THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG
In the ritual for incense, the effusions of incense that were combined with the meal offerings, where the frankincense was put over the same 5. The on the sacrificial altar, are to be dis- Ritual of tinguished from the separate oblations Incense, of incense, which took place only within the second enclosure. More particular procedure with the incense is not reported. The directions are equally brief in respect to incense in the sanctuary (Ex. xxx. 7 sqq.) ; morning and evening, as the priest " dresseth the lamps," and when he " lighteth " them, he shall also kindle the perpetual incense offering. More detailed regulations, in so far, at least, as they apply to the ritual of Herod's temple, are furnished by the Mishnah Tamidh, iii. 6, vi. 1-3; cf. Maimonides, Yadh hachasaka, iii. 1-9. As early as the Torah, two utensils are mentioned which were used in offering incense: (1) the firepan (Ex. xxvii. 3, xxxviii. 3; Num. xvi. 6-7), whereon the hot coals lay. The incense was poured upon these out of (2) a bowl fitted with a handle, the golden incense spoon (Ex. xxv. 29; Num. vii. 84, 86). By means of this firepan, or of the censer (Ezek. viii. 11; II Chron. xxvi. 19), which does not appear to have been essentially different from the firepan, incense could be offered without an altar; and this was always the case in the Holy of Holies. Here the high priest entered on the day of atonement, with the pan of coals in his right hand and the vessel of aromatics in his left hand; he placed the former vessel down and from the latter took incense and placed it upon the firepan. If, however, as on occasion of the daily morning and evening offering of incense, the oblation was performed on the inner altar, then a priest, at least according to later observance, first carried the basin full of hot coals into the sanctuary and poured it over the altar of incense; whereupon a second priest brought in the aromatics in the incense ladle, and completed the solemn offering as he spread the spices over the coals and uttered his prayer therewith. The quantitative portion to be offered every morning and evening is prescribed in the Talmud as half a pound. The service of offering incense alternated, as determined by lot, among the officiating priests (Lev. i. 8 sqq.). In course of time the two daily offerings of incense coincided with the two daily burnt offerings, and marked, conjointly with these, the hour of morning and evening prayer for the whole congregation, when many frequented the temple. As the ceremonial of incense began, both priest and people were admonished to solemn stillness and devout prayer by the sound of small bells.
C. von Orelli. II. In the Christian Church : Notwithstanding the important role assigned to incense in the Jewish ritual, and the mention in Rev. viii. 1. In the 3, 4 of one of the symbolical meanings Patristic attached to the same, there is no satis- Period, factory evidence of the use of incense in the Christian Church during the first three centuries. Indeed, the early Apologists are emphatic in disclaiming its use. Thus, Tertullian (Apol. xlii., cf. xxx.) declares formally: " We have nothing to do with incense," and Athen-
agoras (" Plea for the Christians, " xlii., in ANF, ii. 134-135) explains that the God of the Christians, being himself the most exquisite of all aromas, has no need of incense. It is plain from the context of these and other passages that the opposition of the early Christians to incense rested chiefly, if not solely, on the fact that its use was identified with the religious ceremonies of the pagans, and it is well known that for a Christian to burn incense before an idol was one of the most conspicuous marks of apostasy. It appears that the earliest extant references to the use of incense in the Christian liturgy occur in the Apostolic Constitutions (canons 3, 4) where, among the objects declared necessary for the offering of the sacrifice, mention is made of the thumiama, and in the work of the Pseudo- Dionysius (De hierarch. eccl., iii.-iv.), where it is stated that every offering of the sacrifice should be preceded by the ceremony of thurification. It would seem, therefore, that the custom began to prevail in the Christian Church from the fourth century onward. The Oriental liturgies of Basil and Chrysostom and others speak of incensing the elements or oblata of the Eucharistic service; as to the West, the use of incense in the ceremonies of the mass seems to have originated in the churches of Gaul.
The Roman ritual regulates in greater detail the liturgical use of incense, specifying the formula of words that should accompany each of 2. In the the various thurifications. The earli- Roman est usage seems to have been connected Catholic with the ceremonies of the mass, but Church, it was later extended to other religious functions, such as ecclesiastical benedictions and consecrations, funeral rites, and liturgical processions in which the thurifers walk at the head, preceding the cross-bearer. In the liturgical works of the Middle Ages mention is made of several kinds of vessels connected with the keeping and use of incense: e.g. the thurarium or incensarium, denoting a box or chest of variable pattern and dimension in which the different kinds of incense were kept; the thymiatorium, a large receptacle placed near the altar, and which diffused in all directions the odor of the incense burned therein; and the ihuribulum, or thurible proper, a portable vessel suspended by small chains and thus capable of being swung. Thuribles vary in design, and are often objects of great art, being exquisitely chiseled and set with precious stones. Besides the practical utility of incense to counteract the disagreeable odors incidental to large and confined gatherings of people — a purpose which had probably something to do with its introduction into the liturgical services — it has several symbolical significations. Thus, according to Bellarmine (De missa, ii. 15), it symbolizes (1) the " sweet savor of the knowledge of Christ " (II Cor. ii. 14 sqq.); (2) the prayers of the saints (Rev. viii. 3, 4); (3) the majesty of God veiled by the clouds. Others see in the consumption by fire of the incense before the Lord a symbol of the completeness and generosity with which Christians should consecrate and devote themselves to God and his service.
In liturgical functions the celebrant always