You’ll remember that a church is divided into three main parts: the nave, the chancel and the sanctuary.  The word sanctuary comes from the Latin sanctus, which means holy.  The sanctuary, the holy place, is so named because it contains the altar where the Eucharist, the chief Christian act of worship, is offered to God.  That is why the main altar, or High Altar, as it is called, is the most important part of a church and every church is so built as to lead our eyes to it.

The Early Church

In the early days of the Church, when the Eucharist was celebrated in private houses, the Christians used an ordinary table for it.  But about 35 years after Our Lord’s Crucifixion and Resurrection, the first of the great Ten Persecutions was launched against the Church, and the Christians now met for the Eucharist at the risk of their lives.  In the city of Rome they used the catacombs.  These were miles and miles of underground burial tunnels which were the very thing for secret meetings, especially in those parts where the tunnels opened out into underground rooms.  It was in the catacombs, too, that the Christians were buried and in particular the martyrs who had died so heroically for Jesus and the Faith.  And so the custom arose of using the flat, stone slab, which formed the top of a martyr’s tomb, as the altar for the celebration of the Eucharist.  Then, when the persecutions ceased, and the Christians were able to meet in safety in churches above ground, they carried on as they been used to doing and celebrated the Eucharist at stone altars made in the shape of the long chest-like tombs of the Roman catacombs.  Our altars today are of the same shape.

Later developments

In England, in 1071 AD, that is five years after the landing of William the Conqueror, it was ordered by Archbishop Lanfranc that every altar, or at any rate the flat top of the altar should be made of stone.  It was consecrated by a bishop who anointed it with holy oil in the form of a cross at the four corners and in the middle, and crosses were also cut into the stone at these points in memory of Our Lord’s five wounds in his hands and feet and side.  It was also the custom to enclose relics of a saint in front of the altar.  The relic might be a bone of a martyr or part of a saint’s hair.  This custom goes back to the days when the Christians celebrated the Eucharist at the tombs in the catacombs where the bodies of the martyrs were buried.  But in 1550 AD, almost all the stone altars in England were broken up by what has been called “the ring of robbers who surrounded the throne” of Edward VI. (1)

So today in most churches the altars are of wood, but it is the custom to set in the top an altar stone.  This is about a foot square, and is marked with five crosses.  It is on this stone that the bread and wine of the Eucharist are consecrated.

Crucifix and candles

In the middle of the altar or on the wall behind it there is usually crucifix.  This recalls that first Good Friday when Jesus offered himself to God for our salvation.  The reason why we have it on the altar is that in the Eucharist what we offer to God is Jesus himself, once Crucified and now Risen and Ascended.  On either side of the crucifix are the candles.  There may be two, four or six.  You will also see two tall, standard candlesticks at the bottom of the altar steps one on either side.  Sometimes these candlesticks are on the same level as the altar.

During the 40 days from Easter Day to Ascension Day a large, decorated candle stands in the sanctuary and is lit at the Eucharist and at Evensong.  It is called the Paschal – that is, Easter – Candle and represents the presence of the Risen Christ with his disciples and with us.

All of these candles remind us of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Light of the World, and they are lit in his honour.  At the time of the Eucharist a stand or cushion is put on the altar for the altar book to rest on.  Near the altar is the credence table.  We shall be talking about that in our next session.  In some churches a recess in the wall is used as a credence table.

Altar rails

In most churches you will find altar rails which separate the sanctuary from the chancel and at which the people kneel to make their Communion.  They were first put into churches in the 17th century in order to protect the altar from irreverence, because the Puritans used to stand their tall, black hats on it during service time.

The Blessed Sacrament

It is in the sanctuary that the Blessed Sacrament is usually kept or, as we say, reserved.  The Blessed Sacrament is Our Lord’s Ascended Body which we receive under the forms of Bread and Wine when we make our Communion at the Eucharist.  Only the consecrated Bread is reserved.  It is kept in some churches in a safe, called a tabernacle, at the back of the altar.  In others the Blessed Sacrament is kept in a safe or aumbry in one of the side walls of the sanctuary, or in a side chapel.  But in any case, a white light burns nearby day and night as a sign that the Blessed Sacrament is there.  For where the Blessed Sacrament is, there is Jesus himself in his Ascended Body.

You may notice a red lamp hanging in the sanctuary.  This is a reminder to us of the Presence of God the Holy Spirit in the Church.  By seeing that the lamp is kept alight we also show him that we do not forget his Presence (cf. 1 Samuel 3:3; Revelation 4:5).

SUMMARY

1. As the Eucharist is the most important service, so the altar at which it is celebrated is the most important part of the church.  And every church is so built as to lead our eyes to it.

2. In the early days, the tombs of the martyrs in the catacombs (underground burial tunnels) in Rome were used by the Christians as altars, and our altars today are made in the same shape.  The candles remind us of Jesus, the Light of the World.  The crucifix recalls his offering of himself for our salvation, and that is also the central offering in the Eucharist itself.

3. On or near the altar the Blessed Sacrament is kept.  Nearby a white light always burns as a sign of Jesus’ Presence in the Blessed Sacrament.

Reference

Dearmer, P. (1909) Everyman’s history of the English Church, London: A.R. Mowbray & Co Ltd.