What is the canopy over the altar called?
Baldachin, also spelled baldachino, or baldaquin, also called ciborium, in architecture, the canopy over an altar or tomb, supported on columns, especially when freestanding and disconnected from any enclosing wall. Later it came to stand for a freestanding canopy over an altar.
What is the difference between altar and pulpit?
Altar refers to the altar in Christian churches, which holds the sacrament of Holy Communion. Pulpit refers to the pulpit, from which a pastor preaches.
What is the top part of a church called?
nave
The nave is the main part of the church where the congregation (the people who come to worship) sit. The aisles are the sides of the church which may run along the side of the nave. The transept, if there is one, is an area which crosses the nave near the top of the church.
Why is there a canopy over the altar?
Ciboria were placed over the shrines of martyrs, which then had churches built over them, with the altar over the spot believed to be the site of the burial. They also served to shelter the altar from dust and the like from high ceilings that could only rarely be reached.
What does the ciborium Symbolise?
In medieval Latin, and in English, “Ciborium” more commonly refers to a covered container used in Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran and related churches to store the consecrated hosts of the sacrament of Holy Communion.
What is the purpose of a pulpit?
It is typically used by lay people to read the scripture lessons (except for the Gospel lesson), to lead the congregation in prayer, and to make announcements. Because the epistle lesson is usually read from the lectern, the lectern side of the church is sometimes called the epistle side.
What is the entryway of a church called?
The narthex is an architectural element typical of early Christian and Byzantine basilicas and churches consisting of the entrance or lobby area, located at the west end of the nave, opposite the church’s main altar. By extension, the narthex can also denote a covered porch or entrance to a building.
What is the raised platform in a church called?
Pulpit, in Western church architecture, an elevated and enclosed platform from which the sermon is delivered during a service.
What is the table on the altar called?
The Lord’s Table
The Lord’s Table therefore plays a very important role in the celebration of Holy Communion, which is also known as the Eucharist or the Mass. The Lord’s Table (also known as the Altar or Communion Table) usually occupies a prominent place within a church, often being placed at the eastern end of the building.
What are the little containers that hold the wine and water called?
The cruets hold the wine and the water that are used at Mass.
What was the first form of an altar canopy?
There were, of course, different forms this canopying of the altar took over the centuries, so let us review quickly a few of the main variants. The first is that which is supported by four columns, being typically made of wood, stone or metal.
Why is the altar the centre of the church?
It is for reasons such as these that the Church teaches the altar is the centre of the church. Understanding this is also the key to understanding the symbolic importance of the ciborium magnum — or what is also referred to as a ‘baldacchino’ or “baldachin.’
Where does the priest stand at the foot of the altar?
One can clearly see in St. Germanus’ words that very focus on the Mass and the altar as the place that Golgotha is perpetuated. When, in the usus antiquior, the priest stands and prays the prayers at the foot of the altar — ” Introibo ad altare Dei” — he stands in a mystical way at the foot of the Cross.
Is the Tabernacle the same as the altar?
The tabernacle contains the reserved Eucharistic species, but it is upon the altar that the Eucharistic species are confected and it is there that the Eucharistic Sacrifice is accomplished. Put another way, the Mass doesn’t exist simply to fill the tabernacle for private devotion — though that is certainly a secondary benefit.