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Wikipedia

Altar

April 29, 2023

For other uses, see Altar (disambiguation).

An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paganism, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism,[a] modern paganism, and in certain Islamic communities around Caucasia and Asia Minor. Many historical-medieval faiths also made use of them, including the Roman, Greek, and Norse religions.

Altar in Roskilde Cathedral beneath by a carved reredos

Etymology

The modern English word altar was derived from Middle English altar, from Old English alter, taken from Latin altare ("altar"), probably related to adolere ("burn"); thus "burning place", influenced by altus ("high"). It displaced the native Old English word wēofod.

Altars in antiquity

Judaism

Main article: Altar (Bible)

Altars [b] in the Hebrew Bible were typically made of earth[2] or unwrought stone.[3] Altars were generally erected in conspicuous places.[4][5][6][7] The first altar recorded in the Hebrew Bible is that erected by Noah.[8] Altars were erected by Abraham,[9] by Isaac,[10] by Jacob,[11] and by Moses.[12]

After the theophany on Mount Sinai, in the Tabernacle—and afterwards in the Temple—only two altars were used: The Altar of Burnt Offering, and the Altar of Incense, both near where the Ark of the Covenant was located.

The remains of three rock-hewn altars were discovered in the Land of Israel: one below Tel Zorah, another at the foot of Sebastia (ancient Samaria), and a third near Shiloh.[13]

Christianity

 
Dedication of an altar

The word altar, in Greek θυσιαστήριον (see:θυσία), appears twenty-four times in the New Testament. In Catholic and Orthodox Christian theology, the Eucharist is a re-presentation, in the literal sense of the one sacrifice of Christ on the cross being made "present again". Hence, the table upon which the Eucharist is consecrated is called an altar.

The altar plays a central role in the celebration of the Eucharist, which takes place at the altar on which the bread and the wine for consecration are placed. Altars occupy a prominent place in most Christian churches, both Eastern[c] and Western[d] branches. Commonly among these churches, altars are placed for permanent use within designated places of communal worship (often called "sanctuaries"). Less often, though nonetheless notable, altars are set in spaces occupied less regularly, such as outdoors in nature, in cemeteries, in mausoleums/crypts, and family dwellings. Personal altars are those placed in a private bedroom, closet, or other space usually occupied by one person. They are used for practices of piety intended for one person (often referred to as a "private devotion"). They are also found in a minority of Protestant worship places; in Reformed and Anabaptist churches, a table, often called a "Communion table", serves an analogous function.

 
A home altar in a Methodist Christian household, with a cross and candles surrounded by other religious items

The area around the altar is seen as endowed with greater holiness, and is usually physically distinguished from the rest of the church, whether by a permanent structure such as an iconostasis, a rood screen, altar rails, a curtain that can be closed at more solemn moments of the liturgy (as in the Armenian Apostolic Church and Armenian Catholic Church), or simply by the general architectural layout. The altar is often on a higher elevation than the rest of the church.

Churches generally have a single altar, although in the Western branches of Christianity, as a result of the former abandonment of concelebration of Mass, so that priests always celebrated Mass individually, larger churches have had one or more side chapels, each with its own altar. The main altar was also referred to as the "high altar". Since the revival of concelebration in the West, the Roman Missal recommends that in new churches there should be only one altar, "which in the gathering of the faithful will signify the one Christ and the one Eucharist of the Church."[14] This does not exclude altars in distinct side chapels, however, but only separate altars in the main body of the church. But most Western churches of an earlier period, whether Roman Catholic or Anglican, may have a high altar in the main body of the church, with one or more adjoining chapels, each with its own altar, at which the Eucharist may be celebrated on weekdays.

Architecturally, there are two types of altars: Those that are attached to the eastern wall of the chancel, and those that are free-standing and can be walked around, for instance when incensing the altar.[e]

 
Early Coptic altar carved into the wall of the Temple of Isis on the island Philae in Egypt.

In the earliest days of the Church, the Eucharist appears to have been celebrated on portable altars set up for the purpose. Some historians hold that, during the persecutions, the Eucharist was celebrated among the tombs in the Catacombs of Rome, using the sarcophagi (see sarcophagus) of martyrs as altars on which to celebrate. Other historians dispute this, but it is thought to be the origin of the tradition of placing relics beneath the altar.

When Christianity was legalized under Constantine the Great and Licinius, formal church buildings were built in great numbers, normally with free-standing altars in the middle of the sanctuary, which in all the earliest churches built in Rome was at the west end of the church. "When Christians in fourth-century Rome could first freely begin to build churches, they customarily located the sanctuary towards the west end of the building in imitation of the sanctuary of the Jerusalem Temple. Although in the days of the Jerusalem Temple the High Priest indeed faced east when sacrificing on Yom Kippur, the sanctuary within which he stood was located at the western end of the Temple. The Christian replication of the layout and the orientation of the Jerusalem Temple helped to dramatize the eschatological meaning attached to the sacrificial death of Jesus the High Priest in the Epistle to the Hebrews."[15] The ministers (bishop, priests, deacons, subdeacons, acolytes), celebrated the Eucharist facing east, towards the entrance. Some hold that for the central part of the celebration the congregation faced the same way. After the sixth century the contrary orientation prevailed, with the entrance to the west and the altar at the east end. Then the ministers and congregation all faced east during the whole celebration; and in Western Europe altars began, in the Middle Ages, to be permanently placed against the east wall of the chancel.

In Western Christian churches

Most rubrics, even in books of the seventeenth century and later, such as the Pontificale Romanum, continued to envisage the altar as free-standing. The rite of the Dedication of the Church[16] continued to presume that the officiating bishop could circle the altar during the consecration of the church and its altar. Despite this, with the increase in the size and importance of the reredos, most altars were built against the wall or barely separated from it.

In almost all cases, the eastward orientation for prayer was maintained, whether the altar was at the west end of the church, as in all the earliest churches in Rome, in which case the priest celebrating Mass faced the congregation and the church entrance, or whether it was at the east end of the church, in which case the priest faced the eastern apse and had his back to the congregation. This diversity was recognized in the rubrics of the Roman Missal from the 1604 typical edition of Pope Clement VIII to the 1962 edition of Pope John XXIII: "Si altare sit ad orientem, versus populum ..."[17]

When placed close to a wall or touching it, altars were often surmounted by a reredos or altarpiece. If free-standing, they could be placed, as also in Eastern Christianity, within a ciborium (sometimes called a baldachin).

 
Altar of Newman University Church, Dublin, with an altar ledge occupying the only space between it and the wall

The rules regarding the present-day form of the Roman Rite liturgy declare a free-standing main altar to be "desirable wherever possible".[18] Similarly, in the Anglican Communion, the rubrics of the Book of Common Prayer assumed an altar fixed against the wall, until Prayer Book revision in the twentieth century removed language which assumed any particular form of altar.

As well as altars in the structural sense, it became customary in the West to have what in Latin were referred to as altaria portatilia (portable altars), more commonly referred to in English as altar stones. When travelling, a priest could take one with him and place it on an ordinary table for saying Mass. They were also inserted into the centre of structural altars especially those made of wood. In that case, it was the altar stone that was considered liturgically to be the altar. The Pontificale Romanum contained a rite for blessing at the same time several of these altar stones.[19] In the East the antimension served and continues to serve the same purpose.

The term movable altar or portable altar is now used of a full-scale structural altar, with or without an inserted altar stone, that can be moved.[20](298)

Movable altars include the free-standing wooden tables without altar stone, placed in the choir away from the east wall, favoured by churches in the Reformed tradition. Altars that not only can be moved but are repeatedly moved are found in low church traditions that do not focus worship on the Eucharist, celebrating it rarely. Both Catholics and Protestants celebrate the Eucharist at such altars outside of churches and chapels, as outdoors or in an auditorium.

Catholic Church

Main article: Altar (Catholicism)
 
High altar of Saint Peter's Basilica, Rome

The Eastern Catholic Churches each follow their own traditions, which in general correspond to those of similar Eastern Orthodox or Oriental Orthodox Churches. All Christian Churches see the altar on which the Eucharist is offered as the "table of the Lord" (trapeza Kyriou) mentioned by Saint Paul.[21] The rules indicated here are those of the Latin Church.

The Latin Church distinguishes between fixed altars (those attached to the floor) and movable altars (those that can be displaced), and states: "It is desirable that in every church there be a fixed altar, since this more clearly and permanently signifies Christ Jesus, the Living Stone.[22] In other places set aside for sacred celebrations, the altar may be movable."[20](298)

 
High altar of St. Michael's Church, Munich, dwarfed by a huge reredos

A fixed altar should in general be topped by a slab of natural stone, thus conforming to tradition and to the significance attributed to the altar, but in many places dignified, well-crafted solid wood is permitted; the supports or base of a fixed altar may be of any dignified solid material. A movable altar may be of any noble solid material suitable for liturgical use.[20](301)[23]

The liturgical norms state:

It is fitting that the tradition of the Roman liturgy should be preserved of placing relics of martyrs or other saints beneath the altar. However, the following should be noted:
(a) Relics intended for deposition should be large enough that they can be recognized as parts of human bodies. Hence excessively small relics of one or more saints must not be deposited.
(b) The greatest care must be taken to determine whether relics intended for deposition are authentic. It is better for an altar to be dedicated without relics than to have relics of doubtful credibility placed beneath it.
(c) A reliquary must not be placed on the altar, or in the table of the altar; it must be beneath the table of the altar, as the design of the altar may allow.[24]
 
St. Valentine's Church the altar of Our Lady of Sorrows and Child in Osieczna, Poland

This last norm explicitly excludes the practice customary in recent centuries of inserting relics into a specially created cavity within the table of an altar or altar stone. Placing of relics even in the base of a movable altar is also excluded.[25]

"In building new churches, it is preferable for a single altar to be erected, one that in the gathering of the faithful will signify the one Christ and the one Eucharist of the Church. In already existing churches, however, when the old altar is so positioned that it makes the people's participation difficult but cannot be moved without damage to artistic value, another fixed altar, skillfully made and properly dedicated, should be erected and the sacred rites celebrated on it alone. In order that the attention of the faithful not be distracted from the new altar the old altar should not be decorated in any special way."[20](303) The altar, fixed or movable, should as a rule be separate from the wall so as to make it easy to walk around it and to celebrate Mass at it facing the people. It should be positioned so as to be the natural centre of attention of the whole congregation.[20](299)

The altar should be covered by at least one white cloth, and nothing else should be placed upon the altar table other than what is required for the liturgical celebration. Candlesticks and a crucifix, when required, can be either on the altar or near it, and it is desirable that the crucifix remain even outside of liturgical celebrations.[20](304-308)

Protestant churches

 
Altar at the Lutheran Jesus Church in Valby, Copenhagen.

A wide variety of altars exist in various Protestant denominations. Some Churches, such as the Lutheran, have altars very similar to Anglican or Catholic ones keeping with their more sacramental understanding of the Lord's Supper. Calvinist churches from Reformed, Baptist, Congregational, and Non-denominational backgrounds instead have a Communion Table adorned with a linen cloth, as well as an open Bible and a pair of candlesticks; it is not referred to as an altar because they do not see Holy Communion as sacrificial in any way.[26] Such a table may be temporary: Moved into place only when there is a Communion Service.[27] Some nondenominational churches have no altar or communion table, even if they retain the practice of the "altar call" that originated in the Methodist Church.[28][29][30]

 
Contemporary altar at the Lutheran Bavnehøj Kirke [da].
 
The Lutheran altar in Bad Doberan Minster

Some Methodist and other evangelical churches practice what is referred to as an altar call, whereby those who wish to make a new spiritual commitment to Jesus Christ are invited to come forward publicly.[f] It is so named because the supplicants, at the end of the sermon, kneel at the altar rails, which are located around the altar within chancel.[g] Those that come forward will often recite a sinner's prayer, which, in evangelical understanding, if truly heart-felt indicates that they are now "saved". They may also be offered religious literature, counselling or other assistance. Many times it is said that those who come forth are going to "be saved". This is a ritual in which the supplicant makes a prayer of penitence (asking for his sins to be forgiven) and faith (called in evangelical Christianity "accepting Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Saviour").

Lutheran churches

Altars in Lutheran churches are often similar to those in Roman Catholic and Anglican churches. Lutherans believe that the altar represents Christ and should only be used to consecrate and distribute the Eucharist.[33] Lutheran altars are commonly made out of granite, but other materials are also used. A crucifix is to be put above the altar.[33] Sometimes relics are also placed around the altar.[34]

Anglican churches
 
The altar in St. Mary Anglican Church, Redcliffe, Bristol. It is decorated with a frontal in green, a colour typically associated with the seasons after Epiphany and Pentecost. Note the reredos behind the free-standing altar.

Altars in the Anglican Communion vary widely. In the Book of Common Prayer, the basis of doctrine and practice for the Church of England, there is no use of the specific word altar; the item in question is called the Lord's Table or Holy Table. This remains the official terminology, though common usage may call the communion table an altar.

At the time of the Reformation, altars were fixed against the east end of the church, and the priests would celebrate the Mass standing at the front of the altar. Beginning with the rubrics of the Second Prayer Book of Edward VI published in 1552, and through the 1662 Book of Common Prayer (which prevailed for almost 300 years and is still in occasional use), the priest is directed to stand "at the north syde of the Table". This was variously interpreted over the years to mean the north side of the front of a fixed communion table, the north end of a fixed table (i.e., facing south), the north side of a free-standing table (presumably facing those intending to receive the Elements who would be sitting in the quire stalls opposite), or at the north end of a free-standing table lengthwise in the chancel, facing a congregation seated in the nave.[citation needed]

Often, where a celebrant chose to situate himself was meant to convey his churchmanship (that is, more Reformed or more Catholic). The use of candles or tabernacles was banned by canon law, with the only appointed adornment being a white linen cloth.

 
High altar of St Paul's Cathedral, London

Beginning with the Oxford Movement in the 19th century, the appearance of Anglican altars took a dramatic turn in many churches. Candles and, in some cases, tabernacles were re‑introduced. In some churches two candles, on each end of the altar, were used; in other cases six—three on either side of a tabernacle, typically surmounted by a crucifix or some other image of Christ.

 
The "low" altar area at Canterbury Cathedral[h]

In Anglican practice, conformity to a given standard depends on the ecclesiastical province and/or the liturgical sensibilities of a given parish. In the Parson's Handbook, an influential manual for priests popular in the early-to-mid-twentieth century, Percy Dearmer recommends that "All altars should be 3 ft. 3 in. high, and at least deep enough to take a corporal [the square of linen placed underneath the Communion vessels] 20 in. square, with an inch or two to spare." He also recommends that the altar stand upon three steps for each of the three sacred ministers, and that it be decorated with a silk frontal in the seasonal colour. In some cases, other manuals suggest that a stone be set in the top of wooden altars, in the belief that the custom be maintained of consecrating the bread and wine on a stone surface. In many other Anglican parishes, the custom is considerably less rigorous, especially in those parishes which use free-standing altars. Typically, these altars are made of wood, and may or may not have a solid front, which may or may not be ornamented. In many Anglican parishes, the use of frontals has persisted.

When altars are placed away from the wall of the chancel allowing a westward orientation, only two candles are placed on either end of it, since six would obscure the liturgical action, undermining the intent of a westward orientation (i.e., that it be visible to the congregation). In such an arrangement, a tabernacle may stand to one side of or behind the altar, or an aumbry may be used.

Sensibilities concerning the sanctity of the altar are widespread in Anglicanism. In some parishes, the notion that the surface of the altar should only be touched by those in holy orders is maintained. In others, there is considerably less strictness about the communion table. Nonetheless, the continued popularity of communion rails in Anglican church construction suggests that a sense of the sanctity of the altar and its surrounding area persists. In most cases, moreover, the practice of allowing only those items that have been blessed to be placed on the altar is maintained (that is, the linen cloth, candles, missal, and the Eucharistic vessels).

Eastern Christian Rites

Byzantine Rite

In Greek the word βωμός (bômós) can mean an altar of any religion or, in a broader sense, the area surrounding it; that is to say, the entire sanctuary.[35] In an Eastern Orthodox or a Byzantine Rite Eastern Catholic church this sanctuary includes both the area behind the iconostasis, and the soleas (the elevated projection in front of the iconostasis), and the ambo. It is also called the βῆμα (bema). When one enters the sanctuary, one is said to be going into the βωμός or βῆμα. The altar itself in such a church may be referred to as either the Holy Table (Greek Ἁγία Τράπεζα) or the Throne (chu Prestól).

For both Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Eastern Catholics, the Holy Table (altar) is normally free-standing, although in very small sanctuaries it might be placed flush against the back wall for reasons of space. They are typically about one meter high, and although they may be made of stone they are generally built out of wood. The exact dimensions may vary, but it is generally square in plan and in reasonable proportion to the size of the sanctuary. It has five legs: one at each corner plus a central pillar for supporting the relics which are placed in it at its consecration.[i] A plain linen covering (Greek: Katasarkion, Slavonic: Strachítsa) is bound to the Holy Table with cords; this cover is never removed after the altar is consecrated, and is considered to be the "baptismal garment" of the altar. The linen covering symbolizes the winding sheet in which the body of Christ was wrapped when he was laid in the tomb. Since the altar is never seen uncovered thereafter, the table tends to be constructed more with sturdiness than aesthetics in mind. Above this first cover is a second ornamented altar cloth (Indítia), often in a brocade of a liturgical color that may change with the ecclesiastical season. This outer covering usually comes all the way to the floor and represents the glory of God's Throne.[36] In many churches it is the custom for a dust cover to be placed on the Holy Table between services. This is often a simple red cloth, though it may be made of richer stuff. Sometimes it covers only the Gospel Book or the front half of the Holy Table, but it may be large enough to cover the entire Holy Table and everything on it, including candlesticks and the seven-branch candelabra.

 
The Holy Place (sanctuary) in the church of the Saint Vladimir Skete at Valaam Monastery. To the left is the Holy Table (altar) with the Gospel Book, the tabernacle, and the seven-branch candlestand. The Table of Oblation is in the background to the left. To the right is the cathedra (bishop's throne).

Atop the altar is the tabernacle (Kovtchég), a miniature shrine sometimes built in the form of a church, inside of which is a small ark containing the reserved sacrament for use in communing the sick. Also kept on the altar is the Gospel Book. Under the Gospel is kept the antimension, a silken cloth imprinted with an icon of Christ being prepared for burial, which has a relic sewn into it and bears the signature of the bishop. Another, simpler cloth, the ilitón, is wrapped around the antimension to protect it, and symbolizes the "napkin" that was tied around the face of Jesus when he was laid in the tomb (forming a companion to the strachitsa). The Divine Liturgy must be served on an antimension even if the altar has been consecrated and contains relics. When not in use, the antimension is left in place in the center of the Holy Table and is not removed except for necessity.

The Holy Table may only be touched by ordained members of the higher clergy[j] and nothing which is not itself consecrated or an object of veneration should be placed on it. Objects may also be placed on the altar as part of the process for setting them aside for sacred use. For example, icons are usually blessed by laying them on the Holy Table for a period of time or for a certain number of Divine Liturgies before sprinkling them with holy water, and placing them where they will be venerated. The Epitaphios on Good Friday, and the Cross on the Feasts of the Cross, are also placed on the Holy Table before they are taken to the center of the church to be venerated by the faithful.

In place of the outer covering, some altars have a permanent solid cover which may be highly ornamented, richly carved, or even plated in precious metals. A smaller brocade cover is used on top of this if it is desired that the altar decoration reflect the liturgical season.

 
A contemporary Byzantine Catholic altar during the Divine Liturgy at St. Joseph Church in Chicago, Illinois.

The Holy Table is used as the place of offering in the celebration of the Eucharist, where bread and wine are offered to God the Father and the Holy Spirit is invoked to make his Son Jesus Christ present in the Gifts. It is also the place where the presiding clergy stand at any service, even where no Eucharist is being celebrated and no offering is made other than prayer. When the priest reads the Gospel during Matins (or All-Night Vigil) on Sunday, he reads it standing in front of the Holy Table, because it represents the Tomb of Christ, and the Gospel lessons for Sunday Matins are always one of the Resurrection appearances of Jesus.

On the northern side of the sanctuary stands another, smaller altar, known as the Table of Oblation (Prothesis or Zhértvennik) at which the Liturgy of Preparation takes place. On it the bread and wine are prepared before the Divine Liturgy. The Prothesis symbolizes the cave of Bethlehem and also the Anointing Stone at which the Body of Christ was prepared after the Deposition from the Cross. The Table of Oblation is also blessed, sprinkled with holy water and vested at the consecration of a church, but there are no relics placed in it. Nothing other than the sacred vessels, veils, etc. which are used in the Liturgy of Preparation may be placed on the Table of Oblation. The Epitaphios and Cross are also placed on the Table of Oblation before the priest and deacon solemnly transfer them to the Holy Table. In addition to the higher clergy, subdeacons are permitted to touch the Table of Oblation, but no one of lesser rank may do so. The Table of Oblation is the place where the deacon will consume the remaining Gifts (Body and Blood of Christ) after the Divine Liturgy and perform the ablutions.

Syro-Maronite Church

The Syriac Maronite Church, along with the other Syriac Churches, has freestanding altars in most cases so the priests and deacons can circumambulate the altar during processions and incensations. Traditionally the Maronite liturgy was offered with the priest and people oriented to the East but because of modern latinizations it is common to find Maronite liturgies offered with the priest facing against the people from the opposite side of the altar, in imitation of modern practices in the Latin Church.

Oriental Rites

Armenian Rite

 
Altar at the Etchmiadzin Cathedral

In the Armenian Rite the altar is placed against the eastern wall of the church, often in an apse. The shape of the altar is usually rectangular, similar to Latin altars, but is unusual in that it will normally have several steps on top of the table, on which are placed the tabernacle, candles, ceremonial fans, a cross, and the Gospel Book. The altar is often located upon a kind of stage above a row of icons.

Alexandrian Rite

Altars in the Alexandrian (Coptic Orthodox Church) tradition must have a square face upon which to offer the sacrifice. As the standard Coptic liturgy requires the priest to encircle the altar, it is never attached to any wall. Most Coptic altars are located under a baldachin.

Ethiopic Rite

In Ethiopian Orthodox Church tradition an icon is placed upon but towards the rear of the altar. It is away from the wall as in the Coptic tradition.

West Syriac Rite

In the West Syriac Tradition, churches have altars in the eastern part of the sanctuary.

East Syriac

Altars of East Syriac Rite are similar in appearance to Armenian altars only they are not placed on a stage.

Indian Rites

Altars are often heavily decorated in the Indian tradition.

War altar

A war altar was a mobile altar on which Mass was celebrated before a battle. The ultimate example is the carroccio of the medieval Italian city states, which was a four-wheeled mobile shrine pulled by oxen and sporting a flagpole and a bell. The carroccio also served as the army standard.

Altar stones were used by army chaplains of the Latin Church in the period leading up to the 20th century.

Hinduism

In Hinduism, altars generally contain pictures or statues of gods and goddesses. Large, ornate altars are found in Hindu temples while smaller altars are found in homes and sometimes also in Hindu-run shops and restaurants. The word for temple is mandir (Sanskrit: मन्दिर), the altar[k] as hypostatised temple.

 
Shree Ganesh Mandir, Jhansi

In South Indian temples, often each god will have his or her own shrine, each contained in a miniature house (specifically, a mandir). These shrines are often scattered around the temple compound, with the three main ones being in the main area. The statue of the god (murti) is placed on a stone pedestal in the shrine, and one or more lamps are hung in the shrine. There is usually a space to put the puja tray (tray with worship offerings). Directly outside the main shrine there will be a statue of the god's vahana or vehicle. The shrines have curtains hung over the entrances, and wooden doors which are shut when the deities are sleeping. Some South Indian temples have one main altar, with several statues placed upon it.

 
A family altar in India

North Indian temples generally have one main altar at the front of the temple room. In some temples, the front of the room is separated with walls and several altars are placed in the alcoves. The statues on the altars are usually in pairs, each god with his consort (Radha-Krishna, Sita-Rama, Shiva-Parvati). However, some gods, such as Ganesha and Hanuman, are placed alone. Ritual items such as flowers or lamps may be placed on the altar.

Home shrines can be as simple or as elaborate as the householder can afford. Large, ornate shrines can be purchased in India and countries with large Hindu minorities, like Malaysia and Singapore. They are usually made of wood and have tiled floors for statues to be placed upon. Pictures may be hung on the walls of the shrine. The top of the shrine may have a series of levels, like a gopuram tower on a temple. Each Hindu altar will have at least one oil lamp and may contain a tray with puja equipment as well. Hindus with large houses will set aside one room as their puja room, with the altar at one end of it. Some South Indians also place a shrine with pictures of their departed relatives on the right side of the room, and make offerings to them before making offerings to the gods.

See also: Vedi (altar) and Homa (ritual)

Taoism

 
Detail of c. 1700 painting of a Taoist altar during a ritual for the dead, illustrating a scene from The Plum in the Golden Vase. Note the Three Purities plaques at the back of the altar, and the ritual implements, including incense burner and ritual sword on the right. Bowls hold food offerings for the deceased woman.
 
An Ikuantaoist altar

Taoist altars are erected to honor traditional deities and the spirits of ancestors. Taoist altars may be erected in temples or in private homes. Strict traditions and different sects describe the items offered and the ritual involved in the temples, but folk custom in the homes is much freer.

Imperial dynasties built huge altars called jìtán (祭坛) to perform various offering ceremonies called jìsì (祭祀). The Temple of Heaven in Beijing is one of those.

Nearly all forms of Chinese traditional religion involve baibai (拜拜)--bowing towards an altar, with a stick of incense in one's hand.[37] (Some schools prescribe the use of three sticks of incense in the hand at one time.[38]) This may be done at home, or in a temple, or outdoors; by an ordinary person, or a professional (such as a Taoist priest); and the altar may feature any number of deities or ancestral tablets. Baibai is usually done in accordance with certain dates of the lunar/solar calendar (see Chinese calendar).

At certain dates, food may be set out as a sacrifice to the gods or spirits of the departed. (See, for example, Qingming Festival and Ghost Festival.) This may include rice, slaughtered pigs and ducks, or fruit. Another form of sacrifice involves the burning of Hell Bank Notes, on the assumption that images thus consumed by the fire will reappear—not as a mere image, but as the actual item—in the spirit world, and be available for the departed spirit to use. In Taoist folk religion, sometimes chickens, pigs' feet, and pig heads are given as offerings. But in orthodox Daoist practice, offerings should essentially be incense, candles and vegetarian offerings.[39]

Buddhism

 
A bàn thờ (worship table) is an altar used in ancestral worship and worship of Buddhas and gods in Vietnam
 
A butsudan at ShinDo Buddhist Temple

In Buddhist-following cultures, structures such as bàn thờ, butsudan, or spirit houses are found in temples or homes. In Japan, the butsudan is a wooden cabinet with doors that enclose and protect a religious image of the Buddha or the Bodhisattvas (typically in the form of a statue) or a mandala scroll, installed in the highest place of honor and centered. The doors are opened to display the image during religious observances. A butsudan usually contains subsidiary religious items—called butsugu—such as candlesticks, incense burners, bells, and platforms for placing offerings such as fruit. Some sects place ihai, memorial tablets for deceased relatives, within or near the butsudan. Butsudans are often decorated with flowers.

The shrine is placed in the temple or home as a place of worship to the Buddha, the Law of the Universe, etc. Scrolls (honzon) or statues are placed in the butsudan and prayed to morning and evening. Zen Buddhists also meditate before the butsudan.

The original design for the butsudan began in India, where people built altars as an offering-place to the Buddha. When Buddhism came to China and Korea statues of the Buddha were placed on pedestals or platforms. The Chinese and Koreans built walls and doors around the statues to shield them from the weather and also adapted elements of their respective indigenous religions. They could then safely offer their prayers, incense, etc. to the statue or scroll without it falling and breaking.

Shinto

 
A Shinto Kamidana (household altar) in Japan. Note the shimenawa, a rope demarking the sanctuary area seen above, along the ceiling.
Main articles: Jinja (Shinto) and Himorogi

In Shinto, altars are found in shrines. Originating in ancient times, himorogi are temporarily erected sacred spaces or "altars" used as a locus of worship. A physical area is demarcated with branches of green bamboo or sakaki at the four corners, between which are strung sacred border ropes (shimenawa). In the center of the area a large branch of sakaki festooned with sacred emblems (hei) is erected as a yorishiro, a physical representation of the presence of the kami and toward which rites of worship are performed.

In more elaborate cases, a himorogi may be constructed by placing a rough straw mat upon the ground, then erecting a ceremonial eight-legged stand (hakkyaku an) upon the mat, and decorating the stand with a frame festooned with sacred border ropes and sacred border emblems. Finally the sakaki branch is erected in the center of this stand as the focus of worship.[40]

Norse paganism

Main article: Hörgr

A basic altar, called a hörgr, was used for sacrifice in Norse paganism. The hörgr was constructed of piled stones, possibly in a wood (harrow), and would be used in sacrifices and perhaps other ceremonies as well.

A possible use of the hörgr during a sacrifice would be to place upon it a bowl of the blood of an animal sacrificed to a Norse deity (e.g. a goat for Thor, a sow for Freyja, a boar for Freyr), then dipping a bundle of fir twigs into it and sprinkling the participants with the blood. This would consecrate the attendees to the ceremony, such as a wedding.

Asatru

In Nordic Modern Pagan practice, altars may be set up in the home or in wooded areas in imitation of the hörgr of ancient times. They may be dedicated to Thor, Odin, or other Nordic deities.

Neopaganism

In neopaganism there is a wide variety of ritual practice, running the gamut from a very eclectic syncretism to strict polytheistic reconstructionism. Many of these groups make use of altars. Some are constructed merely of rough-hewn or stacked stone, and some are made of fine wood or other finished material.

Wicca

Main article: Altar (Wicca)

Neo-Druidism

Modern Neo-Druidism may also make use of altars, often erected in groves. Though little is known of the specific religious beliefs and practices presided over by the ancient Druids, modern people who identify themselves as Druids are free to incorporate their imagination in developing ceremonies and the use of ritual objects in keeping with their belief system. The "Order of Common Worship" of the Reformed Druids of North America' Liturgy of the Druids[41] calls for a fire to be started "in or near the altar" and makes use of various objects such as a chalice, staves, and a plant offering. If no altar is used, the objects may be placed on the ground.

High places

Main article: High place

High places are elevated areas on which altars have been erected for worship in the belief that, as they were nearer heaven than the plains and valleys, they are more favourable places for prayer. High places were prevalent in almost all ancient cultures as centers of cultic worship.

High places in Israelite (Hebrew: Bamah, or Bama) or Canaanite culture were open-air shrines, usually erected on an elevated site. Prior to the conquest of Canaan by the Israelites in the 12th–11th century BCE, the high places served as shrines of the Canaanite fertility deities, the Baals (Lords) and the Asherot (Semitic goddesses). In addition to an altar, matzevot (stone pillars representing the presence of the divine) were erected.[42]

The practice of worship on these spots became frequent among the Hebrews, though after the temple was built it was forbidden. Such worship was with difficulty abolished, though denounced time after time by the prophets as an affront to God. A closely related example is a "backyard" altar, so to speak. Before there was a set temple and an established altar people built their own altars. After the temple was built use of these altars was forbidden. Unlike the case of high places, "backyard" altar worship was quickly eradicated. In following years, the practice drastically decreased in popularity.

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ Altar use in Judaism is historical only: It ended with the destruction of the Second Temple.
  2. ^ Hebrew: מזבח, mizbe'ah means "a place of slaughter or sacrifice".[1]
  3. ^ Here "eastern" means Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Assyrian Church of the East, and the Ancient Church of the East; perhaps others.
  4. ^ Here "western" means the Roman Catholic Church, churches of the Anglican Communion, Lutherans, and some Reformed; perhaps others.
  5. ^ When a free-standing altar is placed on the same floor-level as the congregation (in a cathedral, often at the "crossing") it is called a "low altar", particularly if the unused "high altar" is still in place, in the far end of the sanctuary.
  6. ^ The "come forward" invitation is a method that's only about 180 years old. It was invented by Methodist churches in the late 17th century and later picked up and popularized by Charles Finney in the mid-1800s — and the majority of evangelical churches use that form today.[31]
  7. ^ Every Methodist church has an altar rail below the pulpit platform where penitent folk can kneel and pray if they desire to seek divine help.[32]
  8. ^ The "high" altar is out of sight in the background, beneath the window. When the low altar is in use, the high altar in the back is not used, and stands "undressed".
  9. ^ If, however, the consecration was not performed by a bishop, but by a priest whom he delegated for that purpose, relics are not placed in the Holy Table.
  10. ^ Here, the "higher clergy" are bishops, priests, and deacons.
  11. ^ Any enclosure that which contains it, even an alcove or a small cabinet, is included as part of the altar, and shares its status as a temple in miniature.

References

  1. ^ "Altar". Encyclopedia Biblica. 1899.
  2. ^ Exodus 20:24
  3. ^ 20:25
  4. ^ Genesis 22:9
  5. ^ Ezekiel 6:3
  6. ^ 2 Kings 23:12
  7. ^ 16:4, 23:8
  8. ^ Genesis 8:20
  9. ^ Genesis 12:7, 13:4, 22:9
  10. ^ Genesis 26:25)
  11. ^ 33:20, 35:1–3
  12. ^ Exodus 17:15
  13. ^ Elitzur, Yael; Nir-Zevi, Doran (2003). "A Rock-Hewn Altar Near Shiloh". Palestine Exploration Quarterly. 135 (1): 30–36. doi:10.1179/peq.2003.135.1.30. ISSN 0031-0328. S2CID 162159584.
  14. ^ (PDF). catholic.org.au. 2007-07-03. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 20, 2008., 303
  15. ^ Dietz, Helen. . sacredarchitecture.org. Archived from the original on 2020-11-24. Retrieved 2007-01-22.
  16. ^ "De ecclesiae dedicatione seu consacratione". members.aol.com. Liturgia Latina.
  17. ^ "Ritus servandus Missae". ecclesiacatholica.com. Missale Romanum. V, 3.
  18. ^ "General Instruction of the Roman Missal". usccb.org. 299.
  19. ^ "De altarium portatilium consecratione". members.aol.com. Liturgia Latina.
  20. ^ a b c d e f g "General Instruction of the Roman Missal". usccb.org. See also General Instruction of the Roman Missal.
  21. ^ 1 Corinthians 10:21
  22. ^ 1 Peter 2:4; cf. Ephesians 2:10
  23. ^ "canon 1236". vatican.va. The Code of Canon Law.
  24. ^ Rite of Dedication of a Church and an Altar. Chapter II, 5.
    The Code of Canon Law (Report). canon 1237, §2. and [20](302)
  25. ^ Rite of Dedication of a Church and an Altar. Chapter VI, 4.
  26. ^ Keene, Michael (2001). Christian Churches. Nelson Thornes. p. 58. ISBN 978-0-7487-5288-1.
  27. ^ (PDF). Trinity Baptist Church. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-12-26.
  28. ^ Cox, Harvey (2001). Fire from Heaven. Da Capo Press. p. 274. ISBN 978-0-7867-3134-3.
  29. ^ Lawless, Elaine J. (2005). God's Peculiar People. University of Kentucky. p. 57. ISBN 978-0-8131-9141-6.
  30. ^ Bouma, Gary (2006). Australian Soul. Cambridge University Press. p. 95. ISBN 978-1-139-45938-9.
  31. ^ Warren, Rick. "Communicating to change lives - teaching notes". Preaching for Life Change Seminar: International version. p. 81.
  32. ^ Goodwin, Alonzo T. (1977). Stories of Western Loggers. Loggers World. p. 88.
  33. ^ a b Stauffer, S. Anita. Altar Guild and Sacristy Handbook. Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Augsburg Fortress.
  34. ^ . Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. lcms.org. Archived from the original on 2003-12-27. Retrieved 2010-01-18.
  35. ^ Abbot Joseph (October 2005). "The Byzantine Altar". newliturgicalmovement.org.
  36. ^ Hapgood, Isabel (1975). Service Book of the Holy Orthodox-Catholic Apostolic Church. Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese. p. 614.
  37. ^ Liu, Zhongyu (1996). "The Relationships between Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, and folk custom". Shijie Zongjiao: 24–32. (Regarding "baibai" as the term for the act of offering incense as a form of worship.)
  38. ^ Silvers, Brock (2005). The Taoist Manual. Honolulu, HI: Sacred Mountain Press. p. 74.
  39. ^ Liu, Zhong. . taoism.org.hk. Daoist Folk Customs. Translated by Lü, Pengzhi. Taoist Culture and Information Centre. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2007-07-05.
  40. ^ "Encyclopedia of Shinto". Kokugakuin University.
  41. ^ "Liturgy of the Druids" (PDF). orgs.carleton.edu. New Reformed Druids of North America.
  42. ^ "High place". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 2007. from the original on January 5, 2008. Retrieved 2007-07-01.

Sources

Further reading

  • Davies, J.G. (1999). "Altar". In Fahlbusch, Erwin; Bromiley, Geoffrey William (eds.). The Encyclopedia of Christianity. Vol. 1. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans. pp. 42–43. ISBN 0-8028-2413-7.

External links

 
Look up altar in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Altar.
  • "Altars (in scripture)". Catholic Encyclopedia – via newadvent.org.
  • "History of the Christian altar". Catholic Encyclopedia – via newadvent.org.
  • "An essay on a Hindu home altar". pluralism.org.
  • . www.eng.taoism.org.hk. Archived from the original on 2007-08-16.
  • . DiaDeMuertos.net. Archived from the original on 2007-10-30.
  • . earthlink.net/~odindis. Archived from the original on 2009-01-12.

April 29, 2023
altar, other, uses, disambiguation, altar, table, platform, presentation, religious, offerings, sacrifices, other, ritualistic, purposes, found, shrines, temples, churches, other, places, worship, they, used, particularly, paganism, christianity, buddhism, hin. For other uses see Altar disambiguation An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings for sacrifices or for other ritualistic purposes Altars are found at shrines temples churches and other places of worship They are used particularly in paganism Christianity Buddhism Hinduism Judaism a modern paganism and in certain Islamic communities around Caucasia and Asia Minor Many historical medieval faiths also made use of them including the Roman Greek and Norse religions Altar in Roskilde Cathedral beneath by a carved reredos Contents 1 Etymology 2 Altars in antiquity 3 Judaism 4 Christianity 4 1 In Western Christian churches 4 1 1 Catholic Church 4 1 2 Protestant churches 4 1 2 1 Lutheran churches 4 1 2 2 Anglican churches 4 2 Eastern Christian Rites 4 2 1 Byzantine Rite 4 2 2 Syro Maronite Church 4 3 Oriental Rites 4 3 1 Armenian Rite 4 3 2 Alexandrian Rite 4 3 3 Ethiopic Rite 4 3 4 West Syriac Rite 4 3 5 East Syriac 4 3 6 Indian Rites 4 4 War altar 5 Hinduism 6 Taoism 7 Buddhism 8 Shinto 9 Norse paganism 9 1 Asatru 10 Neopaganism 10 1 Wicca 10 2 Neo Druidism 11 High places 12 See also 13 Footnotes 14 References 15 Sources 16 Further reading 17 External linksEtymology EditThe modern English word altar was derived from Middle English altar from Old English alter taken from Latin altare altar probably related to adolere burn thus burning place influenced by altus high It displaced the native Old English word weofod Altars in antiquity EditAltars in antiquity Horned altar at Tel Be er Sheva Israel Ancient Greek kylix showing a hoplite offering a sacrifice before an altar around 480 BC Ancient Agora Museum of Athens in the Stoa of Attalus The ancient Altar of Pergamon reconstructed at the Pergamon museum Berlin The Opferstein or Sacrifice Rock at Maria Taferl Austria It was used by the ancient Celts to make sacrifices upon and is now located in the plaza of the basilica there Judaism EditMain article Altar Bible Altars b in the Hebrew Bible were typically made of earth 2 or unwrought stone 3 Altars were generally erected in conspicuous places 4 5 6 7 The first altar recorded in the Hebrew Bible is that erected by Noah 8 Altars were erected by Abraham 9 by Isaac 10 by Jacob 11 and by Moses 12 After the theophany on Mount Sinai in the Tabernacle and afterwards in the Temple only two altars were used The Altar of Burnt Offering and the Altar of Incense both near where the Ark of the Covenant was located The remains of three rock hewn altars were discovered in the Land of Israel one below Tel Zorah another at the foot of Sebastia ancient Samaria and a third near Shiloh 13 Christianity Edit Dedication of an altar The word altar in Greek 8ysiasthrion see 8ysia appears twenty four times in the New Testament In Catholic and Orthodox Christian theology the Eucharist is a re presentation in the literal sense of the one sacrifice of Christ on the cross being made present again Hence the table upon which the Eucharist is consecrated is called an altar The altar plays a central role in the celebration of the Eucharist which takes place at the altar on which the bread and the wine for consecration are placed Altars occupy a prominent place in most Christian churches both Eastern c and Western d branches Commonly among these churches altars are placed for permanent use within designated places of communal worship often called sanctuaries Less often though nonetheless notable altars are set in spaces occupied less regularly such as outdoors in nature in cemeteries in mausoleums crypts and family dwellings Personal altars are those placed in a private bedroom closet or other space usually occupied by one person They are used for practices of piety intended for one person often referred to as a private devotion They are also found in a minority of Protestant worship places in Reformed and Anabaptist churches a table often called a Communion table serves an analogous function A home altar in a Methodist Christian household with a cross and candles surrounded by other religious items The area around the altar is seen as endowed with greater holiness and is usually physically distinguished from the rest of the church whether by a permanent structure such as an iconostasis a rood screen altar rails a curtain that can be closed at more solemn moments of the liturgy as in the Armenian Apostolic Church and Armenian Catholic Church or simply by the general architectural layout The altar is often on a higher elevation than the rest of the church Churches generally have a single altar although in the Western branches of Christianity as a result of the former abandonment of concelebration of Mass so that priests always celebrated Mass individually larger churches have had one or more side chapels each with its own altar The main altar was also referred to as the high altar Since the revival of concelebration in the West the Roman Missal recommends that in new churches there should be only one altar which in the gathering of the faithful will signify the one Christ and the one Eucharist of the Church 14 This does not exclude altars in distinct side chapels however but only separate altars in the main body of the church But most Western churches of an earlier period whether Roman Catholic or Anglican may have a high altar in the main body of the church with one or more adjoining chapels each with its own altar at which the Eucharist may be celebrated on weekdays Architecturally there are two types of altars Those that are attached to the eastern wall of the chancel and those that are free standing and can be walked around for instance when incensing the altar e Early Coptic altar carved into the wall of the Temple of Isis on the island Philae in Egypt In the earliest days of the Church the Eucharist appears to have been celebrated on portable altars set up for the purpose Some historians hold that during the persecutions the Eucharist was celebrated among the tombs in the Catacombs of Rome using the sarcophagi see sarcophagus of martyrs as altars on which to celebrate Other historians dispute this but it is thought to be the origin of the tradition of placing relics beneath the altar When Christianity was legalized under Constantine the Great and Licinius formal church buildings were built in great numbers normally with free standing altars in the middle of the sanctuary which in all the earliest churches built in Rome was at the west end of the church When Christians in fourth century Rome could first freely begin to build churches they customarily located the sanctuary towards the west end of the building in imitation of the sanctuary of the Jerusalem Temple Although in the days of the Jerusalem Temple the High Priest indeed faced east when sacrificing on Yom Kippur the sanctuary within which he stood was located at the western end of the Temple The Christian replication of the layout and the orientation of the Jerusalem Temple helped to dramatize the eschatological meaning attached to the sacrificial death of Jesus the High Priest in the Epistle to the Hebrews 15 The ministers bishop priests deacons subdeacons acolytes celebrated the Eucharist facing east towards the entrance Some hold that for the central part of the celebration the congregation faced the same way After the sixth century the contrary orientation prevailed with the entrance to the west and the altar at the east end Then the ministers and congregation all faced east during the whole celebration and in Western Europe altars began in the Middle Ages to be permanently placed against the east wall of the chancel In Western Christian churches Edit Altar of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere with ciborium Most rubrics even in books of the seventeenth century and later such as the Pontificale Romanum continued to envisage the altar as free standing The rite of the Dedication of the Church 16 continued to presume that the officiating bishop could circle the altar during the consecration of the church and its altar Despite this with the increase in the size and importance of the reredos most altars were built against the wall or barely separated from it In almost all cases the eastward orientation for prayer was maintained whether the altar was at the west end of the church as in all the earliest churches in Rome in which case the priest celebrating Mass faced the congregation and the church entrance or whether it was at the east end of the church in which case the priest faced the eastern apse and had his back to the congregation This diversity was recognized in the rubrics of the Roman Missal from the 1604 typical edition of Pope Clement VIII to the 1962 edition of Pope John XXIII Si altare sit ad orientem versus populum 17 When placed close to a wall or touching it altars were often surmounted by a reredos or altarpiece If free standing they could be placed as also in Eastern Christianity within a ciborium sometimes called a baldachin Altar of Newman University Church Dublin with an altar ledge occupying the only space between it and the wall The rules regarding the present day form of the Roman Rite liturgy declare a free standing main altar to be desirable wherever possible 18 Similarly in the Anglican Communion the rubrics of the Book of Common Prayer assumed an altar fixed against the wall until Prayer Book revision in the twentieth century removed language which assumed any particular form of altar As well as altars in the structural sense it became customary in the West to have what in Latin were referred to as altaria portatilia portable altars more commonly referred to in English as altar stones When travelling a priest could take one with him and place it on an ordinary table for saying Mass They were also inserted into the centre of structural altars especially those made of wood In that case it was the altar stone that was considered liturgically to be the altar The Pontificale Romanum contained a rite for blessing at the same time several of these altar stones 19 In the East the antimension served and continues to serve the same purpose The term movable altar or portable altar is now used of a full scale structural altar with or without an inserted altar stone that can be moved 20 298 Movable altars include the free standing wooden tables without altar stone placed in the choir away from the east wall favoured by churches in the Reformed tradition Altars that not only can be moved but are repeatedly moved are found in low church traditions that do not focus worship on the Eucharist celebrating it rarely Both Catholics and Protestants celebrate the Eucharist at such altars outside of churches and chapels as outdoors or in an auditorium Catholic Church Edit Main article Altar Catholicism High altar of Saint Peter s Basilica Rome The Eastern Catholic Churches each follow their own traditions which in general correspond to those of similar Eastern Orthodox or Oriental Orthodox Churches All Christian Churches see the altar on which the Eucharist is offered as the table of the Lord trapeza Kyriou mentioned by Saint Paul 21 The rules indicated here are those of the Latin Church The Latin Church distinguishes between fixed altars those attached to the floor and movable altars those that can be displaced and states It is desirable that in every church there be a fixed altar since this more clearly and permanently signifies Christ Jesus the Living Stone 22 In other places set aside for sacred celebrations the altar may be movable 20 298 High altar of St Michael s Church Munich dwarfed by a huge reredos A fixed altar should in general be topped by a slab of natural stone thus conforming to tradition and to the significance attributed to the altar but in many places dignified well crafted solid wood is permitted the supports or base of a fixed altar may be of any dignified solid material A movable altar may be of any noble solid material suitable for liturgical use 20 301 23 The liturgical norms state It is fitting that the tradition of the Roman liturgy should be preserved of placing relics of martyrs or other saints beneath the altar However the following should be noted a Relics intended for deposition should be large enough that they can be recognized as parts of human bodies Hence excessively small relics of one or more saints must not be deposited b The greatest care must be taken to determine whether relics intended for deposition are authentic It is better for an altar to be dedicated without relics than to have relics of doubtful credibility placed beneath it c A reliquary must not be placed on the altar or in the table of the altar it must be beneath the table of the altar as the design of the altar may allow 24 St Valentine s Church the altar of Our Lady of Sorrows and Child in Osieczna Poland This last norm explicitly excludes the practice customary in recent centuries of inserting relics into a specially created cavity within the table of an altar or altar stone Placing of relics even in the base of a movable altar is also excluded 25 In building new churches it is preferable for a single altar to be erected one that in the gathering of the faithful will signify the one Christ and the one Eucharist of the Church In already existing churches however when the old altar is so positioned that it makes the people s participation difficult but cannot be moved without damage to artistic value another fixed altar skillfully made and properly dedicated should be erected and the sacred rites celebrated on it alone In order that the attention of the faithful not be distracted from the new altar the old altar should not be decorated in any special way 20 303 The altar fixed or movable should as a rule be separate from the wall so as to make it easy to walk around it and to celebrate Mass at it facing the people It should be positioned so as to be the natural centre of attention of the whole congregation 20 299 The altar should be covered by at least one white cloth and nothing else should be placed upon the altar table other than what is required for the liturgical celebration Candlesticks and a crucifix when required can be either on the altar or near it and it is desirable that the crucifix remain even outside of liturgical celebrations 20 304 308 Protestant churches Edit Altar at the Lutheran Jesus Church in Valby Copenhagen A wide variety of altars exist in various Protestant denominations Some Churches such as the Lutheran have altars very similar to Anglican or Catholic ones keeping with their more sacramental understanding of the Lord s Supper Calvinist churches from Reformed Baptist Congregational and Non denominational backgrounds instead have a Communion Table adorned with a linen cloth as well as an open Bible and a pair of candlesticks it is not referred to as an altar because they do not see Holy Communion as sacrificial in any way 26 Such a table may be temporary Moved into place only when there is a Communion Service 27 Some nondenominational churches have no altar or communion table even if they retain the practice of the altar call that originated in the Methodist Church 28 29 30 Contemporary altar at the Lutheran Bavnehoj Kirke da The Lutheran altar in Bad Doberan Minster Some Methodist and other evangelical churches practice what is referred to as an altar call whereby those who wish to make a new spiritual commitment to Jesus Christ are invited to come forward publicly f It is so named because the supplicants at the end of the sermon kneel at the altar rails which are located around the altar within chancel g Those that come forward will often recite a sinner s prayer which in evangelical understanding if truly heart felt indicates that they are now saved They may also be offered religious literature counselling or other assistance Many times it is said that those who come forth are going to be saved This is a ritual in which the supplicant makes a prayer of penitence asking for his sins to be forgiven and faith called in evangelical Christianity accepting Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Saviour Lutheran churches Edit Altars in Lutheran churches are often similar to those in Roman Catholic and Anglican churches Lutherans believe that the altar represents Christ and should only be used to consecrate and distribute the Eucharist 33 Lutheran altars are commonly made out of granite but other materials are also used A crucifix is to be put above the altar 33 Sometimes relics are also placed around the altar 34 Anglican churches Edit The altar in St Mary Anglican Church Redcliffe Bristol It is decorated with a frontal in green a colour typically associated with the seasons after Epiphany and Pentecost Note the reredos behind the free standing altar Altars in the Anglican Communion vary widely In the Book of Common Prayer the basis of doctrine and practice for the Church of England there is no use of the specific word altar the item in question is called the Lord s Table or Holy Table This remains the official terminology though common usage may call the communion table an altar At the time of the Reformation altars were fixed against the east end of the church and the priests would celebrate the Mass standing at the front of the altar Beginning with the rubrics of the Second Prayer Book of Edward VI published in 1552 and through the 1662 Book of Common Prayer which prevailed for almost 300 years and is still in occasional use the priest is directed to stand at the north syde of the Table This was variously interpreted over the years to mean the north side of the front of a fixed communion table the north end of a fixed table i e facing south the north side of a free standing table presumably facing those intending to receive the Elements who would be sitting in the quire stalls opposite or at the north end of a free standing table lengthwise in the chancel facing a congregation seated in the nave citation needed Often where a celebrant chose to situate himself was meant to convey his churchmanship that is more Reformed or more Catholic The use of candles or tabernacles was banned by canon law with the only appointed adornment being a white linen cloth High altar of St Paul s Cathedral London Beginning with the Oxford Movement in the 19th century the appearance of Anglican altars took a dramatic turn in many churches Candles and in some cases tabernacles were re introduced In some churches two candles on each end of the altar were used in other cases six three on either side of a tabernacle typically surmounted by a crucifix or some other image of Christ The low altar area at Canterbury Cathedral h In Anglican practice conformity to a given standard depends on the ecclesiastical province and or the liturgical sensibilities of a given parish In the Parson s Handbook an influential manual for priests popular in the early to mid twentieth century Percy Dearmer recommends that All altars should be 3 ft 3 in high and at least deep enough to take a corporal the square of linen placed underneath the Communion vessels 20 in square with an inch or two to spare He also recommends that the altar stand upon three steps for each of the three sacred ministers and that it be decorated with a silk frontal in the seasonal colour In some cases other manuals suggest that a stone be set in the top of wooden altars in the belief that the custom be maintained of consecrating the bread and wine on a stone surface In many other Anglican parishes the custom is considerably less rigorous especially in those parishes which use free standing altars Typically these altars are made of wood and may or may not have a solid front which may or may not be ornamented In many Anglican parishes the use of frontals has persisted When altars are placed away from the wall of the chancel allowing a westward orientation only two candles are placed on either end of it since six would obscure the liturgical action undermining the intent of a westward orientation i e that it be visible to the congregation In such an arrangement a tabernacle may stand to one side of or behind the altar or an aumbry may be used Sensibilities concerning the sanctity of the altar are widespread in Anglicanism In some parishes the notion that the surface of the altar should only be touched by those in holy orders is maintained In others there is considerably less strictness about the communion table Nonetheless the continued popularity of communion rails in Anglican church construction suggests that a sense of the sanctity of the altar and its surrounding area persists In most cases moreover the practice of allowing only those items that have been blessed to be placed on the altar is maintained that is the linen cloth candles missal and the Eucharistic vessels Anglican churches The altar with ciborium at All Saints Anglican church Bristol England The Lord s Table in St Barnabas Church Dulwich Diocese of Southwark Altar in Bunyip Victoria Australia Altar at Grace Cathedral San Francisco Altar at Anglo Catholic Church of the Good Shepherd Rosemont Pennsylvania Eastern Christian Rites Edit Byzantine Rite Edit A traditional Russian Orthodox Holy Table altar Church of the Saviour on the Blood St Petersburg In Greek the word bwmos bomos can mean an altar of any religion or in a broader sense the area surrounding it that is to say the entire sanctuary 35 In an Eastern Orthodox or a Byzantine Rite Eastern Catholic church this sanctuary includes both the area behind the iconostasis and the soleas the elevated projection in front of the iconostasis and the ambo It is also called the bῆma bema When one enters the sanctuary one is said to be going into the bwmos or bῆma The altar itself in such a church may be referred to as either the Holy Table Greek Ἁgia Trapeza or the Throne chu Prestol For both Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Eastern Catholics the Holy Table altar is normally free standing although in very small sanctuaries it might be placed flush against the back wall for reasons of space They are typically about one meter high and although they may be made of stone they are generally built out of wood The exact dimensions may vary but it is generally square in plan and in reasonable proportion to the size of the sanctuary It has five legs one at each corner plus a central pillar for supporting the relics which are placed in it at its consecration i A plain linen covering Greek Katasarkion Slavonic Strachitsa is bound to the Holy Table with cords this cover is never removed after the altar is consecrated and is considered to be the baptismal garment of the altar The linen covering symbolizes the winding sheet in which the body of Christ was wrapped when he was laid in the tomb Since the altar is never seen uncovered thereafter the table tends to be constructed more with sturdiness than aesthetics in mind Above this first cover is a second ornamented altar cloth Inditia often in a brocade of a liturgical color that may change with the ecclesiastical season This outer covering usually comes all the way to the floor and represents the glory of God s Throne 36 In many churches it is the custom for a dust cover to be placed on the Holy Table between services This is often a simple red cloth though it may be made of richer stuff Sometimes it covers only the Gospel Book or the front half of the Holy Table but it may be large enough to cover the entire Holy Table and everything on it including candlesticks and the seven branch candelabra The Holy Place sanctuary in the church of the Saint Vladimir Skete at Valaam Monastery To the left is the Holy Table altar with the Gospel Book the tabernacle and the seven branch candlestand The Table of Oblation is in the background to the left To the right is the cathedra bishop s throne Atop the altar is the tabernacle Kovtcheg a miniature shrine sometimes built in the form of a church inside of which is a small ark containing the reserved sacrament for use in communing the sick Also kept on the altar is the Gospel Book Under the Gospel is kept the antimension a silken cloth imprinted with an icon of Christ being prepared for burial which has a relic sewn into it and bears the signature of the bishop Another simpler cloth the iliton is wrapped around the antimension to protect it and symbolizes the napkin that was tied around the face of Jesus when he was laid in the tomb forming a companion to the strachitsa The Divine Liturgy must be served on an antimension even if the altar has been consecrated and contains relics When not in use the antimension is left in place in the center of the Holy Table and is not removed except for necessity The Holy Table may only be touched by ordained members of the higher clergy j and nothing which is not itself consecrated or an object of veneration should be placed on it Objects may also be placed on the altar as part of the process for setting them aside for sacred use For example icons are usually blessed by laying them on the Holy Table for a period of time or for a certain number of Divine Liturgies before sprinkling them with holy water and placing them where they will be venerated The Epitaphios on Good Friday and the Cross on the Feasts of the Cross are also placed on the Holy Table before they are taken to the center of the church to be venerated by the faithful In place of the outer covering some altars have a permanent solid cover which may be highly ornamented richly carved or even plated in precious metals A smaller brocade cover is used on top of this if it is desired that the altar decoration reflect the liturgical season A contemporary Byzantine Catholic altar during the Divine Liturgy at St Joseph Church in Chicago Illinois The Holy Table is used as the place of offering in the celebration of the Eucharist where bread and wine are offered to God the Father and the Holy Spirit is invoked to make his Son Jesus Christ present in the Gifts It is also the place where the presiding clergy stand at any service even where no Eucharist is being celebrated and no offering is made other than prayer When the priest reads the Gospel during Matins or All Night Vigil on Sunday he reads it standing in front of the Holy Table because it represents the Tomb of Christ and the Gospel lessons for Sunday Matins are always one of the Resurrection appearances of Jesus On the northern side of the sanctuary stands another smaller altar known as the Table of Oblation Prothesis or Zhertvennik at which the Liturgy of Preparation takes place On it the bread and wine are prepared before the Divine Liturgy The Prothesis symbolizes the cave of Bethlehem and also the Anointing Stone at which the Body of Christ was prepared after the Deposition from the Cross The Table of Oblation is also blessed sprinkled with holy water and vested at the consecration of a church but there are no relics placed in it Nothing other than the sacred vessels veils etc which are used in the Liturgy of Preparation may be placed on the Table of Oblation The Epitaphios and Cross are also placed on the Table of Oblation before the priest and deacon solemnly transfer them to the Holy Table In addition to the higher clergy subdeacons are permitted to touch the Table of Oblation but no one of lesser rank may do so The Table of Oblation is the place where the deacon will consume the remaining Gifts Body and Blood of Christ after the Divine Liturgy and perform the ablutions Syro Maronite Church Edit The Syriac Maronite Church along with the other Syriac Churches has freestanding altars in most cases so the priests and deacons can circumambulate the altar during processions and incensations Traditionally the Maronite liturgy was offered with the priest and people oriented to the East but because of modern latinizations it is common to find Maronite liturgies offered with the priest facing against the people from the opposite side of the altar in imitation of modern practices in the Latin Church Oriental Rites Edit Armenian Rite Edit Altar at the Etchmiadzin Cathedral In the Armenian Rite the altar is placed against the eastern wall of the church often in an apse The shape of the altar is usually rectangular similar to Latin altars but is unusual in that it will normally have several steps on top of the table on which are placed the tabernacle candles ceremonial fans a cross and the Gospel Book The altar is often located upon a kind of stage above a row of icons Alexandrian Rite Edit Altars in the Alexandrian Coptic Orthodox Church tradition must have a square face upon which to offer the sacrifice As the standard Coptic liturgy requires the priest to encircle the altar it is never attached to any wall Most Coptic altars are located under a baldachin Ethiopic Rite Edit In Ethiopian Orthodox Church tradition an icon is placed upon but towards the rear of the altar It is away from the wall as in the Coptic tradition West Syriac Rite Edit In the West Syriac Tradition churches have altars in the eastern part of the sanctuary East Syriac Edit Altars of East Syriac Rite are similar in appearance to Armenian altars only they are not placed on a stage Indian Rites Edit Altars are often heavily decorated in the Indian tradition War altar Edit A war altar was a mobile altar on which Mass was celebrated before a battle The ultimate example is the carroccio of the medieval Italian city states which was a four wheeled mobile shrine pulled by oxen and sporting a flagpole and a bell The carroccio also served as the army standard Altar stones were used by army chaplains of the Latin Church in the period leading up to the 20th century Hinduism EditThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed March 2012 Learn how and when to remove this template message Murugan temple in Roermond Netherlands In Hinduism altars generally contain pictures or statues of gods and goddesses Large ornate altars are found in Hindu temples while smaller altars are found in homes and sometimes also in Hindu run shops and restaurants The word for temple is mandir Sanskrit मन द र the altar k as hypostatised temple Shree Ganesh Mandir Jhansi In South Indian temples often each god will have his or her own shrine each contained in a miniature house specifically a mandir These shrines are often scattered around the temple compound with the three main ones being in the main area The statue of the god murti is placed on a stone pedestal in the shrine and one or more lamps are hung in the shrine There is usually a space to put the puja tray tray with worship offerings Directly outside the main shrine there will be a statue of the god s vahana or vehicle The shrines have curtains hung over the entrances and wooden doors which are shut when the deities are sleeping Some South Indian temples have one main altar with several statues placed upon it A family altar in India North Indian temples generally have one main altar at the front of the temple room In some temples the front of the room is separated with walls and several altars are placed in the alcoves The statues on the altars are usually in pairs each god with his consort Radha Krishna Sita Rama Shiva Parvati However some gods such as Ganesha and Hanuman are placed alone Ritual items such as flowers or lamps may be placed on the altar Home shrines can be as simple or as elaborate as the householder can afford Large ornate shrines can be purchased in India and countries with large Hindu minorities like Malaysia and Singapore They are usually made of wood and have tiled floors for statues to be placed upon Pictures may be hung on the walls of the shrine The top of the shrine may have a series of levels like a gopuram tower on a temple Each Hindu altar will have at least one oil lamp and may contain a tray with puja equipment as well Hindus with large houses will set aside one room as their puja room with the altar at one end of it Some South Indians also place a shrine with pictures of their departed relatives on the right side of the room and make offerings to them before making offerings to the gods See also Vedi altar and Homa ritual Taoism Edit Detail of c 1700 painting of a Taoist altar during a ritual for the dead illustrating a scene from The Plum in the Golden Vase Note the Three Purities plaques at the back of the altar and the ritual implements including incense burner and ritual sword on the right Bowls hold food offerings for the deceased woman An Ikuantaoist altar Taoist altars are erected to honor traditional deities and the spirits of ancestors Taoist altars may be erected in temples or in private homes Strict traditions and different sects describe the items offered and the ritual involved in the temples but folk custom in the homes is much freer Imperial dynasties built huge altars called jitan 祭坛 to perform various offering ceremonies called jisi 祭祀 The Temple of Heaven in Beijing is one of those Nearly all forms of Chinese traditional religion involve baibai 拜拜 bowing towards an altar with a stick of incense in one s hand 37 Some schools prescribe the use of three sticks of incense in the hand at one time 38 This may be done at home or in a temple or outdoors by an ordinary person or a professional such as a Taoist priest and the altar may feature any number of deities or ancestral tablets Baibai is usually done in accordance with certain dates of the lunar solar calendar see Chinese calendar At certain dates food may be set out as a sacrifice to the gods or spirits of the departed See for example Qingming Festival and Ghost Festival This may include rice slaughtered pigs and ducks or fruit Another form of sacrifice involves the burning of Hell Bank Notes on the assumption that images thus consumed by the fire will reappear not as a mere image but as the actual item in the spirit world and be available for the departed spirit to use In Taoist folk religion sometimes chickens pigs feet and pig heads are given as offerings But in orthodox Daoist practice offerings should essentially be incense candles and vegetarian offerings 39 Buddhism Edit A ban thờ worship table is an altar used in ancestral worship and worship of Buddhas and gods in Vietnam A butsudan at ShinDo Buddhist Temple In Buddhist following cultures structures such as ban thờ butsudan or spirit houses are found in temples or homes In Japan the butsudan is a wooden cabinet with doors that enclose and protect a religious image of the Buddha or the Bodhisattvas typically in the form of a statue or a mandala scroll installed in the highest place of honor and centered The doors are opened to display the image during religious observances A butsudan usually contains subsidiary religious items called butsugu such as candlesticks incense burners bells and platforms for placing offerings such as fruit Some sects place ihai memorial tablets for deceased relatives within or near the butsudan Butsudans are often decorated with flowers The shrine is placed in the temple or home as a place of worship to the Buddha the Law of the Universe etc Scrolls honzon or statues are placed in the butsudan and prayed to morning and evening Zen Buddhists also meditate before the butsudan The original design for the butsudan began in India where people built altars as an offering place to the Buddha When Buddhism came to China and Korea statues of the Buddha were placed on pedestals or platforms The Chinese and Koreans built walls and doors around the statues to shield them from the weather and also adapted elements of their respective indigenous religions They could then safely offer their prayers incense etc to the statue or scroll without it falling and breaking Shinto Edit A Shinto Kamidana household altar in Japan Note the shimenawa a rope demarking the sanctuary area seen above along the ceiling Main articles Jinja Shinto and Himorogi In Shinto altars are found in shrines Originating in ancient times himorogi are temporarily erected sacred spaces or altars used as a locus of worship A physical area is demarcated with branches of green bamboo or sakaki at the four corners between which are strung sacred border ropes shimenawa In the center of the area a large branch of sakaki festooned with sacred emblems hei is erected as a yorishiro a physical representation of the presence of the kami and toward which rites of worship are performed In more elaborate cases a himorogi may be constructed by placing a rough straw mat upon the ground then erecting a ceremonial eight legged stand hakkyaku an upon the mat and decorating the stand with a frame festooned with sacred border ropes and sacred border emblems Finally the sakaki branch is erected in the center of this stand as the focus of worship 40 Norse paganism EditMain article Horgr A basic altar called a horgr was used for sacrifice in Norse paganism The horgr was constructed of piled stones possibly in a wood harrow and would be used in sacrifices and perhaps other ceremonies as well A possible use of the horgr during a sacrifice would be to place upon it a bowl of the blood of an animal sacrificed to a Norse deity e g a goat for Thor a sow for Freyja a boar for Freyr then dipping a bundle of fir twigs into it and sprinkling the participants with the blood This would consecrate the attendees to the ceremony such as a wedding Asatru Edit In Nordic Modern Pagan practice altars may be set up in the home or in wooded areas in imitation of the horgr of ancient times They may be dedicated to Thor Odin or other Nordic deities Neopaganism EditIn neopaganism there is a wide variety of ritual practice running the gamut from a very eclectic syncretism to strict polytheistic reconstructionism Many of these groups make use of altars Some are constructed merely of rough hewn or stacked stone and some are made of fine wood or other finished material Wicca Edit Main article Altar Wicca Neo Druidism Edit Modern Neo Druidism may also make use of altars often erected in groves Though little is known of the specific religious beliefs and practices presided over by the ancient Druids modern people who identify themselves as Druids are free to incorporate their imagination in developing ceremonies and the use of ritual objects in keeping with their belief system The Order of Common Worship of the Reformed Druids of North America Liturgy of the Druids 41 calls for a fire to be started in or near the altar and makes use of various objects such as a chalice staves and a plant offering If no altar is used the objects may be placed on the ground High places EditMain article High place High places are elevated areas on which altars have been erected for worship in the belief that as they were nearer heaven than the plains and valleys they are more favourable places for prayer High places were prevalent in almost all ancient cultures as centers of cultic worship High places in Israelite Hebrew Bamah or Bama or Canaanite culture were open air shrines usually erected on an elevated site Prior to the conquest of Canaan by the Israelites in the 12th 11th century BCE the high places served as shrines of the Canaanite fertility deities the Baals Lords and the Asherot Semitic goddesses In addition to an altar matzevot stone pillars representing the presence of the divine were erected 42 The practice of worship on these spots became frequent among the Hebrews though after the temple was built it was forbidden Such worship was with difficulty abolished though denounced time after time by the prophets as an affront to God A closely related example is a backyard altar so to speak Before there was a set temple and an established altar people built their own altars After the temple was built use of these altars was forbidden Unlike the case of high places backyard altar worship was quickly eradicated In following years the practice drastically decreased in popularity See also EditAltar candle Altar cards Altar Crucifix Altars in Latin America Altars in Roman Catholicism Analogion Ara Pacis Back choir Cathedral diagram Credence table Dambana Double Altar Ofrenda Predella Prothesis Sacrament Sacred architecture Winged altarFootnotes Edit Altar use in Judaism is historical only It ended with the destruction of the Second Temple Hebrew מזבח mizbe ah means a place of slaughter or sacrifice 1 Here eastern means Eastern Orthodoxy Oriental Orthodoxy the Assyrian Church of the East and the Ancient Church of the East perhaps others Here western means the Roman Catholic Church churches of the Anglican Communion Lutherans and some Reformed perhaps others When a free standing altar is placed on the same floor level as the congregation in a cathedral often at the crossing it is called a low altar particularly if the unused high altar is still in place in the far end of the sanctuary The come forward invitation is a method that s only about 180 years old It was invented by Methodist churches in the late 17th century and later picked up and popularized by Charles Finney in the mid 1800s and the majority of evangelical churches use that form today 31 Every Methodist church has an altar rail below the pulpit platform where penitent folk can kneel and pray if they desire to seek divine help 32 The high altar is out of sight in the background beneath the window When the low altar is in use the high altar in the back is not used and stands undressed If however the consecration was not performed by a bishop but by a priest whom he delegated for that purpose relics are not placed in the Holy Table Here the higher clergy are bishops priests and deacons Any enclosure that which contains it even an alcove or a small cabinet is included as part of the altar and shares its status as a temple in miniature References Edit Altar Encyclopedia Biblica 1899 Exodus 20 24 20 25 Genesis 22 9 Ezekiel 6 3 2 Kings 23 12 16 4 23 8 Genesis 8 20 Genesis 12 7 13 4 22 9 Genesis 26 25 33 20 35 1 3 Exodus 17 15 Elitzur Yael Nir Zevi Doran 2003 A Rock Hewn Altar Near Shiloh Palestine Exploration Quarterly 135 1 30 36 doi 10 1179 peq 2003 135 1 30 ISSN 0031 0328 S2CID 162159584 General Instruction of the Roman Missal PDF catholic org au 2007 07 03 Archived from the original PDF on July 20 2008 303 Dietz Helen The Biblical Roots of Church Orientation sacredarchitecture org Archived from the original on 2020 11 24 Retrieved 2007 01 22 De ecclesiae dedicatione seu consacratione members aol com Liturgia Latina Ritus servandus Missae ecclesiacatholica com Missale Romanum V 3 General Instruction of the Roman Missal usccb org 299 De altarium portatilium consecratione members aol com Liturgia Latina a b c d e f g General Instruction of the Roman Missal usccb org See also General Instruction of the Roman Missal 1 Corinthians 10 21 1 Peter 2 4 cf Ephesians 2 10 canon 1236 vatican va The Code of Canon Law Rite of Dedication of a Church and an Altar Chapter II 5 The Code of Canon Law Report canon 1237 2 and 20 302 Rite of Dedication of a Church and an Altar Chapter VI 4 Keene Michael 2001 Christian Churches Nelson Thornes p 58 ISBN 978 0 7487 5288 1 Wedding Policies PDF Trinity Baptist Church Archived from the original PDF on 2011 12 26 Cox Harvey 2001 Fire from Heaven Da Capo Press p 274 ISBN 978 0 7867 3134 3 Lawless Elaine J 2005 God s Peculiar People University of Kentucky p 57 ISBN 978 0 8131 9141 6 Bouma Gary 2006 Australian Soul Cambridge University Press p 95 ISBN 978 1 139 45938 9 Warren Rick Communicating to change lives teaching notes Preaching for Life Change Seminar International version p 81 Goodwin Alonzo T 1977 Stories of Western Loggers Loggers World p 88 a b Stauffer S Anita Altar Guild and Sacristy Handbook Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Augsburg Fortress LCMS vs Catholic churches Lutheran Church Missouri Synod lcms org Archived from the original on 2003 12 27 Retrieved 2010 01 18 Abbot Joseph October 2005 The Byzantine Altar newliturgicalmovement org Hapgood Isabel 1975 Service Book of the Holy Orthodox Catholic Apostolic Church Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese p 614 Liu Zhongyu 1996 The Relationships between Confucianism Buddhism Taoism and folk custom Shijie Zongjiao 24 32 Regarding baibai as the term for the act of offering incense as a form of worship Silvers Brock 2005 The Taoist Manual Honolulu HI Sacred Mountain Press p 74 Liu Zhong Burning Incense and Worshiping Spirits taoism org hk Daoist Folk Customs Translated by Lu Pengzhi Taoist Culture and Information Centre Archived from the original on 2007 09 29 Retrieved 2007 07 05 Encyclopedia of Shinto Kokugakuin University Liturgy of the Druids PDF orgs carleton edu New Reformed Druids of North America High place Encyclopaedia Britannica Online 2007 Archived from the original on January 5 2008 Retrieved 2007 07 01 Sources Edit This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain Wood James ed 1907 Altar The Nuttall Encyclopaedia London and New York Frederick Warne This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain Easton Matthew George 1897 Altar Easton s Bible Dictionary New and revised ed T Nelson and Sons Further reading EditDavies J G 1999 Altar In Fahlbusch Erwin Bromiley Geoffrey William eds The Encyclopedia of Christianity Vol 1 Grand Rapids MI Wm B Eerdmans pp 42 43 ISBN 0 8028 2413 7 External links Edit Look up altar in Wiktionary the free dictionary Wikimedia Commons has media related to Altar Altars in scripture Catholic Encyclopedia via newadvent org History of the Christian altar Catholic Encyclopedia via newadvent org An essay on a Hindu home altar pluralism org Taoist great ritual offerings to the all embracing Heaven www eng taoism org hk Archived from the original on 2007 08 16 How to build an altar ofrenda for Dia de los Muertos DiaDeMuertos net Archived from the original on 2007 10 30 Thor Stalli neo pagan altar to Thor earthlink net odindis Archived from the original on 2009 01 12 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Altar amp oldid 1132902802, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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