Thurible
A
thurible is a metal censer suspended from chains, in which incense is burned during worship services. It is used in the Roman Catholic, Anglo Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic, some Lutheran, Old Catholic, and in various Gnostic Churches. It is also used in Co-Freemasonry and in the practice of ceremonial magic. In Catholic, Lutheran, and Anglican churches, the altar server who carries the thurible is called the
thurifer. The workings of a thurible are quite simple. Burning charcoal is inside the metal censer. Incense, sometimes of many different varieties, is placed upon the charcoal. This may be done several times during the service as the incense burns quite quickly. Once the incense has been placed on the charcoal the thurible is then closed and used for censing. A famous thurible is the huge
Botafumeiro in Santiago de Compostela Cathedral, Spain The word "thurible" comes from the Old French
thurible, which in turn is derived from the Latin term
thuribulum. The Latin
thuribulum is further formed from the root
thus, meaning incense.