Altar service
The altar service is one or more Ministranten provided, which in the Holy Mass the Priest and the Deacon in the preparation of the altar, the washing of hands and the purification of the sacred vessels after the holy communion assist. The altar servant can also bring the host bowls to the altar while preparing the offerings . In addition, he rings the change bells (altar bells) during the change .
The function of the altar servant goes back to the acolytes of the early church. In the third century this office was first attested in the Western Church, in the Roman liturgy the acolyte helped with the preparation of the altar and with the giving of communion.
Often the altar servants also carry candles ( flambeaux ) as candlesticks for solemn entry and exit and for the Gospel . Sometimes the altar servants are responsible for lighting and extinguishing the altar candles before and after the service.
Web links
- General introduction to the Roman Missal ( Memento from May 22, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) German Liturgical Institute, accessed on May 30, 2017
Individual evidence
- ^ Institutum Liturgicum Salzburg: General introduction to the Roman missal. Paulinus-Verlag, Trier 1970