THE
ALTAR: In the liturgy of the Roman rite of the Catholic
Church, the altar is the table on which the sacrifice of the mass is offered.
The altar is traditionally made of stone, calling to mind Christ as the living
cornerstone of the catholic faith. However, as the most venerable spot in the
church, the traditional stone is preferred. The altar is first of all a table,
a dining table at which the priest, who represents Christ the lord, does what
the lord himself did on Holy Thursday and ordered his disciples to do in their
turn in remembrance of him. The celebration of the Eucharist on the stone altar
turns the latter into an image of Christ and that is why according to a twofold
symbolism, there is the theme of the stone as the rock from which Moses caused
water to flow, and the rock was Christ[1]. Then
there is the theme of the stone altar, a theme initiated in Genesis[2]
and developed on the basis of deuteronomic regulation for the offering of
holocausts. In the 4th century the builder of the cemeterial
basilicas of the fourth to the sixth century often sought, even if it meant
overcoming very great difficulties, to link the body of the martyr with the
altar on which the Eucharistic sacrifice was to be celebrated. The connection may
have been suggested by the apocalypse.[3]
There used to be one altar in the new churches which presupposes that we have
but one savior and one Eucharist. But it is also meritorious having additional
small chapel, set aside from the main body of the church for weekday masses and
individual visits of the faithful. In the liturgical exercise, respect is shown
devotedly to the altar in various mannerisms which include: the kissing of the
altar at the arrival of the priest and at the end of mass.
THE
BAPTISTERY: Here we were made to understand that Baptistery is
a hall or chapel situated close to, or connected with, a church, in which the
sacrament of baptism is administered. It should be strictly reserved for the
sacrament of baptism and should be a place worthy for Christians to be reborn
in water and Holy Spirit. In their architecture, which was inspired by the
halls for the baths, the baptisteries followed a centralized plan; allegorical
considerations suggested an octagonal form. The veneration felt for baptisteries
can be seen in the marvelous artistic flowering they stimulated and in
liturgical rites, particularly Rome, a procession of neophytes went on
pilgrimage to the baptistery every evening of Easter week. As adult baptisms
became increasingly rare, and especially once the practice of immersion
disappeared, baptisteries were reduced in size and came to be placed inside the
parish churches, close to the entrance. Canonical legislation spoke no longer
of baptisteries but simply of the baptismal font. The desire for community
participation often led to the celebration of baptisms not in the baptistery
proper but in the sanctuary of the church, the de- meritorious aspect of this
is that it deprived Christians of the possibility of venerating the place where
they had been baptized.
THE
CEMETERY: The cemetery was a place where the bodies of all
the brothers and sisters waited for the resurrection; it had to proclaim this
expectation and avoid grandiloquence, vanity, luxury, and much more, any trace
of paganism and as such, Here we were made to understand the fact that
initially Christians did not have cemeteries of their own even though they took
over everything in the funeral traditions of their cities that was unharmonious
with their faith and their hope. But in the 3rd century the roman
community had already constructed its own cemetery but only the underground
aspects survived, however, as a follow up to that, their original form was
subverted after the peace of Constantine by the desire of Christians to be buried
near the martyrs. In fact in the middle ages many people lobby the honour of
being buried inside the churches, while the other graves clustered around the
outside. Despite the miasma created by modernity, the holy mother church still
desires that wherever possible it continue to have cemeteries of her own.
OBJECTS SET ASIDE FOR CULTIC USE
THE
SACRED VESSELS: The sacred vessel is very much
imperative among basic or fundamental requirement in the celebration of the
Holy Mass, most especially the chalice and paten, which are used for the
presentation, consecration, and receiveing bread and wine. The cup at the last
supper was a single cup from which all the guests were supposed to drink
according to the ritual of the Passover meal; beginning with the letters of
st.paul[4]
and this single cup becomes the symbol of ecclesial unity, the grace of which
it contains.
CROSSES
AND ICONS: Cross is meant to be placed near the altar in our
modern mileu so that the assembly can figure it out easily. Though in 25th
century, the processional cross was placed opposite that altar by a sub-deacon
when the cortege arrived, later on, a small cross was placed on the altar. In
reference to churches tradition, the images of the Jesus, the blessed virgin,
and the saints may be legitimately venerated by the assembly. Among the Byzantines, on the other hand,
icons are required in the place of worship, and certain liturgical acts must be
performed before them. As a matter of fact they are different from the images
we have In the west not only by reason of this close connection with the
liturgy but also by reason of the artistic choices that they embody and the
spiritual attitude of the faithful toward them.
THE
BELLS: The faithful were summon for the liturgy in a
primitive mannerism in the early centuries, some eastern churches have
continued to use the wooden simandron
or the sideroun, which are hanging
objects that are struck with a mallet. But towards the end of 5th
century the use of bells spread
everywhere. The middle ages assigned them the further function of urging the
absent faithful to unite themselves in prayer with the liturgy then being
celebrated and this is why bells are rung during the celebration, in the course
of the Eucharistic prayer as well as of stimulating the faithful to mements of
private prayer like ringing of the ave maria or angelus.
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