Mid-13th century aumbry at St Matthew’s Church, Langford, Oxfordshire
Wikimedia Commons
Wikimedia Commons
An aumbry, or ambry, is a cupboard or recessed cabinet in the wall of a Christian church, used for storing holy oils or the reserved sacrament, a portion of the consecrated bread or wine retained after the Communion.[1] The reason for such reservations might have been to allow Communion to be taken to the sick and dying,[2] or to allow deacons and licensed lay ministers to officiate at Communion when there was no priest available. They do not have the authority to consecrate the bread or wine themselves, but may instead administer the reserved sacrament to the congregation.[3]
The use of aumbries for the reservation of the sacrament was forbidden in Roman Catholic churches in 1863, but the practice has been revived in recent years.[4]