Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A receptacle to hold the relics of saints; a reliquary.
- noun An area of a church in which reliquaries are kept.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A shrine or bier containing the relics of saints, adapted to be borne in religions processions.
- noun The place in a church where such a shrine is set.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A portable bier or shrine, variously adorned, used for containing relics of saints.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun a receptacle that
houses relics of saints - noun an
area of achurch where relics are kept
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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The bones were enclosed in a splendid coffer with poles attached, and on solemn occasions this 'feretory,' besides being carried in procession, was sometimes placed under a tent in the fields.
Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Ripon A Short History of the Church and a Description of Its Fabric Cecil Walter Charles Hallett
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The entire feretory was overlaid with gold and crusted with gems.
The Yoke A Romance of the Days when the Lord Redeemed the Children of Israel from the Bondage of Egypt Elizabeth Miller
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It was placed just west of the feretory of S. Richard.
Bell's Cathedrals: Chichester (1901) A Short History & Description Of Its Fabric With An Account Of The Diocese And See Hubert C. Corlette
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Provision had evidently been made by him for keeping relics or treasures here, and, in his time, the back screen, as we now see it, and the reredos, were united together at the top, and covered with heavy stone slabs, so as to make a perfectly secure feretory.
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William's royal robe, adorned with precious gems, and a feretory in the form of an altar, inclosing 300 relics of the saints, were bequeathed by him to the monastery; and Rufus transmitted them to Battle, where they were duly received on the 8th of the calends of November, 1088.
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This seriously affected Chichester, as the fate of the feretory of S. Richard was involved by the mandate.
Bell's Cathedrals: Chichester (1901) A Short History & Description Of Its Fabric With An Account Of The Diocese And See Hubert C. Corlette
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The feretory no doubt had a reredos at this point, but what the type of this earlier arrangement may have been it is impossible exactly to tell.
Bell's Cathedrals: Chichester (1901) A Short History & Description Of Its Fabric With An Account Of The Diocese And See Hubert C. Corlette
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Rome, having succeeded in persuading Urban IV. that his merits and fame deserved an honour which should bring wealth and celebrity to the see in whose cathedral his body was laid; so in 1276 the remains of his body were removed from their tomb and placed at the back of the high altar in a shrine, or feretory, dedicated to him.
Bell's Cathedrals: Chichester (1901) A Short History & Description Of Its Fabric With An Account Of The Diocese And See Hubert C. Corlette
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Sir Robert Smirke in 1807 put up work which consisted chiefly of panelling, which was affixed to the easternmost wall of the feretory.
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The Palm-Sunday procession moved to a tent or chapel at some distance from the church, whither the Blessed Sacrament had been conveyed at daybreak, and returned preceding two priests bearing the Blessed Sacrament in a feretory on their shoulders.
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 13: Revelation-Stock 1840-1916 1913
reesetee commented on the word feretory
A portable or stationary shrine, often made of or adorned with costly materials, in which were deposited the remains or relics of saints; a tomb.
February 9, 2008
qms commented on the word feretory
It seems to me a tasteless lapse
To march about with saintly scraps.
The apter territory
For any feretory
Is seen through a pane in the apse.
Note. I have found three suggested pronunciations for this word: fer-uh-TORY, fuh-RET-urry, FERRET-tree.
November 4, 2016