Baldachin – Ciborium

Both a baldachin and a ciborium make the same theological statement: the gift of the Spirit brooding over the gifts placed on the altar. Their difference concerns their specific symbolic narrative.

A baldachin is designed as a tent, reminiscent of the portable tent of meeting, the portable sanctuary, in which God dwelt in the midst of the camp. This baldachin at St Pter’s Basilica, Rome, has tassels hanging from the canopy in the form of a tent.