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In theCatholic Church, analtar is a table or structure on whichMass is celebrated. Relics of martyrs or other saints are commonly set into the altar.[1] Typically centrally located in thesanctuary, thealtar is to be the focus of attention in the church.[2] At the beginning of theRoman Rite ofMass, the priest first of all reverences the altar with a kiss and only after that goes to the chair at which he presides over the Introductory Rites and the Liturgy of the Word.[3] Except in aSolemn Mass, a priest celebrating theTridentine Mass remains at the altar the whole time after saying theprayers at the foot of the altar.
The rite of dedication of a church and of the altar points out that the celebration of the Eucharist is "the principal and the most ancient part of the whole rite, because the celebration of the eucharist is in the closest harmony with the rite of the dedication of a church", and "the eucharist, which sanctifies the hearts of those who receive it, in a sense consecrates the altar and the place of celebration, as the ancient Fathers of the Church often assert: 'This altar should be an object of awe: by nature it is stone, but it is made holy when it receives the body of Christ.'"[4]
InGreek and some other languages used in theByzantine Rite, the same word (βωμός) is used for an altar (in general) and for the area surrounding it; that is to say, the entiresanctuary. To refer unambiguously to the altar itself the terms "Holy Table" (Ἁγία Τράπεζα) or "Throne" (Church Slavonic:Prestólcode: chu promoted to code: cu) are used.[5]
Augustin Joseph Schulte says thatPope Sixtus II (257–259) was the first to prescribe that Mass should be celebrated on an altar, and that there are accounts according to whichLucian of Antioch celebrated Mass on his breast whilst in prison (312), and Theodore, Bishop of Tyre on the hands of his deacons.[6]
Early Christians faced east at prayer, a practice witnessed to byClement of Alexandria (c. 150 – c. 215),[7]Tertullian (c. 160 – c. 220),[8] andOrigen (c. 185 – 253).[9] Churches were generally built with an east–west axis. In the earliest churches in Rome the altar stood at the west end and the priest stood at the western side of the altar facing east and facing the people and the doors of the church. Examples are theConstantinian St. Peter's Basilica and the originalBasilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls.[10] In the East, early churches had the altar at the east end and the priest, facing east, stood at the western side of the altar, with his back to the people and the doors. This later became the common practice also in western Europe. It was adopted in Rome in the 8th or 9th century.[11]
The churches that Christians built after the legalization of their religion in the Roman Empire were not modelled on pagan temples, which were not intended to accommodate large numbers of people. The model used was that of the public basilicas that served for meetings such as sessions of law courts. These were generally spacious, and the interior was divided by two or four rows of pillars, forming a centralnave and sideaisles. At the end was a raised platform, often situated in anapse, with seats for the magistrates. In basilica-style Christian churches the apse was reserved for thebishop and his clergy; the faithful occupied the centre and the side aisles, and between the clergy and people stood the altar.[6][12]
The earliest altars for celebrating the Christian Eucharist were of wood and identical in form with ordinary house tables, as was doubtless used at theLast Supper. The only such ancient wooden table still preserved is in theLateran Basilica, and fragments of another are preserved in theSanta Pudenziana church in Rome. A tradition that lacks convincing evidence says thatPeter celebrated the Eucharist on both.[13]Optatus of Mileve reproves the Donatists for breaking up and using for firewood the altars of the Catholic churches,[14] andAugustine of Hippo reports that Bishop Maximianus was beaten with the wood of the altar under which he had taken refuge.[15]
Helena (c. 250 – c. 330) gave golden altars ornamented with precious stones to the originalChurch of the Holy Sepulchre.Pulcheria (398 or 399 – 453), sister ofTheodosius II, presented an altar of gold to the Basilica of Constantinople. PopesSixtus III (432–440) andHilary (461–468) presented several altars of silver to the churches of Rome.[6]
Gregory of Nyssa (c. 335 – c. 395) speaks of the consecration of an altar made of stone (De Christi Baptismate). Since wood is subject to decay, the baser metals to corrosion, and the more precious metals were too expensive, stone became in course of time the ordinary material for an altar. The earliest decree of a council prescribing that an altar which is to be consecrated should be of stone is that of the provincial council of Epeaune (Pamiers), France, in 517.[16]
The present discipline of theLatin Church distinguishes between the "table" of an altar (the top) and the supports or base. The latter, provided it is dignified and solid, may be of any material. On the other hand, "in keeping with the Church’s traditional practice and with what the altar signifies, the table of a fixed altar should be of stone and indeed of natural stone", except where theepiscopal conference authorizes the use of another material (such as wood) that "is dignified, solid and well-crafted." "A movable altar may be constructed of any noble and solid material suited to liturgical use, according to the traditions and usages of the different regions."[17]
InEastern Christianity (including theEastern Catholic Churches) the use of stone, wood or metal is permitted.[13]
The usage of celebrating the Eucharist on the tombs of martyrs is by theLiber Pontificalis ascribed, probably mistakenly, toPope Felix I (269–274). According toJohann Peter Kirsch the usage is likely to have preceded Pope Felix and to have concerned the celebration ofMass privately in the underground cemeteries known as thecatacombs: the solemn celebration of the martyrs took place in the above-groundbasilicas built over their place of burial.[18]
Within the catacomb crypts the Eucharist could be celebrated on a stone slab placed over the grave or sarcophagus of one or more martyrs within a space hollowed out of thetufa walls so as to form an arch-like niche. Both in the catacombs and in the above-ground churches the altar could also be a square or oblong block of stone resting on one or more columns (up to six) or on a masonry structure that enclosed the relics of martyrs. Instead of masonry, upright stone slabs could be used, thus forming, with the top slab, a stone chest containing the relics. This no doubt brought about both a change of form, from that of a simple table to that of a chest or tomb.[6]
Usually an altar should be fixed and ritually dedicated, but a mere blessing is sufficient for a movable altar. In a church a fixed altar is appropriate, but in other places set aside for sacred celebrations the altar may be movable.[19]
The practice of celebrating the Eucharist over the graves of martyrs is probably the origin of the rule that demanded that every altar must contain the relics of martyrs.[6]
TheGeneral Instruction of the Roman Missal directs that relics should be verified as authentic, but that they do not have to be the remains of those who died for the faith.[20]
TheCaeremoniale Episcoporum adds: "Such relics should be of a size sufficient for them to be recognized as parts of human bodies; hence excessively small relics of one or more saints must not be placed beneath the altar. The greatest care must be taken to determine whether the relics in question are authentic; it is better for an altar to be dedicated without relics than to have relics of doubtful authenticity placed beneath it. A reliquary must not be placed upon the altar or set into the table of the altar; it must be placed beneath the table of the altar, as the design of the altar permits."[21]
In earlier centuries minute portions of relics were inserted into the table of the altar and also into thealtar stones that at that time were called movable altars. The cavity into which they were placed was called thesepulchrum (Latin for 'tomb'). The relics could be of several saints, but two had to be martyrs until 1906, when the Congregation of Rites decided that it was sufficient to enclose relics of two canonized saints of whom one was a martyr. The relics were placed in a reliquary of lead, silver, or gold, large enough to contain also three grains of incense and a small attestation of consecration on a piece of parchment. In an altar stone, the relics were inserted directly, without a reliquary. There were precise rules also about where exactly in the altar the relics were to be placed and about the stone cover for the cavity.[22]
In ancient churches in which the altar is built over the tomb of a saint or over the relics that have been placed there, a niche below the altar offered a view of the tomb or reliquary and allowed the faithful to touch it and to place in contact with it that would then be venerated as second-class relics. The best known example is theNiche of the Palliums inSt. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It is now approached by descending steps, since the present floor is considerably higher than that of the original basilica.[23] Other churches also have in front of the altar a similar semicircular hollow area, known as theconfessio, even if the altar is not built over a holy tomb, as in theLateran Basilica and theBasilica di Santa Maria Maggiore.[24][25]
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According to the General Instruction of the Roman Missal the altar should be located in the sanctuary and set apart from the rest of the church in some way.[26]
The sanctuary orchancel or presbytery, as well as being elevated above the floor level of the rest of the church, is often, though less frequently than in the past, demarcated byaltar rails (sometimes called acommunion rail).
Even within an elevated sanctuary, the altar itself is often placed on a higher platform set off by one or more steps. The platform is known as thepredella.[27]
The altar may also be marked with a surmountingciborium, sometimes called a baldachin.
As well as the altar, the sanctuary contains thecredence table, theambo and the seats for the clergy.
Later, the number of steps was increased. It became the norm that the main altar of a church should be raised above the level of the sanctuary by three steps, whileside altars had a single step. The papal altar in St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican is approached by seven steps.[28]
An odd number was always chosen. Since it was considered proper to use the right foot in taking a first step, this ensured that the priest, having ascended the first of the steps with his right foot would also enter the predella (the platform or footpace on which the altar stood) with his right foot. The same rule applied to pre-Christian temples, as indicated byVitruvius in hisDe architectura.[29] TheSatyricon attributed toPetronius also mentions the custom ofdextro pede (right foot first).[30]
In late medieval andTridentine times, elaborate rules were developed not only about the number of steps, but also about the material used, the height of each step, the breadth of the tread, the covering with carpets or rugs (both of which were to be removed from the stripping of the altars on Holy Thursday until just before the Mass on Holy Saturday morning, and the carpet alone at aRequiem Mass), and the colour and design of the carpet.[31]
A canopy placed over an altar is called aciborium (a word of which "civory" is a variant form) orbaldachin.[32]Gian Lorenzo Bernini'sSt. Peter's Baldachin is the most famous of these structures.
Early extant ciboria inRavenna andRome usually consist of four columns topped by a pyramidal or gabled roof.[32] On some, rods between the columns indicate that they were provided with curtains that could be closed at certain points of the liturgy, as is the custom in theArmenian andCoptic Rites. Some later churches without a ciborium hung a curtain on the wall behind the altar, with two curtain-bearing rods extending at the sides of the altar.[33] From at latest the 4th century, the altar was covered from the view of the congregation at points during Mass byaltar curtains hanging from rods supported by a ciborium, riddel posts, or some other arrangement. This practice declined as the introduction of other structures that screened the altar, such as theiconostasis in the East androod screen andpulpitum in the West, meant that the congregation could barely see the altar anyway.
In early times, before the break-up of the Roman Empire exposed such objects to sacking and looting, the consecrated bread of the Eucharist (thereserved sacrament) was kept in a gold or silver dove, sometimes enclosed in a silver tower, suspended by fine chains from the ciborium that sheltered the altar.[34]
Instead of a four-column ciborium a movable canopy (called a tester) was in some churches suspended from the ceiling above the altar or a fixed canopy attached to the wall was employed.[35]
Use of some such canopy over every altar was decreed in documents of theTridentine period, but the decrees were generally ignored even in that period.[35][36]
The Roman Missal ofPope Pius V, whose use was made generally obligatory throughout theLatin Church in 1570 laid down that, forMass, only items used in that celebration should be placed on the altar. These include a cross should be placed in the middle of it, flanked by at least two candlesticks with lit candles.[37]
The front of these steps was sometimes painted and decorated. Thus the gradini ofBrunelleschi's church ofSanto Spirito, Florence displayed scenes from thePassion of Christ.[38]
There has been no church legislation on these artworks, which vary enormously in form. The terminology, too, is somewhat fluid.[39][40]
The term "altarpiece" is applied very widely to them.
The altar should be covered by at least one whitealtar cloth when the Mass is celebrated.[41] The pre-1969 regulations prescribedthree white altar cloths, the topmost being long enough to reach the ground at both ends.[42] 19th and early 20th-century regulations required that the cloths be of linen or hemp and not of any other material, even if of equivalent or higher quality.[43]
In addition, it was customary to place directly on the altar, beneath the three obligatory altar cloths, a cloth waxed on one side that was called the chrismale or cere cloth and that served to keep the altar cloths dry.[43]
When the altar is not used for a liturgical service, the altar cloths may be protected against being stained or soiled by placing over them an altar protector or altar cover made of cloth, baize or velvet large enough to hang down a little on all sides. This is known as the vesperale or stragulum.[44]
When in the period immediately preceding the late twentieth century altars were generally built attached to or close to a wall, it became customary to cover with drapery the front of the altar, the only part visible to the congregation. This drapery was called theantependium or altar frontal, terms often applied also to sculptural or other ornamentation of the altar front itself. It covered the whole front of the altar, partial coverings being forbidden. It was obligatory unless the altar front was particularly artistic, and even in such cases it should be used on more solemn occasions. Its origin was thought to have derived from the curtains or veils of silk or other precious material hanging over the open space under the altar table to preserve the shrine of saints deposited there.[45] In the Middle Ages a similar function was performed by an "altar stole", an ornament in the shape of the ends of astole attached to the front of the altar.[46]
According to theGeneral Instruction of the Roman Missal describes what type of candles and candlesticks may be used on the alter, as well as delimiting how many may be used.[47] While only two lighted candles are now obligatory and may be placed beside the altar rather than on it, the pre-1969 rubrics (which did not envisage the candles being brought in the Entrance procession) required that they be on the altar itself (in practice, however, they were often placed on thealtar shelf instead) and should be four at aLow Mass celebrated by a bishop, four or six at aMissa cantata, six at aSolemn Mass and seven at aPontifical High Mass. In the last case, the seventh candle was not lit if the bishop was celebrating outside his own diocese. There were also rules, developed over centuries, about the material from which the candlesticks were to be made and about the relative heights of the candles. Candles appear not to have been placed on the altar before the twelfth century, but earlier writings speak ofacolytes carrying candlesticks, which, however, they placed on the floor of the sanctuary or near the corners of the altar, as is still the custom in theEastern Orthodox Church.[48]
Liturgical books of the same pre-1969 period speak of the placing of flowers (even good-quality artificial ones) in vases between the candlesticks on the altar.[49] Presently, a moderate amount of flowers are placed around, but not on, the altar. Other items used to celebrate Mass are placed on the altar instead.[50]
The candlesticks consist of five principal parts: the foot, the stem, the knob, the bowl to catch drippings, and the pricket on which the candle is placed. Altar candlesticks may be made of any material suitable for candlesticks, with the exception that silvered candlesticks may not be used onGood Friday. They may never be used for funeral celebrations.[51]
Tabernacles are sometimes placed prominently on the altar, though in general they're placed. It should be constructed in such a way to preserve the holiness of the hosts. Before its first use, it should be blessed. Preferably, it should be located in a spot apart from where Mass is celebrated.
