The Antimension (or Antimens), is a gold satin rectangular piece of cloth upon which is depicted an icon of the Burial of Christ. The four Evangelists are shown in the corners while Sts. John Chrysostom and Basil the Great – the writers of the two liturgies we perform – appear on either side. Its name means “in place of a table” in Greek, literally making it a portable Altar Table and a required element for the celebration of any liturgy.

Sewn into each Antimens is the relic of a saint, thus keeping with the Early Church’s tradition of celebrating the liturgy atop the graves of its martyrs. Our own Antimens holds the relics of St. Herman of Alaska, the first North American saint.

The Antimens also contains wording that lists the name of the temple, its location, the date it was issued, and the ruling bishop’s signature, which constitutes his permission for the community to exist as an Orthodox parish, as well as our ability to celebrate the liturgy.

It is important to remember that in the Early Church, the Divine Liturgy was always celebrated by a bishop. It was only after the Church began to expand and grow that bishops ordained priests to serve as their representatives at other locations, yet only with an explicit blessing. The Antimens is a vestige of this fact and is, as it were, our “permission slip” to celebrate and function as a parish.

When not in use, the Antimens remains upon the Altar table folded within a second wine-colored cloth known as an Iliton, and rests underneath the Gospel Book. During the liturgy it is unfolded and the Eucharist is celebrated atop it.