Practices
Eucharistic adoration
Devotional Practices
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Origin 1200 to 1264
The devotion of praying before the consecrated host, exposed in a monstrance or reserved in the tabernacle, in silent adoration of Christ believed to be really present. It ranges from a visit to a church to the solemn Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, to perpetual adoration in which the exposed host is watched around the clock in unbroken shifts. It follows directly from the doctrine of the real, abiding presence and is unknown where that doctrine is not held.
Facts
Origins
Origin PeriodSourced to the subject's own account Origin PeriodSourced to the subject's own accountFollows the elevation of the host from the thirteenth century and the feast of Corpus Christi in 1264 1 Place of OriginFollows the elevation of the host from the thirteenth century and the feast of Corpus Christi instituted in 1264. Practice
Who Performs ItSourced to the subject's own accountAll adherents of the tradition 1 ObligationSourced to the subject's own accountOptional and voluntary 1Tradition: Roman Catholicism FrequencySourced to the subject's own accountAs the occasion requires 1 Solitary or CommunalSourced to the subject's own accountPerformed alone or together 1 Attributions
TraditionSourced to the subject's own accountRoman Catholicism and, in a related form, Anglo-Catholic and Eastern Orthodox practice, reverencing the consecrated host as the real presence of Christ. 1 Status
Status Within the TraditionSourced to the subject's own accountFollows directly from the doctrine of Christ's real, abiding presence in the consecrated host, and the practice is correspondingly unknown in traditions that do not hold that doctrine. 1 Status TodayLiving tradition, practised today 2 Form
Implements and MaterialsSourced to the subject's own accountThe host is exposed for adoration in a monstrance or reserved in the tabernacle, and the practice ranges from a brief visit before the reserved sacrament to the solemn Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament to perpetual adoration, in which the exposed host is watched around the clock in unbroken shifts. 1 Learn More
Adoring the Sacrament
Eucharistic adoration is a Roman Catholic devotion in which the faithful worship Jesus Christ believed to be truly present in the consecrated bread of the Eucharist. It rests on the Catholic doctrine of the Real Presence and of transubstantiation, the teaching that at the Mass the bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ while retaining the appearances of bread and wine; on this belief, the consecrated host reserved after Mass is Christ himself and is worshipped as such. In adoration a consecrated host is placed in a monstrance, a vessel with a transparent centre designed to display it, and exposed on the altar, and worshippers come to pray silently before it, kneeling in the presence they believe to be the Lord.
The devotion may take the form of a brief visit, an hour of prayer, or perpetual adoration, in which a community arranges for the exposed sacrament to be attended and adored continuously, day and night, in unbroken succession.
From Doctrine to Devotion
Adoration of the reserved sacrament grew in the Western church from the eleventh century onward, as reflection on the Real Presence deepened and controversies over it sharpened definition. The institution of the feast of Corpus Christi in the thirteenth century, with its processions carrying the host through the streets, gave the devotion a public and civic form, and the practice of exposition and Benediction, a rite in which the priest blesses the people with the monstrance, became a widespread feature of Catholic piety.
The devotion marks one of the sharp points of division among Christians. The Eastern Orthodox share the belief in the Real Presence but do not practise exposition and adoration of the reserved sacrament in this way, treating the Eucharist as given to be received rather than displayed. Most Protestant traditions, rejecting transubstantiation, regard the adoration of the consecrated bread as misplaced, and the Reformation disputes over the nature of the Eucharist made such practices a defining difference. Within Catholicism, adoration remains a cherished devotion, promoted by recent popes as a way of prolonging and deepening the worship offered in the Mass itself.
Cross-Tradition Connections
Belongs to Tradition
Critiqued By
Kept across the provinces of the Anglican Communion. Article XXVIII holds that the sacrament of the Lord's Supper was not by Christ's ordinance reserved, carried about, lifted up, or worshipped.
Anglicanism, Denominations Article XXVIII holds that the sacrament of the Lord's Supper was not by Christ's ordinance reserved, carried about, lifted up, or worshipped.
The Confession denies that the elements are to be reserved, lifted up, carried about or worshipped, and calls such uses contrary to the nature of the sacrament.
Kept in the Church of England, the province from which the Prayer Book tradition comes. Article XXVIII holds that the sacrament of the Lord's Supper was not by Christ's ordinance reserved, carried about, lifted up, or worshipped.
Kept in the Church of Ireland. Article XXVIII holds that the sacrament of the Lord's Supper was not by Christ's ordinance reserved, carried about, lifted up, or worshipped.
Kept in the Church of Scotland, the established Presbyterian church of that country. The Confession denies that the elements are to be reserved, lifted up, carried about or worshipped, and calls such uses contrary to the nature of the sacrament.
Kept in the Dutch Reformed tradition, which holds the Heidelberg Catechism among its confessional standards. The Confession denies that the elements are to be reserved, lifted up, carried about or worshipped, and calls such uses contrary to the nature of the sacrament.
Kept in the Episcopal Church, whose own Prayer Book descends from the Scottish rather than the English line. Article XXVIII holds that the sacrament of the Lord's Supper was not by Christ's ordinance reserved, carried about, lifted up, or worshipped.
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