1. Consecrations are rites of initiation that fundamentally alter the religious and/or social status of a person or that bestow a special dignity on a person’s surroundings. Whereas secular understanding views consecrations as ceremonies of acceptance or maturity (e.g., youth dedications), in religious communities this concept, which even in pre-Christian times occupied a central position, refers to liturgical services that place persons, things, or locales into a special relationship with the holy. The various understandings of church office (Offices, Ecclesiastical) and…