benediction

thumb|200px|Icon of Christ Pantokrator|Jesus Christ Pantokrator by [[Theophanes the Cretan. His right hand is raised in benediction.]] A benediction (, 'well' + , 'to speak') is a short invocation for divine help, blessing and guidance, usually at the end of worship service. It can also refer to a specific Christian religious service including the exposition of the eucharistic host in the monstrance and the blessing of the people with it.

==Christianity== thumb|Benediction given by a Lutheran priest at the Lutheran Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul in Moscow thumb|Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament at Sacred Heart Chaplaincy, Cagayan de Oro, [[Philippines.]] From the earliest church, Christians adopted ceremonial benedictions into their liturgical worship, particularly at the end of a service. Such benedictions have been regularly practiced both in the Christian East and West. Among the benedictions of the Roman Catholic Church, include the Apostolic Benediction made by the Pope and his delegates, and the "last blessing" of the dying. The Anglican Church retained the principle of benediction after the Protestant Reformation, and as a result, the benediction or blessing ends most Anglican, as well as Methodist, services of worship.