Chalice

Chalice (Lat. calix, a cup). The term is applied almost exclusively to the cup in which the consecrated wine is administered at Holy Communion. The chalice was formerly often covered by a plate or paten containing the consecrated elements. Old chalices, particularly those of the 15th and 16th centuries, are often elaborately decorated and ornamented with precious stones. The legality of the "mixed chalice," i.e. of mixing water with the consecrated wine, has recently been a subject of controversy in the Church of England.