What Does Consecrated Mean?
Consecrated means set apart for religious purposes. It may alternatively be defined as solemnly dedicated to a higher purpose, for example, a ‘Consecrated prayer room’, a ‘life consecrated to education’, or a ‘Consecrated altar’. Generally the consecration of something or someone will be made official with some kind of ceremony or ritual, for instance a chapel consecrated to a particular saint may be dedicated by prayer being offered up to the saint. In Christianity priests and nuns consecrate their lives to God, devoting themselves to his service, and pledging to adhere to poverty, charity and chastity. In the Roman Catholic Church the word Consecration denotes those actions by which the Eucharist and the wine are transformed in to the body and blood of Christ. In Orthodox Churches like the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Eastern Catholic Church Consecration is the response from the divine to the Epiclesis where the priest calls upon the Holy Ghost.
