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PAGE 6 — The Southern Cross, May 31, 1990
By Father Eugene LaVerdiere, SSS
Catholic News Service
Altars are special.
In ancient Rome, the altar was the
religious center of public and private life.
Altars stood in each of Rome’s great
temples, in public places, along the
highways leading to and from the city
and in the courtyards of well-to-do homes.
The purpose of these altars was to
receive the offerings of Roman citizens,
both public and private. When Peter
and Paul came to Rome, they saw those
altars in the atriums and central courts
of the homes they visited.
No doubt they also saw the great
marble altar known in Latin as the “Ara
Pacis Augustae” (the Altar of Augustan
Peace). This altar was erected in 13 B.C.
to celebrate the era of peace inaugurated
oy Emperor Augustus after many years
of war.
For the Romans, the Altar of
Augustan Peace was a sign of unity arid
peace. It was also a great religious sym
bol affirming pagan Rome’s dependence
on the gods. Its purpose was to receive
the sacrificial offerings of the ancient
imperial religion and to foster in
Romans a spirit of civic virtue.
The Altar of Augustan Peace stood
close by the Tiber River, near the ruins
of the tomb of Augustus, a gleaming
white structure within a marble
enclosure. It was restored in 1938 and
Christian pilgrims and other visitors to
Rome still can see it as Peter and Paul
and countless other Christians saw it
before them.
What Peter and Paul could not see is
that it also stood opposite the Tiber
from the Circus of Nero, where they
would suffer martyrdom.
When today’s Christian pilgrims turn
away from the Augustan altar they look
toward the great dome of St. Peter’s
Basilica rising above another great altar
built directly above St. Peter’s tomb.
For Catholics and many others, the
altar of St. Peter’s Basilica is a sign of
Christian unity and peace. In pagan
Roman terms, we would call it the “Ara
Pacis Christae” (the Altar of Christian
Peace). But among the early Christians
and through all the Christian centuries,
special, sacred places
it has never been called that.
The early Christians did not accept
the standard Latin word for altar
(“ara’’) when referring to their own
altars. Instead they spoke of their altars
as “altaria,” from the word “altare”
referring to something elevated or an
elevated place.
The early Christians rejected the
ordinary Latin word “ara” and chose a
different word in order to differentiate
between pagan and Christian altars.
They even rejected the Greek and
Hebrew words long in use in the Greek
and Israelite worlds.
Like other altars, Christian altars
were special, but there was something
unique about them.
The origin of the Christian altar is
associated with the dining table (Greek:
“trapeza”) in a Christian home. For the
early Christians, the altar was the
Lord’s table. This placed great emphasis
on the person of our Lord and on the
community that gathered at the Lord’s
table for the Lord’s Supper.
Until the fourth century the table or
altar usually was made of wood and was
movable. Deacons brought it to the
place where the Lord’s Supper would be
celebrated. Later, with the building of
churches, altars usually were stone.
From the very beginning of Chris
tianity, whether made of wood or stone,
the altar was the focal point for the
gathering. It evoked the table at which
Jesus had gathered the apostolic com
munity for the Last Supper, as well as
the supper itself in which Jesus offered
himself saerificially for the life of the
world.
The Christian altar is special because
it is the table around which we gather
to offer ourselves along with Christ. The
offerings we place on the altar are sym
bolic of that. Because of the presence of
Our Lord, we call their symbolism
sacramental.
The pagan Roman altar was fashioned
to receive various kinds of offerings,
including incense and grain. The Chris
tian altar was erected to gather people
who offered themselves.
We can understand the spirit of the
Christian altar from the early practice
of raising an altar next to or even over
the tomb of a martyr. Martyrs are
people who witness Christ’s sacrifice.
By gathering at an altar erected at a
martyr’s tomb, the Christians meant to
draw inspiration from a Christian hero
who had lived to the full what it meant
to offer oneself with Christ.
Even today, the relics of martyrs and
saints are found in altar tables. As in
the early church, these are meant to
remind us of our baptismal commitment
to die with Christ and live with Christ
when we gather at the Lord’s table.
Altars are indeed special. It is there
that religious people made their offer
ings to God.
But the Christian altar is super
special. It is there that Christians
gather and offer themselves to God.
(Father LaVerdiere is senior editor of
Emmanuel magazine.)
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Imagine a church whose people assembled only three or four times a year. How would you feel about this?
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® I would have great difficulty
with such a church. It is important
for me to feel part of a community
of believers.... By joining at least
weekly with those who believe as I
do ... I am challenged to grow in
my belief.”
— F. Eugene Donnelly, Wilmington, Del.
That is treating God like a
stranger. If you love someone you
want to be in contact on a regular
basis.”
— Ruth Mis, LaSalle, III.
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I would miss the sense of
community. Here we are, all
different people united by one
thing: God’s love. It is amazing that
someone’s love could be so
encompassing as to embrace all
of us.”
— Barbara Williston, Baltimore, Md.
in upcoming edition asks: “What do you get out of reading the Gospels? What discovery have you made from this reading?”
o respond for possible publication, write: Faith Alive! 3211 Fourth St. N.E., Washington, D.C. 20017-1100.
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Besides the celebration and
reception of Eucharist, I would
miss the gesture of peace, the
time when we actually touch others
and are touched by them. In our
society of specialization, church is
one of the few places where all
generations and backgrounds
assemble with no distinction.”
— Michael McElwee, Newark Del.