Catholic
chalice, a cup used in the celebration of the Christian
Eucharist. Both the statement of
St. Paul about “the cup of blessing which we bless” (1 Corinthians 10:16) and the accounts of the institution of the Eucharist in the first three Gospels indicate that special rites of consecration attended the use of the chalice from the beginning. It was not until the recognition of
Christianity by the Roman Empire in the 4th century that silver and
gold became the usual materials for the chalice. In the Middle Ages the
legend of the
Holy Grail surrounded the origins of the eucharistic chalice with a magical aura.
The
precious stones and elaborate carvings employed for the embellishment of chalices have made them an important part of the history of
ecclesiastical art. ~brittanica encyclopedia