ORIGINS AND MEANING

OF THE CHRISTIAN ALTAR

The following study does not propose to be in any way exhaustive. It is intended only as a general guide in the history, development, and meaning of that which stands symbolically at the center of Christian worship, the altar. It is surprising to find so very few studies on this theme. The subject is of great importance to the present period of liturgical revival. For to understand the true symbolism of the altar-so well known to the first centuries of Christianity-is to hold the key to a deeper understanding of the liturgy itself in its essential core which is the supreme sacrifice of the Word Incarnate. The Christian religion is essentially liturgical, since it is the religion of the God-Man who is the eternal Priest and glorious Victim. It is this liturgy which has as its principle the God-Man and which communicates itself to the faithful by the seven sacred signs and above all by the sacramental sacrifice of the Eucharist. It is this which is normative for the true Christian spirit. The altar, then, stands symbolically and really at the heart of this Christian mystery par excellence and to understand its symbolism is to understand what is most essential in the Christian religion.

THE OLD TESTAMENT

There is little doubt that many of the traditions of Israel were intimately tied up with those of the East of that time. This has become an almost sacred principle of modern-day scripture scholars, and texts which have been discovered in the past one hundred years have only borne out the contention.2 The history of the Hebrew altar is no exception. The testimony of all archeological findings in the vetero-testimentary milieu bears out one important fact the altar goes back as far as man himself and represents man's effort at some communication between himself and God or gods.3

1 G. Thils, Orientations de la Théologie (Louvain, 1958), p. 33.

2 Cf. J. Prichard, Ancient Near Eastern Texts (Princeton University Press, 1955).

3 R. De Vaux, Les Institutions de l'Ancien Testament, II (Paris, 1960), p. 108; Prichard, op. cit., 331 et passim; R. Wooley, Ur of the Caldees

The sentiment that the Divinity manifests itself on the top of mountains also contributed greatly to the construction of sanctuaries, temples, and Ziggurats on the top of these so-called "high places," the bâmot, or the Latin, excelsa. It will be remembered that Israel was allied to this same tradition in all of its progressive legislation on the position of altars and sanctuaries in the Pentateuch. We will not enter into the complicated question of the evolution of this legislation, since experts in the matter are not agreed. In short, it is agreed that there were various hands. which each contributed to the construction of this progressive element of the altar in the Old Testament. These are four in number: the Bb (Bundesbuch) found in Ex. 20-23, P. (Priestercodex) found in Ex. 25:1-31:11 and Lev. 1-16, CS (Heiligkeitsgesetz) as part of P found in Lev. 17-27, and D found in Deut. 12-16 which is parallel to Bb and CS.

When applied to the Legislation on altars we find two types mentioned in Bb-the common altar to which all are to go three times a year to offer a sacrifice. There are private altars as well which were permitted on condition that they be of unhewed stone or earth (Ex. 20:25). These altars were without steps and anyone was allowed to offer sacrifice here. The reason why these private altars had to be of earth or unhewed stone was to prevent any permanent sanctuary being established in opposition to the one sanctuary. The texts evolve in the Priester-codex when the code explicitly mentions one bronze altar. All fat and blood had to be offered here. Because this is so, it is therefore implicitly postulated that there were private altars. The laws of CS state that every killing of an animal is a sacrifice and had to be brought to the house of Iahweh, i.e., the tabernacle tent which was situated in the middle of the Israelite camp. Thus, this presupposes that all private altars have been abolished. The laws of D are

(Penguin Books, 1955), 200; W. F. Albright, Archeology and the Religion of Israel (Baltimore, 1942).

4 A. Van Hoonacker, "De Legibus Circa Altaria," De Compositione Litteraria et de Origine Mosaica Hexateuchi (Bruxelles, 1949), p. 33; R. De Vaux, op. cit., 107-115.

5 It is curious to note that from Bb and P, the altar that existed in the temple was a bronze altar. In the first temple of Solomon (960 BC) there was a bronze altar, but after the post-exilic reconstruction of Aggeus and

the same as CS. It demands only one altar in the house of God, because it must centralize everything; one temple, one Priesthood, one God, one country, one law. All Israelites had to come to the temple three times a year and all private altars are abolished. It is very evident in this document, since all sacrifice of an animal outside the main sanctuary is to be poured out "as water." It seems that the sitz-im-leben of Deuteronomy was an attempt to do away with the abuse of idolatry which could happen when the people sacrificed privately. Again, it seems it was also to suppress all pagan infiltrations in sacrifice and in rites.

By this brief analysis of vetero-testamentary evolution of the notion of the altar we simply wish to show the solicitude for and importance of the altar for the Jews of old. They inherited the fundamental notion of the altar as being the meeting place, the "high place," the "sacred heights," from their pagan background. We have already mentioned how much the Jews depended on the common traditions of the Near East which take us back to the very dawn of recorded history. But these pagan traditions were not accepted as such by the chosen people. Under the divine guidance of divine inspiration they slowly purified their notion of sacrifice and altar. The notion of altar, so fundamental to primitive man as far back as we can go, is retained, but we note a constant purification and symbolic aspect of the one altar located -after the entry of the chosen people into the promised land-at the sanctuary of Jerusalem. The dangers of polytheistic rites are slowly discarded by doing away progressively with private altars and the centralization of the cult is inculcated by the notion of the one place of sacrifice and altar. Since there is but one God and one Priesthood, there must be only one altar and one sacrifice offered in one place. Only those who do not understand the purgative influence of God on a very imperfect people as the Jews will be scandalized at this progress in the notion of altar in the Old Testament.

The Near Eastern mentality held the altar on a high place (real or artificial as the Babylonian Ziggurat), either because God was

Zacharias (420 BC), the altar was made of stone, thereby showing that it no longer followed the prescriptions of Bb and P regarding the bronze altar. The third temple of Herod was also made of stone.

thought to reside in the sanctuary at that high place where the Divinity descended to dwell or because it was simply His residence here on earth where the Divinity joined with the faithful and where the Divinity descended and the faithful mounted to meet it. This notion is quite evident in all the existent archeological findings of the Near East. Israel took over this basic tradition, but under divine guidance came to purify it of all pagan and polytheistic influences. Not only does centralization mean unity and elimination of pagan dangers, but it also becomes a major factor in the later spiritualization or interiorization of the cult of Iahweh. The prophets were the first to emphasize this notion and were consequently responsible for the other tradition in Jewish history which laid much emphasis on the concept of spiritual worship as opposed to the pure externalism of much of the Jewish cult. But this is to develop later and will have its great influence on writers of the New Testament-principally St. Peter-in their notions of Regale Sacerdotium, Rationale Obsequim and Templum Spiritale.

RELIGIOUS VALUE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT ALTAR

Having seen its evolution, let us now turn to its religious signification. It is interesting to note that in the earliest texts, the altar is never called "table." It was but another way of counter

• De Vaux, op. cit., 104. It is probably here that we must look for the true signification of the altar being on a higher place than the rest of the sanctuary. It is a well known fact that much of the Christian externals as regards many of its manifestations is heavily dependent upon the Jewish tradition, who, for the most part, were the majority of the first Christians. Cf. L. Cerfaux, L'Apocalypse de Jean lue aux Chrétiens (Paris, 1955), 10-65. It is a fundamental rule of exegesis that much of our neo-testamentary doctrine has come down to us in Jewish and Old Testament Cadres. Cf. L. Cerfaux, The Church in the Theology of St. Paul (New York, 1959), 9-82, where Msgr. Cerfaux shows the fundamental Jewish background of the Apostle Paul. See also Cerfaux's Christ in the Theology of St. Paul (New York, 1959) and The Four Gospels (Westminster, Md., 1960).

7 Joseph Dheilly, The Prophets, 147-155; S. L. Driver, Joel and Amos, 55-78; Sainte Bible de Pirot, V, X-XXV; R. Chaine, Introduction à la Lecture des Prophètes (Paris, 1950), 8-80; G. Kuhl, Israels Propheten (Berne-Munich, 1957); A. Robert, A. Feuillet, Introduction à la Bible, I, 465-582; J. Coppens, Les Douze Petits Prophètes (Bruges, 1949); A. Neher, L'Essence de Prophètisme (Paris, 1855). Also see corresponding fascicules in La Sainte Bible de Jérusalem, 1948-1954.

acting pagan influence whose altars were invariably known as "table." The temple which is the dwelling place of God has its center: the altar. The idea is expressed in an indirect way in the form of a fire which must burn perpetually on the altar and the lamp which must remain lighted at all times in the temple. A parallel with the future Christian altar is the special sanctity attributed to the corners of the altar which had to be rubbed with blood. This was true both for the altar of holocausts and the altar of perfume as a yearly rite of purification (cf. Ex. 29:12; Lev. 4:1, 8:9; Es. 43:20). The "corner" in the Bible is the sign of power. But it is, according to DeVaux, possible that the corners were the remains of pagan influence as emblems or images of the divinity or divinities. This later became known as the five crosses engraved on Christian altars-not with blood but with sacred Chrism. It fits in well with Christian symbolism which did not hesitate to add a fifth cross as a symbol of the five wounds of Christ. It was especially significant since the altar represents for Christians— Christ, the only true and spiritual sacrifice acceptable to God.

In any case, the altar in the Old Testament prepares very well for the future Christian reality. In all our present texts without exception the altar comes to be a sign of the divine presence of God among His people. Surely, it is this same thought which is present in the notion of the temple,10 but the essential core or nucleus of the temple is its altar, as we have already seen above. In ancient times, the altar commemorated a theophany11 and was named such by Jacob at Sichem, "El, God of Israel." Later, the altar will be specially consecrated and annually purified on the day of Expiations, giving it a very special sanctity.12

Finally, by its very usage, the altar is an instrument of mediation. The offerings of men are placed on it, and it is there that they are consumed, taken from profane usage, and given to God. God responded to man's gift with His benedictions (Ex. 20:24), and it is on the altar that the alliance is main

8 Is. 65:11; Dan. 14:1-22,

9 Lev. 6:5; 2 Mac. 1:6; Ex. 27:20; Lev. 24:2.

10 Y. Congar, Le Mystère du Temple (Paris, 1958), 104-126.

11 Gen. 12:7; 26:4.

12 Ex. 29:36; Lev. 8:15; 16:18. And Van Hoonacker, op. cit., 37-41.