A thurible is a metal censer

Censer

Censers are any type of vessels made for burning incense. These vessels vary greatly in size, form, and material of construction. They may consist of simple earthenware bowls or fire pots to intricately carved silver or gold vessels, small table top objects a few centimetres tall to as many as...

 suspended from chains, in which incense

Incense

Incense is composed of aromatic biotic materials, which release fragrant smoke when burned. The term "incense" refers to the substance itself, rather than to the odor that it produces. It is used in religious ceremonies, ritual purification, aromatherapy, meditation, for creating a mood, and for...

 is burned during worship

Worship

Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. The word is derived from the Old English worthscipe, meaning worthiness or worth-ship — to give, at its simplest, worth to something, for example, Christian worship.Evelyn Underhill defines worship thus: "The absolute...

 services. It is used in the Catholic

Catholic

The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

 Church as well as in Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic

Armenian Apostolic Church

The Armenian Apostolic Church is the world's oldest National Church, is part of Oriental Orthodoxy, and is one of the most ancient Christian communities. Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity as its official religion in 301 AD, in establishing this church...

, some Lutheran, Old Catholic, and in various Gnostic Church

Gnostic church

Gnostic church may refer to a variety of religious organizations which identify themselves with Gnosticism. Various Gnostic religious organizations include:*Ecclesia Gnostica*Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica*Society of Novus Spiritus...

es. It is also used in Co-Freemasonry

Co-Freemasonry

Co-Freemasonry is a form of Freemasonry which admits both men and women. It began in France in the 1880s with the forming of Le Droit Humain, and is now an international movement represented by several Co-Masonic administrations throughout the world...

 and in the practice of ceremonial magic

Ceremonial magic

Ceremonial magic, also referred to as high magic and as learned magic, is a broad term used in the context of Hermeticism or Western esotericism to encompass a wide variety of long, elaborate, and complex rituals of magic. It is named as such because the works included are characterized by...

. In Catholic, Lutheran, and Anglican churches, the altar server

Altar server

An altar server is a lay assistant to a member of the clergy during a Christian religious service. An altar server attends to supporting tasks at the altar such as fetching and carrying, ringing the altar bell and so on....

 who carries the thurible is called the thurifer.

The workings of a thurible are quite simple. Burning charcoal is inside the metal censer

Censer

Censers are any type of vessels made for burning incense. These vessels vary greatly in size, form, and material of construction. They may consist of simple earthenware bowls or fire pots to intricately carved silver or gold vessels, small table top objects a few centimetres tall to as many as...

. Incense

Incense

Incense is composed of aromatic biotic materials, which release fragrant smoke when burned. The term "incense" refers to the substance itself, rather than to the odor that it produces. It is used in religious ceremonies, ritual purification, aromatherapy, meditation, for creating a mood, and for...

, sometimes of many different varieties, is placed upon the charcoal. This may be done several times during the service as the incense burns quite quickly. Once the incense has been placed on the charcoal the thurible is then closed and used for censing.

A famous thurible is the huge Botafumeiro

Botafumeiro

The Botafumeiro is a famous thurible found in the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral . Incense is burned in this swinging metal container, or "incensory"...

in Santiago de Compostela Cathedral

Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela

Santiago de Compostela Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral of the archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain. The cathedral is the reputed burial-place of Saint James the Greater, one of the apostles of Jesus Christ. It is the destination of the Way of St...

, Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 

The word "thurible" comes from the Old French

Old French

Old French was the Romance dialect continuum spoken in territories that span roughly the northern half of modern France and parts of modern Belgium and Switzerland from the 9th century to the 14th century...

 thurible, which in turn is derived from the Latin term thuribulum. The Latin thuribulum is further formed from the root thus, meaning incense. Thus is an alteration of the Greek word θύος (thuos), which is derived from θύειν (thuein) "to sacrifice".

Ordinary Form of the Mass

The Roman Missal

Roman Missal

The Roman Missal is the liturgical book that contains the texts and rubrics for the celebration of the Mass in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church.-Situation before the Council of Trent:...

 promulgated in 1969

Mass of Paul VI

The Mass of Pope Paul VI is the liturgy of the Catholic Mass of the Roman Rite promulgated by Paul VI in 1969, after the Second Vatican Council...

 allows the use of incense at any Mass: in the entrance procession; at the beginning of Mass to incense the cross and the altar; at the Gospel procession and proclamation; after the bread and the chalice have been placed upon the altar, to incense the offerings, the cross, and the altar, as well as the priest and the people; at the elevation of the host and the chalice after the consecration.

The number of swings of the thurible to be used when incensing persons or objects is specified in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal

General Instruction of the Roman Missal

The General Instruction of the Roman Missal —in the Latin original, Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani —is the detailed document governing the celebration of Mass of the ordinary form of the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church since 1969...

:

• Three swings: the Most Blessed Sacrament, a relic of the Holy Cross and images of the Lord exposed for public veneration, the offerings for the sacrifice of the Mass, the altar cross, the Book of the Gospels, the Paschal Candle, the priest, and the people.
• Two swings (and only at the beginning of the celebration, after the incensing of the altar): relics and images of the Saints exposed for public veneration.
• A series of single swings: the altar.
• The priest may incense the offerings for Mass by tracing a cross over them with the thurible instead of using three swings of the thurible.

The responsibilities of a thurifer include:

• Holding the thurible open to enable the priest to put incense in it, after which he blesses it with the sign of the cross without using any formula of words.
• Carrying the thurible in procession (gently swinging if needed to keep the charcoal burning).
• Presenting the thurible to the priest or deacon when they need to use it
• Incensing (in the absence of a deacon) the priest after the priest has incensed the offering at Mass.

Another server, previously called a boat boy

Boat boy

Boat boy or boat bearer are terms used for a junior altar server position found in Catholic and Anglican Churches. The role of a boat boy is to assist the thurifer during liturgies in which incense is used.The boat bearer carries the boat which holds the supplies of incense...

 and now more commonly a boat bearer , may carry a boat or container of incense to add as the thurible burns low.

Extraordinary Form of the Mass

In the liturgical legislation in force in 1962 very precise rules were laid down about the way the thurible was used. The altar as one example would be incensed in 29 places if attached to the read wall of the sanctuary and 22 places if the altar was freestanding. Use of the 1962 texts as an extraordinary form of the Roman Rite

Extraordinary form of the Roman Rite

"An extraordinary form of the Roman Rite" is a phrase used in Pope Benedict XVI's motu proprio Summorum Pontificum to describe the liturgy of the 1962 Roman Missal, widely referred to as the "Tridentine Mass"...

 is still permitted in accordance with the conditions laid down in the document Summorum Pontificum

Summorum Pontificum

Summorum Pontificum is an Apostolic Letter of Pope Benedict XVI, issued "motu proprio" . The document specified the rules, for the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church, for celebrating Mass according to the "Missal promulgated by John XXIII in 1962" , and for administering most of the sacraments in...

 of 2007.

At the end of the offertory at solemn Mass

Solemn Mass

Solemn Mass , sometimes also referred to as Solemn High Mass or simply High Mass, is, when used not merely as a description, the full ceremonial form of the Tridentine Mass, celebrated by a priest with a deacon and a subdeacon, requiring most of the parts of the Mass to be sung, and the use of...

 in this form, the offerings are incensed by forming over them with the thurible first three crosses and then three circles, the first two anticlockwise and last clockwise. The number of swings of the thurible while incensing the altar is also strictly prescribed.

In the celebration of a Low Mass according to the 1962 rubrics, incense is not used.

Ambrosian Rite

In the Ambrosian Rite

Ambrosian Rite

Ambrosian Rite, also called the Milanese Rite, is a Catholic liturgical Western Rite. The rite is named after Saint Ambrose, a bishop of Milan in the fourth century...

 the thurible has no top cover, and is swung clockwise before the censing of a person or object.

Anglicanism

In the Anglican Communion, the use of incense is a fairly reliable guide to how 'high

High church

The term "High Church" refers to beliefs and practices of ecclesiology, liturgy and theology, generally with an emphasis on formality, and resistance to "modernization." Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term has traditionally been principally associated with the...

' (more Catholic in liturgical style) or how 'low

Low church

Low church is a term of distinction in the Church of England or other Anglican churches initially designed to be pejorative. During the series of doctrinal and ecclesiastic challenges to the established church in the 16th and 17th centuries, commentators and others began to refer to those groups...

' (more Protestant) a church is. Anglo-Catholic churches may use generous quantities of incense. In recent years, some middle-of-the-road Anglican churches have taken to using incense a few times a year for special occasions.

Traditionally, at High Mass, the following rule is observed when censing, which differs from the common Roman Rite:

• Three sets of triple swings: When censing the Most Blessed Sacrament
  Reserved sacrament
  During the Liturgy of the Eucharist, the second part of the Mass, the elements of bread and wine are considered, in some branches of Christian practice, to have been transubstantiated into the veritable Body and Blood of Jesus Christ...
  
  
• Three sets of double swings: When censing images, relics, and other sacramentals, also when censing the celebrant.
• Two sets of double swings: When censing a Deacon.
• One set of double swings: When censing a Sub-Deacon.
• Three sets of single swings: When censing the congregation

In Anglo-Catholic churches, the Thurible is carried in procession in front of the Crucifer

Crucifer

A crucifer is, in some Christian churches , a person appointed to carry the church's processional cross, a cross or crucifix with a long staff, during processions at the beginning and end of the service...

 and Acolytes. The Celebrant then censes the altar on which the Eucharist is to be offered, in the following form (at a Nave Altar):

• After venerating the altar, the Priest receives the thurible from the server at the North end of the altar.
• The Priest circles the altar, making small movements in the thurible, in an anti-clockwise direction until s/he reaches the west side of the altar, facing east.
• The Priest then makes three sets of triple swings towards east, then continues around the altar to his original position facing west.

This same pattern is followed when censing the altar at the offertory, with the following prequel:

• The Priest makes 6 swings (3+3) over the gifts, making the sign of the cross.
• The Priest then makes 3 circles, two counter-clockwise and one clockwise, over and around the gifts.

At the Gospel, the deacon (or whoever is reading the Gospel) censes following the introduction to the Gospel (i.e.: Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to n... then cense)using three sets of double swings, one set South, one set North, and one set west.

At the elevations of the Blessed Sacrament, during the prayer of consecration, either the deacon, sub-deacon, or other appropriate person (including the thurifer), makes three sets of triple swings, as the parish bell and sanctuary bells are rung.

Should the Regina Coeli

Regina Coeli

The Regina Caeli or Regina Coeli , an ancient Latin Marian Hymn of the Christian Church, is one of the four seasonal Marian antiphons of the Blessed Virgin Mary, prescribed to be sung or recited in the Liturgy of the Hours at the conclusion of the last of the hours to be prayed in common that day,...

 (during Easter) or the Angelus

Angelus

The Angelus is a Christian devotion in memory of the Incarnation. The name Angelus is derived from the opening words: Angelus Domini nuntiavit Mariæ The Angelus (Latin for "angel") is a Christian devotion in memory of the Incarnation. The name Angelus is derived from the opening words: Angelus...

 be said or sung, then the celebrant or other appropriate person may cense the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the following form:

• Regina Coeli: Three sets of triple swings during the verse (Joy to thee, O Queen of Heaven, Alleluia...) and then three sets of triple swings during the concluding prayer.
• Angelus: One set of triple swings during each 'Ave Maria', then three sets of triple swings during the prayer (Pour forth, we beseech thee, thy grace into our hearts...)

Incense can be used at any celebration of the eucharist throughout the year, but especially in the seasons of Christmas

Christmas

Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

, Epiphany and Easter

Easter

Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...

, Maundy Thursday

Maundy Thursday

Maundy Thursday, also known as Holy Thursday, Covenant Thursday, Great & Holy Thursday, and Thursday of Mysteries, is the Christian feast or holy day falling on the Thursday before Easter that commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles as described in the Canonical gospels...

 vigil, Palm Sunday, on the feasts of Pentecost

Pentecost

Pentecost is a prominent feast in the calendar of Ancient Israel celebrating the giving of the Law on Sinai, and also later in the Christian liturgical year commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Christ after the Resurrection of Jesus...

, Trinity Sunday

Trinity Sunday

Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Western Christian liturgical calendar, and the Sunday of Pentecost in Eastern Christianity...

, Ascension, Feasts of saints and martyrs, Corpus Christi

Corpus Christi (feast)

Corpus Christi is a Latin Rite solemnity, now designated the solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ . It is also celebrated in some Anglican, Lutheran and Old Catholic Churches. Like Trinity Sunday and the Solemnity of Christ the King, it does not commemorate a particular event in...

, and at the Dedication Festival or Patronal Festival of a church.

Byzantine Rite Eastern Catholic Churches and Orthodox Churches

The Eastern Orthodox Church

Eastern Orthodox Church

The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...

 and the Byzantine Rite

Byzantine Rite

The Byzantine Rite, sometimes called the Rite of Constantinople or Constantinopolitan Rite is the liturgical rite used currently by all the Eastern Orthodox Churches, by the Greek Catholic Churches , and by the Protestant Ukrainian Lutheran Church...

 Eastern Catholic Churches make frequent use of incense, not only at the Divine Liturgy

Divine Liturgy

Divine Liturgy is the common term for the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine tradition of Christian liturgy. As such, it is used in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches. Armenian Christians, both of the Armenian Apostolic Church and of the Armenian Catholic Church, use the same term...

  (Eucharist), but also at Vespers

Vespers

Vespers is the evening prayer service in the Western Catholic, Eastern Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran liturgies of the canonical hours...

, Matins

Matins

Matins is the early morning or night prayer service in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran and Eastern Orthodox liturgies of the canonical hours. The term is also used in some Protestant denominations to describe morning services.The name "Matins" originally referred to the morning office also...

 and a number of other occasional services (see Euchologion

Euchologion

The Euchologion is one of the chief liturgical books of the Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Churches, containing the portions of the services which are said by the bishop, priest, or deacon...

). During funeral

Funeral

A funeral is a ceremony for celebrating, sanctifying, or remembering the life of a person who has died. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from interment itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honor...

 services and memorial services (Panikhida), the censer is swung almost continuously.

Incense is understood as symbolizing the sanctifying grace of the Holy Spirit

Holy Spirit

Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of the Hebrew Bible, but understood differently in the main Abrahamic religions.While the general concept of a "Spirit" that permeates the cosmos has been used in various religions Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of...

 and the prayers of the Saints rising to heaven. Incense is offered by the priest or deacon during the services. In some traditions, the ecclesiarch (sacristan) and his assistant (paraecclesiarch) will perform the censing at specific moments of the service.

The thurible used is often gold plated (combining in itself at the offering of incense the three gifts of the Biblical Magi

Biblical Magi

The Magi Greek: μάγοι, magoi), also referred to as the Wise Men, Kings, Astrologers, or Kings from the East, were a group of distinguished foreigners who were said to have visited Jesus after his birth, bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh...

: gold

Gold

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...

, frankincense

Frankincense

Frankincense, also called olibanum , is an aromatic resin obtained from trees of the genus Boswellia, particularly Boswellia sacra, B. carteri, B. thurifera, B. frereana, and B. bhaw-dajiana...

, and myrrh

Myrrh

Myrrh is the aromatic oleoresin of a number of small, thorny tree species of the genus Commiphora, which grow in dry, stony soil. An oleoresin is a natural blend of an essential oil and a resin. Myrrh resin is a natural gum....

). The thurible consists of a metal bowl (usually with a base so it can stand upright) into which the charcoal and incense are placed, and a lid (often topped with a cross

Christian cross

The Christian cross, seen as a representation of the instrument of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, is the best-known religious symbol of Christianity...

), pierced by holes to allow the fragrance from the incense to escape. The censer will usually have three outer chains (for the Holy Trinity) attached to the bowl, and a fourth inner chain (for the Oneness of God

Monotheism

Monotheism is the belief in the existence of one and only one god. Monotheism is characteristic of the Baha'i Faith, Christianity, Druzism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Samaritanism, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism.While they profess the existence of only one deity, monotheistic religions may still...

) attached to the lid. The three outer chains are gathered togeher and attached to a round conical plate attached to a ring; the inner chain passes through a hole in the conical plate and is attached to another ring to make it easier to lift the lid. In the Greek and some Russian practice twelve bells will be attached to the chains (their ringing symbolizes the teaching of the twelve Apostles) . Sometimes the bowl and lid of the thurible are decorated with crosses or icon

Icon

An icon is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity and in certain Eastern Catholic churches...

s in repousse, and may even be decorated with semi-precious stones. When not in use the thurible is usually hung from a hook in the sanctuary.

When censing, the priest or deacon holds the censer below the conical plate with only one hand (the right hand) allowing it to swing freely. He will make the Sign of the Cross

Sign of the cross

The Sign of the Cross , or crossing oneself, is a ritual hand motion made by members of many branches of Christianity, often accompanied by spoken or mental recitation of a trinitarian formula....

 with the censer by making two vertical swings and a third horizontal swing (the three swings together symbolizing the Holy Trinity).

When the temple

Temple

A temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word "template," a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out...

 (church building) is censed, the priest or deacon will move in a sunwise

Sunwise

In Scottish folklore, ' or Sunward was considered the “prosperous course”, turning from east to west in the direction of the sun. The opposite course was known in Scotland as widdershins , or tuathal , and would have been counterclockwise...

 (clockwise) direction, moving to his right as he censes in order the Holy Table (altar), sanctuary, Iconostasis

Iconostasis

In Eastern Christianity an iconostasis is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a church. Iconostasis also refers to a portable icon stand that can be placed anywhere within a church...

, walls of the temple, clergy and faithful. There are two types of censing: a Greater Censing (which encompasses the entire temple and all of the people therein), and a Lesser Censing (which, depending upon the liturgical context, consists of censing only a portion of the temple and the people).

During some censings, especially the Greater Censing, the clergyman who is performing the censing will often carry a candle in his left hand. During Bright Week

Bright Week

Bright Week or Renewal Week is the name used by the Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Churches of the Byzantine Rite for the period of seven days beginning on Pascha and continuing up to the following Sunday, which is known as Thomas Sunday...

 (the week which begins on Easter Sunday) the priest and the deacon will carry special Paschal candles

Paschal trikirion

The Paschal Trikirion is a liturgical triple-candlestick used at Pascha in the Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches which use the Byzantine Rite....

 at every censing, even the Lesser Censing. While carrying the Paschal candles, the priest or deacon will greet the members of the congregation with the Paschal greeting

Paschal greeting

The Paschal greeting is an Easter custom among Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Christians, as well as among some Roman Catholic and Protestant Christians...

 while censing them. Simple tapers

Candle

A candle is a solid block or cylinder of wax with an embedded wick, which is lit to provide light, and sometimes heat.Today, most candles are made from paraffin. Candles can also be made from beeswax, soy, other plant waxes, and tallow...

 are carried while censing during funeral

Funeral

A funeral is a ceremony for celebrating, sanctifying, or remembering the life of a person who has died. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from interment itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honor...

s and memorial services

Memorial service (Orthodox)

A memorial service is a liturgical observance in honor of the departed which is served in the Eastern Orthodox and Greek-Catholic Churches.-The service:In the Eastern Church, the various prayers for the departed have as their purpose: to pray for the repose...

.

During the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire

The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...

) the emperor used to be permitted to offer incense on the Feast of the Nativity (no doubt as a memorial of the gifts of the Magi), but was permitted to perform no other priestly function.

If no priest is available, incense may be offered by a reader or senior layman

Layman

A layperson or layman is a person who is not an expert in a given field of knowledge. The term originally meant a member of the laity, i.e. a non-clergymen, but over the centuries shifted in definition....

, but with a hand censer which has no chains on it, but rather a handle (it often has bells as well, suspended from the handle or around the rim). The hand censer is also used in some monasteries even when a priest is present for certain censings which are done by a monastic other than a vested priest or deacon.

During Holy Week

Holy Week

Holy Week in Christianity is the last week of Lent and the week before Easter...

 it is customary in some places for even the priest and deacon to use the hand censer for all of the censings, as a sign of humility and mourning at the Passion

Passion (Christianity)

The Passion is the Christian theological term used for the events and suffering – physical, spiritual, and mental – of Jesus in the hours before and including his trial and execution by crucifixion...

 of Christ.

The faithful will often burn incense, using a hand censer, in the home during Morning and Evening Prayers, and it is not unusual for the head of the household to bless the Holy Icons and all of the members of the household with a hand censer.

External links

• Holy Smoke: The Use of Incense in the Catholic Church.
• Thurifer instructions at the Cathedral Church of Saint Matthew, Dallas, Texas
  Cathedral Church of Saint Matthew, Dallas, Texas
  The Cathedral Church of Saint Matthew is an Episcopal cathedral church located at 5100 South Ross Avenue in Dallas, Texas, in the United States....
  
  .
• Images of the Thurible used during Mass at All Saints' Church, King's Lynn
• About Censing rubrics, Orthodox Church in America
  Orthodox Church in America
  The Orthodox Church in America is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in North America. Its primate is Metropolitan Jonah , who was elected on November 12, 2008, and was formally installed on December 28, 2008...