The offertory (from Medieval Latinoffertorium and Late Latinofferre)[1] is the part of a Eucharistic service when the bread and wine for use in the service are ceremonially placed on the altar.
A collection of alms (offerings) from the congregation, which may take place also at non-Eucharistic services, often coincides with this ceremony.[2][3]
In the Roman Rite, the term "Preparation of the Gifts"[4] is used in addition to the term "Offertory"[5] (both capitalized) or, rather, the term "Preparation of the Gifts" is used for the action of the priest, while the term "Offertory" is used for the section of the Mass at which this action is performed in particular when speaking of the accompanying chant.[6]
In Baptist churches, the offertory refers to the part of the service of worship in which collection plates or baskets are distributed by ushers, with the tithes and offerings subsequently being brought to the chancel.
Offertory hymns are often sung during preparation and collection.
Liturgical action
In the Roman Rite, the offertory is the first part of the Liturgy of the Eucharist. The altar is first prepared by placing on it the corporal, purificator, missal and chalice. The bread and wine, and perhaps other offerings or gifts for the poor or for the Church, are presented by the faithful in a procession to the accompaniment of an offertory chant. The priest places first the bread and then the wine on the altar while saying the prescribed prayers, after which he may incense them together with the cross and the altar. The priest and the people may also be incensed. After washing his hands at the side of the altar, the priest says the Prayer over the Offerings.[7] This was originally the only prayer said at the offertory of the Roman Rite.[8]
There are variations in other rites. For instance, in the Dominican Rite a single prayer was said at the offertory over the bread and wine, which have already been prepared on the altar at an earlier part of the Mass.[9]
In the Byzantine Rite, there is a short offertory at the same point as in the Roman Rite. A more elaborate ceremonial, the Liturgy of Preparation, takes place before the public part of the celebration of the Divine Liturgy.[8]
Music
In the Roman Rite, the procession bringing the gifts is accompanied by the Offertory Chant, and singing may accompany the offertory even if there is no procession.[10] Before 1970, the priest said the Prayer over the Offerings silently because during the offertory the people, at an earlier time, sang a psalm or, in responsorial fashion, repeated a refrain while a soloist sang the verses of the psalm.[8] In the Tridentine Mass, only the choir sang the refrain alone to an elaborate setting. The priest read the refrain at the beginning of the offertory not only at a Low Mass, which was without singing, but also at a Solemn Mass.
The 1662 Book of Common Prayer of the Church of England includes "offertory sentences" which are to be read at this point. Current practice in Anglican churches favours the singing of a congregational hymn (the "offertory hymn") or an anthem sung by the choir, and often both. In some churches music at the offertory is provided by an organist.[citation needed]
"Collection plate" redirects here. For the notice fixed to a post box, see collection plate (postal).
Kollektomat (collectomat), an automatic offertory machine with a card reader in Lund Cathedral, SwedenAnglican Church of Korea's Offering bags
In traditional forms of Christianity, a tithe (the first tenth of one's income) is seen as what is owed to God, while alms (offerings) are anything contributed beyond that.[2][3]
During the offertory or immediately before it, a collection of money or other gifts for the poor or for the church is taken up. In the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, these offerings may be brought forward together with the bread and wine, but they are to be placed "in a suitable place but away from the Eucharistic table".[10]
In many Anglican, Baptist and Methodist churches, a collection plate, basket or bag is often used during the offertory to gather the gifts of the faithful (tithes and alms) for the support of the church and for charity. These may then be brought into the chancel.[citation needed]
A "second collection" to provide financial support to a particular good cause sometimes takes place at the end of a service.[11] The second collection can, however, be collected during the service and also taken up during the offertory.[12]
See also
Mite box – box used to collect offerings in some Christian churches
Saisen – coin boxes in Japanese temples and shrines
Tithe – a periodic donation to a church, originally ten percent of one's income
^ abPrince, Derek (1 October 2011). The Promise of Provision: Living and Giving from God's Abundant Supply. Baker Books. ISBN978-1-4412-6328-5.
^ abClaydon, Tony; Clarke, Peter Bernard (2010). God's Bounty?: Papers Read at the 2008 Summer Meeting and the 2009 Winter Meeting of the Ecclesiastical History Society. Boydell & Brewer. ISBN978-0-9546809-6-1.
^General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM), 33, 43, 72-77, 214
