The Building of the Church
In the previous two issues, we spoke about the Church as a community of believers and discussed its characteristics as One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic. In this article, we would like to speak about the building of the Church.
The Church has been likened to Noah’s Ark, as it saves the community of believers from the raging sea of the world and serves as the ship of salvation.
Therefore, the lampstand in it resembles the mast, the sanctuary resembles the rudder of the ship, the cross above the lampstand represents the flag on ships, and the deacons represent the sailors or crewmen. The bishop or priest of the Church represents the captain.
The Church also has bells that call for prayer…
They ring to announce the beginning of prayer and to call people to worship, just as in the Old Testament when trumpets were blown to summon the people or to call the army to battle, as during the Feast of Trumpets.
The Church has three doors: western, southern, and northern…
The western door is the main one. The southern door was always the door of offerings, beside which was the Diaconia House (the House of Service).
People used to bring their offerings to this House of Service.
An offering is everything a person presents to God, not merely the bread of the Eucharist.
In the Church, there is a place called Bethlehem:
It is the place where the Holy Offering is prepared, from which the Lamb for the Holy Sacrifice is chosen. It is called Bethlehem after the village where Christ was born—the Lamb who bears the sins of the whole world.
The Baptistry in the Church: its canonical place is in the northwestern corner.
Baptism is the place from which people enter into membership of the Church and through which they enter into the true life of faith—the life of communion with the Church and participation in the Body and Blood of the Lord.
Therefore, since the East symbolizes light and faith—the location of the sanctuary and altar—it was necessary for the unbaptized to first be in the West. Then, through baptism, they move from the West to the East.
Hence, it is a mistake for those who are uninformed to build the baptistry on the eastern side near the altar just to make it easier for children to receive communion after their baptism.
Also, since the unbaptized person moves through baptism from the left to the right, the baptistry must first be in the northern part; after the candidates enter it, they move from there to the right side.
We see this clearly in the baptismal rite: the mother carries her child on her left shoulder, faces west, and renounces Satan, all his hosts, deeds, and thoughts. Then she carries her child on her right shoulder, faces east, and recites the Creed.
The child is then baptized, moving from left to right, and from west to east.
Christ, in His Second Coming, placed the righteous on His right and the wicked on His left (Matthew 25).
We also should not forget that the north (the sea side) symbolizes coldness, while the south symbolizes warmth.
Before baptism, the human being has not yet received the warmth of the Spirit…
Article by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III – El-Keraza Magazine – Year 7, Issue 4, January 23, 1976
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