Chrism, also called myrrh, myron, holy anointing oil, and consecrated oil, is a consecrated oil used in the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Assyrian, Nordic Lutheran, Anglican, and Old Catholic churches in the administration of certain sacraments and ecclesiastical functions.
Name
The English chrism derives from Koine Greek via Latin and Old French. In Greek, khrîsma () was originally the verbal noun ("(the act of) anointing", "unction") of ("anoint").Oxford English Dictionary, 1st ed. "chrism, n." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1889. By extension, along with khrîma (), khrîstai (), and later khrísma (), it came to be used for the anointing oil or ointment itself. Khrísma came into Latin as , which appears in the works of Tertullian. This was adopted directly into Old English as , which developed into Middle English and various related spellings. In Old French, the original Latin was conflated with ("cream"), developing into , which was also borrowed into Middle English around 1300 as and various related spellings. The spelling chrism after the Latin original was generally adopted in the 16th century, after which "cream" came to be restricted to its present meaning.
The Proto-Indo-European root from which the Greek term derived has been reconstructed as *gʰrey- ("to trickle"). This is cognate with Sanskrit ghṛtə (, from the radix ( / / ), which means to shine / to trickle / to cover) and Hindi (, "ghee"), as well as Lithuanian ("skimming"), Middle Low German ("grime"), Old English ("mask, helm, spectre", presumably from an original sense of "covering" or "concealment"), English grime, and possibly Phrygian ("painted, ornamented, inscribed").
Chrism is also called myronFor more about Myron or Holy Myron read this page from the Orthodox Syrian Church at https://mosc.in/the_church/the-holy-myron/ or myrrh. Myron is an oil that is blessed by a bishop.See 5th paragraph. Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States, "When and why did the church decide that the Holy Spirit be received through the Holy Myron instead of simply by the "laying of hands" as the Apostles did?" https://www.suscopts.org/q&a/index.php?qid=694&catid=191 Accessed April 6, 2024
Early Christian usage
Multiple early Christian documents discuss the "ordinance" or "several ceremonies...explained in the Apostolical Constitutions" of "chrism", including documents by Theophilus (d. 181) and Tertullian (d. 220).
The most detailed version of the practice is by Cyril of Jerusalem who details how ointment or oil was "symbolically applied to the forehead, and the other organs of sense" and that the "ears, nostrils, and breast were each to be anointed." Cyril states that the "ointment is the seal of the covenants" of baptism and God's promises to the Christian who is anointed. Cyril taught that being "anointed with the Holy anointing oil of God" was the sign of a Christian, and a physical representation of having the Gift of the Holy Spirit, and it retains this meaning in Catholicism and Orthodoxy today. He says, "Having been counted worthy of this Holy Chrism, you are called Christians, verifying the name also by your new birth. For before you were deemed worthy of this grace, you properly had no right to this title but were advancing on your way towards being Christians." (On the Mysteries 3.5)Eric Segelberg, "The Benedictio Olei in the Apostolic Tradition of Hippolytus", (Oriens Christianus 48, 1964)
Western Christianity
Catholicism
Chrism is essential for the Catholic sacrament of confirmation or chrismation and is prominently used in the sacraments of baptism and holy orders. Those to be confirmed or chrismated, after receiving the laying on of hands, are anointed on the head by the bishop or priest. In baptism, if the person baptized is not to be immediately confirmed or chrismated, the minister anoints them with chrism. Newly ordained priests are anointed with chrism on the palms of their hands, and newly ordained bishops receive an anointing of chrism on their foreheads. It is also used in the consecration of objects such as churches and altars.
In the liturgy prior to the reforms that followed the Second Vatican Council, which is still employed by certain ecclesiastical communities, the use of chrism during the administration of holy orders differs: in the older form of the Roman Rite, priests are anointed in the hands only with the oil of catechumens, while bishops consecrated with the old ritual are anointed both in the head and in the hands with chrism.
Before the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, chrism had to be used to consecrate patens and chalices as well. The sign of the cross would be made with the chrism on the interior parts of the chalice and paten where the Eucharist would rest; the cross would then be smeared to cover the entire interior parts. The chalice and paten would need to be consecrated with the chrism again if they were re-gilded. This ritual could only be performed by a bishop or a priest with the faculties to do so. According to the new rubrics, a simple blessing suffices. However, it is still permitted that the bishop performs the consecration with chrism.
Chrism is made of olive oil and is scented with a sweet perfume, usually balsam. Under normal circumstances, chrism is consecrated by the bishop of the particular church in the presence of the presbyterium at the Chrism Mass,See Roman Catholic Diocese of Peterborough website: https://www.peterboroughdiocese.org/en/get-involved/chrism-mass.aspx?_mid_=34576 Accessed April 6, 2024 which takes place in Holy Week, usually on the morning of Holy Thursday. The oil of catechumens and the oil of the sick are also blessed at this Mass.
These holy oils are usually stored in special vessels known as chrismaria and kept in a cabinet known as an ambry. When the oils are distributed to a priest for him to use in his ministry they are kept in a smaller vessel with three compartments, known as an "oil stock". There is also a type of oil stock that is shaped like a ring, to make the anointing easier. The "jewel" of the ring is a container with a removable lid.
Holy oils were also used, in the older form of the Roman Rite, for the anointing of kings during ceremonies of coronation. Several local rites allowed for the use of chrism in those coronation rites (e.g. in the pre-reformation English coronation rite the anointing was with chrism; Napoleon was anointed with chrism by Pope Pius VII, etc.). However, the general coronation rite of the Roman Liturgy, codified in the Pontificate of Pope Clement VIII, prescribed the use of the oil of catechumens for the anointing of kings.
The Holy Ampulla or Holy Ampoule ( in French) was a glass vial which, from its first recorded use by Pope Innocent II for the anointing of Louis VII in 1131Le Goff, Jacques; et al. Le sacre royal à l'époque de Saint-Louis d'après le manuscrit latin 1246 de la BNF to the Coronation of Louis XVI in 1775, held anointing oil for the coronations of the kings of France. In each French coronation, one drop of this anointing oil was mixed with chrism. Thus, French coronations employed chrism mixed with the oil of the Sainte Ampoule for the anointing of kings. The Sainte Ampoule was said to have been discovered by Hincmar the Archbishop of Reims when the sepulcher containing the body of Saint Remi was opened in the reign of Charles the Bald and identified with the baptism of Clovis I, the first Frankish king converted to Christianity; it was kept thereafter in the Abbey of Saint-Remi, Reims and brought with formality to the Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Reims at each coronation, where the emphasis was on the anointment rather than on the crowning.See Jean-Claude Bonne 2001, examining the coronation ordines from Charlemagne to Charles V, who commissioned a Livre du sacre, as C. Meredith Jones remarked, in reviewing Sir Francis Oppenheimer's monograph of the Holy Ampulla. Some remains of the content of the ampoule, destroyed in 1793 by French revolutionaries, were placed in a new reliquary made in time for the Coronation of Charles XLa Sainte Ampoule et le sacre des rois de France, leblogdumesnil.unblog.fr and are kept since 1906 at the Archbishopric of Reims. Content of the Holy Ampulla kept at the archbishopric of Reims
Evangelical-Lutheranism and Anglicanism
The primary use of chrism in the Evangelical-Lutheran Churches and in the Anglican Churches is for the rite of chrismation, which may be included as a part of baptism, even for infants.
The oil of chrism is also commonly used in confirmation, although this practice is not followed by Anglican churches that are in the evangelical tradition. Owing to this difference of practice, it is common for Anglican confirmation liturgies to refer to the use of chrism as an option. The liturgy of the Church of England states "Oil mixed with fragrant spices (traditionally called chrism), expressing the blessings of the messianic era and the richness of the Holy Spirit, may be used to accompany the confirmation".Common Worship – Christian Initiation, Church House Publishing 2006, , page 129. The confirmation liturgy of the Anglican Province of Southern Africa includes the rubric "The Bishop may sign them on the forehead, using at his discretion the Chrism".An Anglican Prayer Book, Church of the Province of Southern Africa, Collins 1989, , page 393. The liturgy of the Igreja Lusitana (Anglican Church in Portugal) states at the point of confirmation: "Os confirmandos ajoelham perante o Bispo. Este pode assinala-los na testa com o sinal da cruz, usando oleo proprio" ("The confirmands kneel before the Bishop. He may anoint them on the forehead with the sign of the cross, using the proper oil").Liturgia da Igreja Lusitana (Catolica Apostolica Evangelica), Igreja Lusitana 1991 (privately published), page 246.
The use of chrism in Anglican and Lutheran ordination liturgies is similarly presented as an option in most provinces. In the liturgy for the ordination of priests in the Church of England, for example, the instruction is: "The bishop may anoint the palms of the hands of each newly ordained priest, saying 'May God, who anointed the Christ with the Holy Spirit at his baptism, anoint and empower you to reconcile and bless his people'."Common Worship - Ordination Services, Church House Publishing 2007, , page 50. There is a similar instruction for the ordination of bishops, who are anointed on the head rather than the palms of the hands.Common Worship - Ordination Services, Church House Publishing 2007, , page 75.
An important and specific use of chrism is in the anointing during the coronation of the British monarch. In this part of the service, the Archbishop of Canterbury anoints the sovereign on the head, hands and heart. Anglicans consider this to be the holiest rite of the service, so much so that it is hidden from the congregation's view by a canopy of state. It was not filmed during the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, or photographed in 1937 during the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. During the coronation of Charles III in May 2023, specially-made, portable screens were used during the anointing to conceal the King and Archbishop from the congregation and TV cameras during this sacred rite. It is followed by the presentation of the crown jewels to the sovereign, then the actual coronation.
Its other notable use is in the consecration of church buildings, where it may be used to anoint the walls, the altar/table, and the place for reservation of the eucharistic sacrament for the sick.