Chrism
Sacrum chrisma
- Known today as
- Olive oil mixed with balsam and consecrated by a bishop.
- Kind
- Sacramental, in 1 older authority
- Constituents
- oleic acid, benzyl benzoate and benzyl cinnamate, hydroxytyrosol
- Earliest authority here
- The Church
Chrism: what was it used for?
For baptism, confirmation, the ordination of priests, and the consecration of churches, altars, and bells.
Chrism: what does modern science say?
In continuous use; consecrated each year at the Chrism Mass of Holy Week.
Pharmacognosy & Toxicology
- Constituents
- oleic acid ChEMBLthe olive oil
- benzyl benzoate and benzyl cinnamatefrom the balsam of Peru or Tolu mixed in
- hydroxytyrosol ChEMBLthe olive polyphenol
- Mechanism
- Olive oil scented with balsam: an emollient with an antiseptic resin, which on the skin does what any such oil does. The sacramental meaning is not a pharmacology, and the Church does not claim one.
- Toxic dose
- Balsam of Peru is a leading contact allergen.
- Standing
- A sacramental; the balsam is restricted in cosmetics by the IFRA for sensitisation.
- de Groot, A. C. (2019). “Myroxylon pereirae resin (balsam of Peru): a critical review of the literature and assessment of the significance of positive patch test reactions and the usefulness of restrictive diets.” Contact Dermatitis 80. Verified against its record · doi:10.1111/cod.13263
Constituent names open the compound’s record at PubChem, and “ChEMBL” beside a name opens its record at ChEMBL, the European Bioinformatics Institute’s database of bioactive molecules. Where a mechanism line was checked against ChEMBL (ChEMBL 37, read 1 October 2026), the check is shown with the measured value and its source paper, or says plainly that nothing has been measured. Doses are as the references give them, for description only; this is not medical advice. Each source carries the result of its check against Crossref, PubMed, or the authority’s page: see Verification.
Chrism: what lore surrounds it?
Distinct from the blessed oil of Canale’s rites, which any priest could bless. Its balsam was once balm of Gilead.
Chrism: what did the older authorities say?
- The Church
- The chrism, the oil of the catechumens, and the oil of the sick are blessed together at the Chrism Mass, on or near Holy Thursday.
Sources
- Pontificale Romanum. Book, seen in reviews
Verification
- Checked
- October 1, 2026
- Passes
- Every sentence read against its sources, in the pass over the remaining 343 entries
- The Standing line checked against the authority it names (EMA, WHO, FDA, CITES, Commission E)
- Every dated or regulatory claim checked by category across the database
- Sources
- 2 cited: 1 verified against its record, 1 book, seen in reviews.
- Corrections
- None were needed.
What was checked, how, and what was found is set out on the Verification page. A checked source is one whose record was found; it does not make the entry medical advice.
Cite This Entry
Version 1 · first published September 25, 2026
- Chicago
“Chrism.” In Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1. The Thinking Press, 2026–. Last modified September 25, 2026. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/chrism.
- MLA
“Chrism.” Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema, version 1, The Thinking Press, 25 Sept. 2026, thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/chrism. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.
- APA
Chrism. (2026, September 25). In B. C. P. Statema (Ed.), Materia medica (Version 1). The Thinking Press. Retrieved October 8, 2026, from https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/chrism
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See Also
Sharing oleic acid, hydroxytyrosol
Corylus avellana · Blessed oil · Olive oil and holy water · Moringa oleifera
Nearby in the alphabet
Cinchona (The bark of Cinchona trees of the Andes) · Chokecherry (the chokecherry of North America) · Cinnabar (Mercury sulfide) · Chocolate · Cinnamon (The bark of Cinnamomum verum) · Chicory (Cichorium intybus) · Cinquefoil (Potentilla reptans) · Chaste tree (a Mediterranean shrub with spikes of lilac flowers and peppery fruit)
Historical description, not medical advice.