credence table

British  

noun

1. a small sideboard, originally one at which food was tasted for poison before serving

2. Christianity a small table or ledge on which the bread, wine, etc, are placed before being consecrated in the Eucharist

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Example Sentences

The credence table, or shelf above the piscina, must not be confounded with the ambrie or locker, a small square and plain recess usually contained in the east or north wall, near the altar.

From The Principles of Gothic Ecclesiastical Architecture, Elucidated by Question and Answer, 4th ed. by Bloxam, Matthew Holbeche

Vincent had risen to fetch the cruets from the credence table.

From Abbe Mouret's Transgression by Zola, Émile

There was a stone altar in the best style, a credence table, a piscina, what looked like a tabernacle, and a couple of handsome brass candlesticks.

From Loss and Gain The Story of a Convert by Newman, John Henry

Vincent had in the meanwhile fetched the cruets from the credence table, and now presented them in turn, first the wine and then the water.

From Abbe Mouret's Transgression by Zola, Émile

It is, however, as an article of ecclesiastical furniture that the credence table is most familiar.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 6 "Coucy-le-Château" to "Crocodile" by Various