PROCESSIONS
448
PROCESSIONS
tion is inserted: "Ut congruentem pluviam fidelibus parish possesses a cross of its own and that behind
tuis concedere digneris. Te rogamus audi nos". In tliis, as a sort of standard, the parishioners are mar-
the medieval rituals and processionals a large variety of shalled when they take part in some general pro-
such exceptional forms may be found, connected espe- cession. It is usual also for cathedral chapters and
cially with supplications for the produce of the earth, similar collegiate bodies to possess a processional
A common feature in many of these was to make a cross which precedes them in their corporate paparity
station towards the four points of the compass and to and the same is true of rehgious, for whom usage pre^
read at each the beginning of one of the four Gospels scribes that in case of the monastic orders the staff
with other prayers. The practice of carrying the of the cross should be of silver or metal, but for the
Blessed Sacrament upon such occasions is frequently mendicant orders, of wood. In the case of these
condemned in medieval synods. In England the crosses of religious orders, confraternities, etc. it is
perambulation of the parishes on the "Gang days", usual in Italy to attach streamers to a sort of pent-
as the Rogation days were called, lasted far into the house over the crucifix, or to the knob underneath
seventeenth century. Aubrey,
for example, declares in a pen-
cil note to his "Remaines":
"On Rogation Days the Gos-
pells were read in the cornfields
here in England untill the
Civill wars" (Hazlitt, "Faiths
and Folklore", II, 478). The
custom of making these pro-
cessions was kept up seem-
ingly with a view to its utility
in impressing upon the memory
the boundaries of the parish,
and in some places boys were
flogged at the boundaries that
they might remember the spot
in old age. In the Greek and
some other Oriental liturgies
the two processions known as
the great and little entrances
form a very imposing feature
of the rite. At the "little en-
trance" the Book of the Go.s-
pels is carried in by the dea-
con accompanied by acolytes
bearing torches and two fans.
The "great entrance" takes
place when the holy gifts, i. e.
the bread and wine, are
solemnly brought to the altar
while the choir sing the famous
"cherubic hymn". Similar
features seem to have existed
in the early Galilean Liturgy;
even in the Roman high Mass
the procession which heralds
Processional Cros
XV Century
it. AAhen these crosses are
carried in procession the figure
of Christ faces the direction
in which the procession is
mo\'ing, but in the case of
the papal, legafine, and ar-
chiepiscopal crosses the fig-
ure of our Saviour is always
turned towards the prelate "to
whom it belongs. In England,
during the Sliddle Ages, a
special processional cross was
used during Lent, It was of
wood, painted red and had no
figure of Christ upon it. It
seems probable that this is
identical with the "vexillum
einericium" of which we read
in the Sarum processional.
Processional C.\nopies. — As, according to the require- ments of the Cceremoniale Episcoporum, the altars of a church and especially the high altar should be covered by a baldacchino and the bishop's throne etc. should be honoured with the same mark of re- spect, so canopies are used in processions and solemn recep- tions not only for the Blessed Sacrament but also under cer- tain circumstances for bishops, legates, and princes of the blood royal. The principal oc- casions on which a bishop has
the singing of the Gospel is probably the survival of the right to use a canopy are at his solemn reception
a more imposing ceremony of earlier date. in his own cathedral city, and when he makes his first
,_^I'^?™-"55' -O^ S2«"" «':fc»><^ riiibus (Venice, 1788). Ill, pastoral visitation to any town or parish within his
l/i; IV, 45 sq., JSO sq.; CATAL.\Nr. ComTnentarius m Rltuale ■ • j- *• au /~i " • i tt" • /t ■• j\
Bomanum (Rome, 1750): Gretser, be proces^onibusm Opera jurisdiction the Caeremomale Episcoporum (I, 11, 4)
omnia, V (Ratisbon, 1735), v; Sanderds, Auctarium de ritu pro- directs that in these receptions the bishop is to ride on
cessionum (Ypres, 1640) ; Eveillon, De processionibiisecdesiasiicis horseback wearing his mitre, and Under a canopy which
(Paris, 1641): Qd.\rto, De processionibits ecctesiasticis (Napli
1G49): Wordsworth, Ceremonies and Processions of the Cathedral
Church of Salisbury (Cambridge, 1901): Ceremonial of the Church
(Philadelphia, 1894). HERBERT ThUHSTON.
Processionai. Cross. — A processional cross is simply a crucifix which is carried at the head of a procession, and which, that it may be more easily seen, is usually mounted upon a long staff or handle
is in the first instance to be carried by some of the prin-
cipal magistrates of the town. Excepting in the rare
case of separate portions of the True Cross or of the
instruments of the Passion, relics borne in procession
are not to be carried under a canopy. In procession?
of the Blessed Sacrament the colour of the canopy
must always be white. For transporting the Blessed
Sacrament from one altar to another or for taking
From an archaeological point of \-iew this subject has the Holy Viaticum to the sick, it is customary in
already been briefly dealt with under Cross. It will many places, e. g. in Rome, to use an umbella, or
suffice to note here that the processional cross does ombrellino, as it is called in Italian, which is simply a
not essentially differ from what may be called the
cross of jurisdiction which is borne before the pope,
his legates, and metropolitans or archbishops. The
pope is entitled to have the cross borne before him
wherever he may be; a legate's cross is used only
small canopy with a single staff.
Processional Banners. — Processional banners have also been in common use in the Church since medieval times. In England before the Reformation they are frequently referred to, though it does not
in the territory for which he has been appointed, and seem clear that these vexilla were floating draperies,
that of an arc'hbishop within the limits of his province, such as we are how accustomed to understand by the
All these crosses, including that of the pope, have in name. The woodcuts which appear in some early
practice only one bar. The double-barred cross is editions of the Sarum Processional rather suggest
a sort of heraldic fiction which is unknown in the a rigid frame of wood or metal. In the Rogation
ceremonial of the Church. It is supposed that every processions and some others two special vexiUa were
