest placed them in the middle of the altar immediately before beginning Mass. During the Offertory , the acolyte , deacon or priest places the sacred vessels on the altar . The wine and water are taken in their cruets to the altar to be poured into the chalice. After the altar has been incensed (if incense is used), two servers wash the priest's hands. The priest holds his hands over

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572-514: The remaining elements in the chalice(s), they are rinsed out and wiped, then replaced on the credence table and re-covered by the veil. In very old churches, a niche in the wall served the purposes of the credence table. In the Eucharist of the Anglican Communion the ritual regarding the use of the credence table varies from parish to parish and diocese to diocese. In some parishes, (typically those identifying as Anglo-Catholic )

598-533: The ritual is quite elaborate, with an army of servers, a sub-deacon and deacon all taking part. In other parishes the chalice and paten may already be on the altar from the beginning of the service. Normally the server will bring the wine, water and wafers to the priest at the offertory, and then wash his or her hands. The term credence table is not normally found in use within the Eastern Catholic Churches and Eastern Orthodox Churches . All of

624-538: The typical form of rood screens. The chancel was formerly known as the presbytery , because it was reserved for the clergy . In Early Christian architecture the templon was a barrier dividing off the sanctuary from the rest of the church; in Eastern Christianity this developed into different arrangements from those of the Western church, with the sanctuary often not visible to the congregation. In

650-410: Was built as the choir area, or to the centre of the transept, somewhat confusing the distinction between chancel, choir and sanctuary. In churches with less traditional plans, the term may not be useful in either architectural or ecclesiastical terms. The chancel may be a step or two higher than the level of the nave, and the sanctuary is often raised still further. The chancel is very often separated from

676-473: Was built between 1863 and 1869. It has recently undergone a 12-year-long restoration project which was completed in November 2009. The baptistry , a separate structure although functionally part of the cathedral, is a Palaeo-Christian building dating from the 4th-5th centuries. The composers Pietro Generali , in the years leading up to his death in 1832, and Antonio Cagnoni , from 1879 to 1888, served as

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