page_title: Cult of the Holy Spirit
section_title: Symbols
hierarchical_section_title: Cult of the Holy Spirit / Symbols
caption_attribution_description: Português: Altar em honra do Divino Espírito Santo com Coroa, ilha de São Jorge, Açores
context_page_description: The cult of the Holy Spirit, also known as the cult of the Empire of the Holy Spirit, is a religious sub-culture, inspired by Christian millenarian mystics, associated with Azorean Catholic identity, consisting of iconography, architecture, and religious practices that have continued in many communities of the archipelago as well as the broader Portuguese diaspora. Beyond the Azores, the Cult of the Holy Spirit is alive in parts of Brazil and pockets of Portuguese settlers in North America. The cult of the Holy Spirit involves traditional rituals and religious celebrations of these faith communities.
  In its original sense, "cult" referred to an accepted religious practice, in sharp contrast to the term's modern, negative connotation. Devotion to the Holy Spirit is part of classical Catholic dogma and is the inspiration of several Catholic religious institutes, including the Spiritans, but what is considered here has peculiar characteristics of its own.
context_section_description: The rituals of the cult include various symbolic objects that are typically incorporated during the ceremonies; they include:
  Crown, scepter and orb — these are most important symbols of the Império, and assumes a central place during the celebrations. The crown is an imperial design, in silver, normally with four arms that meet at a golden orb (also in silver) surmounted by the dove of the Holy Spirit. Each crown comes with a silver scepter, again, surmounted with the dove of the Holy Spirit. In addition, the crown and scepters are decorated with ribbons of white, and mounted on a silver plate with a tall rest. The size of the crown varies, and in general, each irmandade may have one large and two smaller crowns, used to represent the Império of the Holy Spirit. In addition to being used in crowning ceremonies, it is considered an honor to transport the crown or let it remain in your home, which occurs with the brotherhood routinely. Throughout the years, the crown will circulate, remaining in a place of honor in the household, where nightly prayers would occur. Although, traditionally, the process of moving the crowns from household to household involved a cortege, escorted by the brotherhood, in modern times, the movement is not as ornamented.
  Flag — the pennant, of brilliant red color, is a double-side quadrangular dimension (five palms on the side), knitted with a relief of the white dove of the Holy Spirit and rays of gold and white irradiating from its center. The flagstaff, made of wood, is two meters in height (although some are smaller or taller) surmounted with the dove of the Holy Spirit in tin or silver. The flag will accompany the crown and is always present in the liturgical ceremonies and crowning; it is an honor to be selected to carry the flag during the ceremonial cortege. A smaller flag is usually raised near the location of the crown, wherever it stays, and it is common to see white flags line the squares during the ceremonies.
  Hymn — the Hino do Espírito Santo (English: Hymn of the Holy Spirit), composed at the end of the 19th century, is used by the bands and sung during the crowning ceremonies. Although primiarly used in these ceremonies, some of its chords have been inserted into the Hymn of the Azores (the regional national anthem).
  Mace and ribbon — inspired by the ceremonial maces carried traditionally by municipal judges or officials, the ceremony and cortège is accompanied by a variable number of mace-bearers (but usually 12). The wooded maces, usually 1.5 meters in length, sometimes include a base for a candle, or surmounted with a tin or silver dove. During the cortège the mace-bearers surround the crown-bearer, in some cases the maces are joined together to form a rectangle, and the crown-bearer walks within the space. In some irmandades an extra mace  (sometimes painted in white) will be provided to an individual who will be responsible for maintaining the procession in good order. It is occasionally, referred colloquially as the "enxota porcos" (English: pig incentive), likely a reference to a time when animals roamed the streets, and had to be forced to the side of the road.  The organization would normally select people who needed a position of honor: mostly young people.
  Foliões do Divino — a small group of about five musicians that sing hymns, accompanied by drum, cymbal, and tambourine, who visit the homes of the brotherhood. They are also included in the transference of the crown, at the collection of donations, during the procession, the rituals and the distribution of offerings. On the island of Santa Maria as well as the area of Beira on São Jorge, the foliões are part of more complex rituals that have disappeared from other islands, involving the liturgy of the Holy Spirit.
caption: An altar in honor of the Holy Spirit with Crown, an example from the island of São Jorge
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