On Sunday, December 15th at the Cathedral, Bishop Peter served the Rite of Consecration of New Antimins. As this is a rare service perfomed only by a bishop and exclusively within the altar, we provide this photoreport and narrative to explain the meaning of this rite.

An antimins is a rectangular cloth on which are depicted representations of Christ's descent from the Cross as well as the four evangelists. It is kept folded on the altar table and contains the relics of saints sewn into it. The word derives from the Greek antimension which means "instead of the table". It is not permissible to serve a Divine Liturgy without an antimins and it must be consecrated and signed by the reigning Bishop in advance. During emergencies, the Liturgy may be served with an antimins when an altar table is not available. When a Bishop visits a church or monastery under his jurisdiction, he typically enters the altar to inspect the antimins to ensure that it is properly cared for and in fact, the one that was blessed for use in that particular church.