Pyx Definition

The term Pyx usually refers to a box-wood container, usually small and round used in the Catholic Churches to store consecrated host or to carry it to those persons unable to come to a church for receiving Holy Communion. The term pyx comes from the Greek word "pyxis" meaning box or receptacle. In modern times, the term is usually applied to small, flat, clamshell-style containers of small size and typically made of brass or other metals, customarily lined with gold. The term Pyx is also used in archaeology and art history to describe small round lidded boxes designed for any use like antiquity or the Middle Ages, when those were used to hold coins for the Trial of the Pyx in England.
Log In