Cantharus (Cristianismo)

Un cantharus, también conocido como phiala, es una fuente utilizada por los cristianos para la ablución antes de ingresar a una iglesia .^[1]^[2]^[3] Estas abluciones implican el lavado de manos, cara y pies.^[3] El cantharus se encuentra tradicionalmente en el exonarthex de la iglesia.^[2]^[4] El agua que vierte un cantharus debe ser agua corriente.^[5] La práctica de las abluciones antes de la oración y la adoración en el cristianismo simboliza «la separación de los pecados del espíritu y la entrega al Señor».^[4] Eusebio registró esta práctica de los canthari ubicados en los patios de las iglesias, para que los fieles se laven antes de ingresar a una casa de culto cristiana.^[3] La práctica tiene su origen en la práctica judía de realizar abluciones antes de entrar en la presencia de Dios (cf. KJV).^[2]^[1] Aunque los canthari ya no son tan frecuentes en el cristianismo occidental, se encuentran en las iglesias cristianas del este y iglesias cristianas orientales .^[1]

Véase también

Referencias

1 2 3 Ian Bradley (2 de noviembre de 2012). Water: A Spiritual History (en inglés). Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4411-6767-5. «It was probably out of the Jewish rite that the practice developed among early Christians, especially in the east, of washing their hands and feet before going into church. Early Christian basilicas had a fountain for ablutions, known as cantharus or phiala, and usually placed in the centre of the atrium. They are still found in some Eastern Orthodox churches, notably at the monastery of Laura at Mount Athos, where the phiala is an imposing structure in front of the entrance covered by a dome resting on eight pillars. In several Orthodox churches today worshippers take off heir shoes and wash their feet before entering the church just as Muslims do before going into a mosque.»
1 2 3 Soloviĭ, Meletiĭ M. (1970). Eastern Liturgical Theology: General Introduction (en inglés). Ukrainian Catholic Religion and Culture Society of Etobicoke (Toronto) and Ukrainian Catholic Youth of Canada. p. 68. «In the Book of Exodus (30, 18-20) Aaron and his sons were required to wash before approaching the altar. Here water is used as a symbol of purification and expiation. But water is also the most common and most indispensable drink. ... So much was the practice a part of the life of the early Church, that in the period after Constantine the “cantharus”, or water fountain, became a standard fixture in the courtyard before the basilica to permit the faithful to purify themselves before entering the presence of God.»
1 2 3 Bingham, Joseph (1840). The antiquities of the Christian Church (en inglés). W. Straker. p. 396. «In the middle of which stood a Fountain for washing as they entered into the Church, called Cantharus and Phiala in some authors. It is further to be noted, that in the middle of the atrium, there was commonly a fountain, or a cistern of water, for people to wash their hands and face, before they went into the church.»
1 2 Ferguson, Everett (8 de octubre de 2013). Encyclopedia of Early Christianity: Second Edition (en inglés). Routledge. p. 6. ISBN 978-1-136-61158-2.
↑ Lowrie, Walter (1901). Christian Art and Archæology: Being a Handbook to the Monuments of the Early Church (en inglés). Macmillan Publishers. p. 179. «In the middle of this court there was as a rule a fountain of running water (the cantharus) for the symbolical purification of those who ere about to enter the church.»

Datos: Q1033779

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