CHRISM (through

See also:

• LAT

Lat. chrisma, from Gr. xpavua, an

See also:

• ANOINTING

anointing substance, Xpiew , to anoint; through a Romanic

See also:

• FORM (Lat. forma)

form cresma comes the Fr. creme, and Eng. " cream ")  , a mixture of olive oil and balm, used for anointing in the Roman Catholic church in baptism, confirmation and ordination, and in the consecrating and blessing of altars, chalices, baptismal water, &c . The consecration of the " chrism " is performed by a bishop, and since the 5th century has taken place on Maundy Thursday . In the Orthodox Church the chrism contains, besides olive oil, many precious spices and perfumes, and is known as " muron " or " myron." The word is sometimes used loosely for the unmixed olive oil used in the sacrament of extreme unction . The " Chrisom " or " chrysom," a variant of " chrism," lengthened through pronunciation, is a white cloth with which the head of a newly baptized child was covered to prevent the holy oil from being rubbed off . If the baby died within a month of its baptism, it was shrouded in its chrisom; otherwise the cloth or its value was given to the church as an offering by the mother at her churching . Children dying within the month were called " chrisom-children" or chrisoms," and up to 1726 such entries occur in bills of mortality . The word was also used generally for a very young and innocent child, thus Shakespeare, Henry V., ii .