The Church -The Sanctuary of the Church
The Church
In the previous issue, we spoke about the construction of the church and its being built upon the names of the angels and saints. Today we continue our talk about the building of the church, and about the sanctuary and the altar…
The Sanctuary of the Church
In every church there is a sanctuary on the eastern side, and it represents the Holy of Holies in the Old Testament. It is the holiest place in the church.
And no one enters it wearing shoes.
Not entering it with shoes is out of respect for its holiness, and in obedience to the Lord’s words to Moses: “Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground” (Ex. 3:5).
It was not permitted for anyone to enter the sanctuary except the servants of the altar. Women do not enter it.
Thus the priests and deacons received Communion inside the sanctuary. As for the people, they received outside. Therefore two openings were made in the sanctuary veil for this purpose. And the communicant also feels through them that there is an opening for him into the Holy of Holies.
Whoever enters the sanctuary enters with his right foot. And when he exits, he makes sure that his right foot is the last to leave.
The priest censes before the sanctuary with his face toward the east, and he bows his head, “lowering his head,” saying the following three prostration phrases:
1– We worship You, O Christ, with Your good Father and the Holy Spirit, for You have come and saved us.
2– And I, according to Your mercy, enter Your house and worship toward Your holy temple.
3– Before the angels I sing to You and worship toward Your holy temple.
There are many spiritual contemplations regarding the direction of the sanctuary toward the east… or in the direction of the whole church thus toward the east.
*From the east the sun rises, and the Lord was called the Sun of Righteousness. And from the east light comes forth, and the Lord said that He is the Light of the world, and it was said that He is unapproachable light. And it was said about the Lord Christ that He is Light from Light.
Also because the star that announced Christ appeared from the east, and the Second Coming of Christ will be from the east. And paradise was in the east in Eden.
*And from the lands of the east came all the prophets and apostles and saints. Thus the east has always symbolized righteousness and life, just as the west symbolizes death. And the ancient Egyptians used to call the dead “the westerners.”
And it is not strange that the worshippers face the east, the direction of the sanctuary and the altar, because we continually look toward the sacrifice in which is our salvation.
And in the Old Testament they prayed facing Jerusalem, as the prophet Daniel did (Dan. 6:10).
On the eastern side of the sanctuary is a semicircular structure called a Bweit or Niche, and they call it in the rite “The Bosom of the Father.”
Before it is placed a lamp called “the Eastern Lamp,” which symbolizes the star that appeared in the east to the Magi. And there are also two lamps placed before the sanctuary from the outside, symbolizing the Law of the Old Testament and the Law of the New Testament.
In the sanctuary there are seven steps rising one above the other, symbolizing the ranks of the Church.
And in the ordination of the Pope Patriarch, he ascends to the highest of them, called the Syntiron, which is the place of the throne. The steps of the Syntiron can be seen in the Great St. Mark’s Cathedral in Cairo and in the ancient churches.
Inside the sanctuary is the altar:
The altar is for the sacrifice, and the sacrifice is the foundation of the life of communion in Christianity and the basis of redemption. And the community of the believers is a holy community gathered around the divine sacrifice for the redemption of the world. And the Apostle Paul said about the altar:
“We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat” (Heb. 13:10).
If the Scripture has mentioned the altar in general, it especially mentioned the altar that is in the land of Egypt, as it came in the prophecy of Isaiah (19:19, 20):
“In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the Lord at its border. And it will be for a sign and for a witness to the Lord of Hosts in the land of Egypt.”
The altar represents the cross upon which the Lord Christ was crucified, and in the rite, above the altar there is a high dome over pillars.
And it is called the Table — Tpaneza because from it we partake of the Body and Blood of the Lord.
More than one altar may be set up in a single church, so that it may be possible to celebrate more than one liturgy in a single day.
And the altar in Orthodoxy is not attached to any wall, so that one may be able to go around the altar in the incense processions.
And the altar is hollow from the inside, surrounded by walls… because in this respect it resembles the tomb in which Christ was placed, our Sacrifice of salvation.
Thus it is not set upon pillars but is surrounded by walls.
And in the early centuries the bones of the saints were placed inside it.
As was mentioned in the Book of Revelation: “I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the Word of God and for the testimony which they held” (Rev. 6:9).
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