Peristerium

File:French - Eucharistic Dove - Walters 443 - Profile.jpg

French peristerium, Walters Art Museum

A peristerium or Eucharistic dove is a metallic vessel, in the shape of a dove (pigeon), which can be hung over an altar in Eastern Christian churches.

Purpose

This is a golden or silver vessel in the shape of a dove, used in this form in Medieval churches to keep the Eucharist (the Blessed Sacrament). These consecrated Hosts are in the Pyx, which could be put into it by a flap in the back of the dove's body.

Icon

The dove is a widely used symbol of the Christian Church. It symbolizes the Holy Spirit, is an attribute of the Blessed Mother, and was later one of the apostles. As a symbol of resurrection, pigeons were placed in the tombs of the martyrs. Also grave lamps in the form of doves were common.

Literature

• Bonaparte: Iconography of the pigeons, Paris, 1857.