Asterisk (liturgy)

The Asterisk (Greek: Ἀστερίσκον, ἀστερίσκος, romanized: Asterískon, asterískos; Slavonic: Звездица, Zvezdítsa), or Star-cover (from the Greek αστήρ, astêr, meaning star), is one of the holy vessels used in the Divine Liturgy of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches.

[1] The asterisk is made of two strips of metal laid one on top of the other and joined in the center by a brad or screw.

Sometimes, in Greek Catholic usage, a small star will be suspended from the asterisk where the two strips of metal are joined.

As the asterisk is one of the sacred vessels, it is usually kept on the Prothesis (Table of Oblation), where the bread and wine are prepared for the Eucharist, and no one except the priest or deacon should touch it.

In the Roman Rite, a special twelve-ray asterisk was used in Papal Masses, as a covering for the host on the paten, when it was brought to the Pope at his throne for his Communion.