Mass (liturgy)
"
Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is commonly called in the Roman Catholic Church, Western Rite Orthodox churches and many Old Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran churches. Apart from "Eucharist" others are the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and Divine Liturgy" and "Holy Communion". In these denominations, the term
Mass often colloquially refers to the entire church service in general. In general, Protestants avoid the term "Mass" and use such terms as
Divine Service or
service of worship, for doctrinal reasons. For the celebration of the Eucharist in Eastern churches, including those in full communion with the Holy See, other terms such as the
Divine Liturgy, the
Qurbono Qadisho or
Holy Qurbana and the
Badarak are normal. The term "Mass" is derived from the Late Latin word
missa, a word used in the concluding formula of Mass in Latin:
"Ite, missa est". "In antiquity,
missa simply meant 'dismissal'.