THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG
as a dream, or by terrestrial phenomena such as the issue of a fountain or of subterranean gases, or by such supposed interference in the sphere of human events as by a storm which changed the fortune of battle, or by aerial phenomena such as the formation of thunder-claps with resultant lightning on the crest of a mountain — thither men brought their offerings and there altars were found or placed. Naturally the tops of hills (see High Places) and groves were universally adopted; and these passed from early to late possessors of the lands as sacred places. The one test was the supposed residence or frequent attendance of deity at the spot.
II. In the Old Testament: The altars of the oldest code were of earth, and therefore simple
mounds, or of unhewn stones (Ex. i. Pre-Deu- xx. 24). (Were the two mules' teronomic burden of earth, II Kings v. 17, for and Deu- an altar?) Sometimes a single boulder teronomic. or monolith sufficed (Josh. xxiv. 26- 27; cf. xxii. 26-27; Judges vi. 20; I Sam. vi. 14, xiv. 33; I Kings i. 9). For the cairn as an altar, note Gen. xxxi. 45-54, and cf. xxviii. 18. As late as the Deuteronomic code (Deut. xxvii. 5) undressed stone is specified as the material for the altar, and the height of the altar is limited. The elaboration in form and material of the altars of Solomon (I Kings viii. 64) and of Ahaz (II Kings xvi. 10-11) are directly traceable to contact with outside culture and the development of esthetic perception and desire (see Art, Hebrew). The locations correspond closely with primitive usage and with the fact that early Hebrew worship was in large part derived from or coalesced with Canaanitic practise. " High places," i.e., the tops of hills, were especially used, and there are several traces of tree and fountain altars, e.g., the Paneas source of the Jordan and the Fountain of Mary near Jerusalem.
Post-Deuteronomic means exilic or postexilic
and the history of the Hebrew altar is bound up
with that of the Temple. The ef-
2. Post- fects of contact with advanced cul-
Deuter- ture are shown in the elaborated
onomic. structure and equipment, while
the differentiation of the altar of
burnt offering and that of incense tells the story of
advancing elaboration of cult. The " table of
showbread " was in form and purpose an altar.
Geo. W Gilmore.
III. In the Christian Church : The oldest designation of the place of celebration of the " Lord's Supper " is " the Lord's table " (Gk. trapeza kuriou, I Cor. x. 21). This expression or " table " alone or with an adjective (" holy, sacred, mystic table; " trapeza hiera, hagia, mystike, etc.) is used by the Greek Fathers. The general Greek word for altar (thysiastcrion) is less frequently used and homos is purposely avoided. The Latin writers use mensa, altare, altarium, but show repugnance to ara.
1 . Before the Reformation : a. To about the Year 1000: As the oldest meeting-places of Christian worship, rooms in ordinary dwellings, differed essentially from the Jewish sanctuary in Jerusalem and from the temples of the Greeks and Romans, so also the " table of the Lord " differed from the Jewish
and heathen altars; and it is significant that the absence of altars in the Christian service was especially offensive to the heathen (Minucius Felix, Octavius, 10; Origen, contra Celsum, vii. 64, viii. 17; Cyprian, A d Demetrianum, 12). The celebration of the agape and the Eucharist required a table, and it was but natural that the first disciples of the Lord, like himself, should celebrate the sacred meal about and on a table. When the
i. Form religious service was transferred from and private houses to special buildings,
Structure, the exclusive use of tables for the celebration of the Eucharist was still continued. The frequent notices that the persecuted sought and found a safe hiding-place beneath the altar or embraced the legs of the altar as a sign of their distress (cf. Schmid, pp. 31-32, 69-70), as well as notices in Gregory of Tours (Miraculorum libri vii., i. 28) and Paulus Silentiarius (Descriptio ecclesiw S. Sophia, pp. 752 sqq.), that the altars in St. Peter's at Rome and in St. Sophia at Constantinople were supported by columns, presuppose the table-form of the altar. The recollection of this original form has never been lost in the Church, and to this day the table-altar is the rule in the Greek Church.
When relics first began to be transferred from their original resting-places to churches, their receptacles were placed beneath the altar — seldom before or behind it, and not until the Middle Ages above it. The space was then sometimes walled up, giving the altar a coffin- or chest-like form. Such altars are found here and there as early as the fifth century, and during the Middle Ages they became usual. The terms martyrium and confessio were applied to such tombs as well as to the cryptlike space which held the coffin (area), to the coffin itself, and to the altar. To make it possible to see and touch the holy contents an opening (fenestrella) was left in front with a lattice of metal or marble (transenna) or two doors (regiolce). It must not be assumed that all altars of the Middle Ages were provided with relics. A canopy (ciborium), supported by pillars, was frequently found as early as the time of Constantine. The material used was wood, stone, and metal; gold, silver, and precious stones were sometimes employed.
It was usual in antiquity to spread a table with a cloth in preparation for a banquet, and this custom was transferred to " the table of the 2. Acces- Lord." Optatus of Mileve in the second sories and half of the fourth century is the first to Ornamenta- mention such a covering (De schistion. mate Donatistorum, vi. 1, 5). Thenceforth altar-cloths are more frequently mentioned. Their size can not be determined. They seem to have been generally of linen, though other materials, as silk and gold-brocade, were used. Only one such covering was used at first, later the number varied. To this period belongs the corporate (called also palla corporalis, oportorium dominici corporis, Gk. sindon), in which the bread intended for the oblation was wrapped (Isidore of Pelusium, Epist., i. 123). Later there were two corporalia (or police) : one spread over the altar-