Elevation of the Host (2)

Elevation of the Host

The lifting up of the paten and consecrated element of bread was instituted by pope Honorius III (cir. 1210), and he directed that it should be adored when elevated, or carried to the sick, the people reverently bowing. Casalius quotes as his authority for this custom Ps 72:16. Anastasius Sinaita alludes to this ceremony; and it appears as early as, perhaps, the fourth century in the Greek Church; it has been traced in England in the 11th, in France in the 12th, and in Germany and Italy before the 13th century. Thomas Aquinas and Bonaventura mention the elevation of the paten only; the elevation of the chalice was of later date. The ringing of little bells at this time was introduced by William of Paris, and generally enjoined by Gregory XI.