Dedication

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A term which, though sometimes used ofpersons who areconsecrated toGod's service, is more properly applied to the "setting aside" of places for a special and sacred purpose (cf. Hastings, Dict. of the Bible). TheChristian, indeed, believes thatGod is everywhere and that the Divine Immensity fills all space; but thisfaith does not exclude theidea of reserving a special spot in which the creature may hold communion with his Creator and worship Him. That the setting aside of this hallowed place was ever done with a certain show andceremony is evident from the examples of Jacob (Genesis 28:18), of Moses (Leviticus 8:10), and above all, of Solomon (1 Kings 8). This precedent of theOld Law was too obvious to be overlooked in the New, and we may be sure that the modern custom wasconsecrated by Apostolic usage. In a fragment of amartyrology ascribed toSt. Jerome (cf. D'Achéry, Spicilegium IV) this passage occurs: "Romæ dedicatio primæ Ecclesiæ a beato Petro constructæ et consecratæ". It is not strange, however, that owing to the persecutions of the first three centuries, references to the dedication of churches are extremely rare. The first authentic accounts of this kind are furnished byEusebius (Church History X.3-4; De Vitâ Const., IV, xliii, in P.G., XX), andSozomen (Church History II.26) in regard to thecathedral ofTyre (314) and Constantine's church atJerusalem. The well-known historical document entitled "Peregrinatio Silviæ" (Etheria) has a full description of the celebration of the dedicatory festival of the church ofJerusalem as it was witnessed by our pilgrim-authoress in the fourth century (cf. Cabrol, Livre de la prière antique, p. 311). Here it will suffice to emphasize, in connexion with the dedication of churches, (1) the ritual employed, (2) the minister, (3) necessity and effects, and (4) festival and its days.

(1) In the beginning the dedicationceremony was very simple. A letter ofPope Vigilius to theBishop of Bracara (538) states: "Consecrationem cujuslibet ecclesiæ, in quâ non ponuntur sanctuaria (reliquiæ) celebritatem tantum scimus esse missarum" (Weknow that theconsecration of any church in which shrines (relics) are not placed consists merely in the celebrations of Masses). That the primitive ceremonial consisted mainly in the celebration of Mass, where there were norelics, is also shown from the old "Ordines Romani" (cf. Mabillon, "Museum Italicum", II in P.L. LXXVIII, 857). Whererelics were used theceremony of translating and depositing them under the altar formed a notable feature of the dedication rite (cf. "Ordo of St. Amand" in Duchesne, "Christian Worship", London, 1903, Appendix; "Ordo ofVerona" inBianchini, ed., "Lib. Pont.", III). The first complete formulary is found in the Gelasian Sacramentary (in P.L., LXXIV), which embodies the Romanliturgical usages of the seventh century. Here the rite consists ofprayers, sprinklings withholy water, andblessings. So quickly, however, was this ritual elaborated that in the ninth century it attained the completeness which it enjoys at the present time (cf. the eighth- century "Liber Sacramentorum" in P.L., LXXVIII; "Ordines Romani", ed. Martène, "De Ant. Eccl. Rit.", III; Daniel, "Cod. Lit.", I). The modern dedicatory ceremonial assumes two forms according as a church is simply blessed or solemnlyconsecrated. In the former case the function consists ofprayers, sprinklings ofholy water, and Mass (cf.Roman Ritual; Schulte, "Benedicenda", p. 155, etc.). The solemn rite ofconsecration is described in the articleC.

(2) The solemnceremony of dedication, orconsecration is found in the Roman Pontifical and is performedde jure by abishop (see C). The simpler rite, which is given in theRoman Ritual, is generally reserved tobishops, but may be also undertaken by apriest with episcopal delegation.

(3) All churches, publicoratories and semi-public, if destined for Divine worshipin perpetuum, must be at least blessed before the Sacred Mysteries can be regularly celebrated in them (Cong. of Rites, Sept., 1871). Purely private or domesticoratories may not be thus dedicated, but simply blessed with theBenedictio loci (cf.Roman Ritual orMissal) on each occasion Mass is said in them. As a rule the principal churches in every district should beconsecrated in the solemn manner, but as certain conditions are required for licitconsecration that are not always feasible (cf.Irish Ecclesiastical Record, April, 1908, p. 430) the ordinary simple dedication rite is regarded as practically adequate. Both forms render the place sacred, and contribute, assacramentals, to the sanctification of thefaithful, but they differ in this that while a church that isconsecrated must, if polluted, be reconciled by abishop, a church that is simply blessed may be reconciled in similar circumstances by apriest (cf.Roman Ritual).

(4) Another difference in the effects of the two forms of dedication is that aconsecrated church is entitled to celebrate each year the anniversary feast of itsconsecration, which is to be held as a double of the first class with an octave, by all thepriests attached to the church. A church that is only blessed has noright to this anniversary feast unlessper accidens, that is, when it is included in the specialindult granted for the simultaneous celebration of the anniversaries of all the churches in a district or diocese. In this case theOffice andMass must be celebrated in every church, within the limits of theindult independently of theirconsecration (Cong. of Rites, n. 3863). Though any day may be selected for the dedication of a church, yet the Roman Pontifical suggests those "Sundays and solemn festive days" which admit the dedicatoryOffice andMass, as well as the anniversary celebration.

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