feretory

American  

[fer-i-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] / ˈfɛr ɪˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i /

noun

plural

feretories

1. a container for the relics of a saint; reliquary.

2. an enclosure or area within a church where such a reliquary is kept.

3. a portable bier or shrine.

---

feretory British  

/ ˈfɛrɪtərɪ, -trɪ /

noun

1. a shrine, usually portable, for a saint's relics

2. the chapel in which a shrine is kept

---

Etymology

Origin of feretory

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English fertre, feretory, firetree, from Old French fiertre, from Latin feretrum, from Greek phė́retron “bier, litter”

Example Sentences

The feretory is used as a receptacle for the carved work found at various dates about the cathedral, including portions of statuary once belonging to the great screen.

From Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Winchester A Description of Its Fabric and a Brief History of the Episcopal See by Sergeant, Philip Walsingham

Sir Robert Smirke in 1807 put up work which consisted chiefly of panelling, which was affixed to the easternmost wall of the feretory.

From Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Gloucester [2nd ed.] A Description of Its Fabric and A Brief History of the Espicopal See by Massé, H. J. L. J. (Henri Jean Louis Joseph)

The feretory no doubt had a reredos at this point, but what the type of this earlier arrangement may have been it is impossible exactly to tell.

From Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Chichester (1901) A Short History & Description Of Its Fabric With An Account Of The Diocese And See by Corlette, Hubert C. (Hubert Christian)

Between us and the saint's feretory is a fifteenth-century screen, which is faced on this side by a modern reredos, designed by Sir G. Scott.

From Westminster Abbey by Fulleylove, John

As one passes beyond the feretory through the retro-choir, the Chantry of William Waynflete stands to the north of the central alley.

From Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Winchester A Description of Its Fabric and a Brief History of the Episcopal See by Sergeant, Philip Walsingham