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Credence

The American Church Dictionary and Cyclopedia

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Dictionaries
American Church Dictionary
• Credence
1910 New Catholic Dictionary
• Table, Credence
• Credence-Table
• Credence
Webster Dictionary
• Credence
Encyclopedias
1911 Encyclopedia Britannica
• Credence
McClintock and Strong's Bible Encyclopedia
• Credence
• Credence-Table
• Table, Credence
The Catholic Encyclopedia
• Credence

A table or shelf made of wood or stone placed at the side of the Sanctuary to hold the elements and vessels preparatory to consecration in the Holy Communion. The derivation is not certainly known. Some suppose it is derived from an Anglo-Saxon word meaning "to make ready"; while others think it is derived from the Italian word for "buffet"—credenzare, meaning to taste food or drink before handed to another,—an old court custom. The presence of the Credence in the Sanctuary is made necessary by the rubric which directs that the bread and wine shall not be placed on the Altar until the time of the Offertory.