DISCOS (Δίσκος, Διακάριον). - In the Eastern rites this name is given to a small metal plate (of gold, silver, or gilded brass), deeper than the Western paten, but serving the same purpose. The Slavs place beneath it a support or foot in order to carry it more easily. It completes the chalice and is sometimes joined with it in a single word: διακατατήριον. On the d., upon the altar of prothesis, are arranged the Lamb (the offering of the sacrifice) and the particles in honour of the saints, the dead, and the living. Formerly this preparation was entrusted to the deacons; today it is reserved to priests.
The d., some commentators say, is the bier upon which Nicodemo and Giuseppe, who represent the deacons, laid the body of the Lord. The d. has its special veil (διακατάλειψιον) and is carried upon the deacon’s head when, in the liturgy, the offerings are transferred from the prothesis to the high altar. After the Communion of the faithful, the deacon carries it back empty to the prothesis. In the ordination of a priest, according to certain Slavic customs, the bishop gives the newly ordained priest a d. upon which he has placed a particle of consecrated bread. The d., like the chalice, requires no special consecration in order to be used. Nevertheless, in the consecration of a church, these objects are consecrated together with the altar, and some manuscripts contain a special rite for their consecration. A d., generally broader and deeper, is also used to hold the relic of the Holy Cross on the third Sunday of Lent, dedicated to the adoration of the Cross. Placido de Meester