Altar candle

Altar candle

Altar candles are candles set on or near altars for religious ceremonies. Various denominations have regulations or traditions regarding the number and type of candles used, and when they are lit or extinguished during the services.

Altar candles may sit directly on the altar or be placed in tall stands to the side of or behind the altar. For safety, altar candles are secured in some type of candle holder which may be simple or elaborate. To prevent wax from dripping, candles are often topped by a "candle follower", a short tube made of brass, glass or some other non-flammable material.

In the Roman Catholic Church

In the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, candles are required to be placed on or beside the altar, at least for the celebration of Mass.

ymbolism

To the three elements of a lit altar candle, some writers attached a symbolism related to Jesus Christ: the beeswax or other material symbolizing his body, the wick his soul, and the flame his divinity.

Regulation

For celebration of Mass, it is required that "on or next to the altar are to be placed candlesticks with lighted candles: at least two in any celebration, or even four or six, especially for a Sunday Mass or a holy day of obligation. If the Diocesan Bishop celebrates, then seven candles should be used". [cite web | year = 2005 | month = 04 | title = General Instruction of the Roman Missal | format = PDF | publisher = Catholic truth society | url = http://www.catholic-ew.org.uk/liturgy/Resources/GIRM/Documents/GIRM.pdf | pages = 17 |accessdate = 2007-02-13]

At the beginning of the twentieth century, complex rules governed the composition and number of candles to be used at Mass.Citation
last =Schulte
first =A.J.
author-link =
last2=
first2=
author2-link=
contribution =Altar Candles
year =1907
publication-date=
title =The Catholic Encyclopedia
editor-last =
editor-first =
editor-link=
edition=
volume =1
series =
pages =
place =New York
publisher =Robert Appleton Company
id =
isbn =
url = http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01347a.htm
accessdate = 2007-02-13
] Lighted candles of the correct composition (beeswax, with no more than a minimal admixture of other material, and usually bleached) were considered so essential that, if before the consecration they happened to go out (quenched, for instance, by a gust of wind) and could not be relit within fifteen minutes, the celebration of Mass had to be abandoned, and some writers maintained that even if the candles could be relit within that time, Mass should in any case be begun again from the start. Some of these rules were formulated only in the second half of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century. The Roman Missal of the time continued to indicate merely that on the altar there should be "at least two candlesticks with lit candles" with a centrally placed cross between them ("Rubricae generales Missalis, XX - De Praeparatione Altaris, et Ornamentorum eius"). There is also a rule given in the same section of the Roman Missal - and still included even in the typical 1920 edition [cite web |date=1920-07-25 | title = Missale Romanum | format = PDF | url = http://www.nocturnale.de/pdf/Missale/Missale.pdf | accessdate = 2007-02-13] - that "a candle to be lit at the elevation of the Sacrament" should be placed with the cruets of wine and water to the Epistle side of the altar.

Eastern Orthodoxy

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, either candles or oil lamps are prescribed for use on the Holy Table (altar). Traditionally, in the Orthodox Church only pure beeswax candles may be offered in an Orthodox church. These may be plain or bleached—in some places, bleached beeswax candles are reserved for the Paschal season (Easter).

There will often be a matched pair of candlesticks to either side of the tabernacle, which are lit at any time the Holy Doors in the Iconostasis are opened. In the Slavic practice, these candlesticks usually hold a single large candle; in the Greek practice, these may be five-branch candlesticks. Additionally, in the Slavic practice, there is usually a large seven-branch candlestick directly behind the Holy Table.

A Sanctuary lamp (usually oil, but sometimes wax) will also be placed either on the Holy Table, or suspended above it. Traditionally, this lamp should be kept burning perpetually.

Some Orthodox Churches have adopted the habit (borrowed from Uniate practice) of placing a lit candle on a stand to the side of the Holy Table around the time of the Epiklesis.

Protestantism

Candles are placed on the altar in other liturgical rites of Christian Churches also. To avoid any appearance of imitating Catholic practices, some Protestant denominations forbid their use.Fact|date=June 2008

However, in Anglo-Catholicism, as in Anglicanism in general, candles are used frequently in churches.

ee also

*Worship
*Religious symbolism

References

External links

* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01347a.htm Altar Candles] article from "The Catholic Encyclopedia


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Altar cloth — Altar covered with white altar cloths. An (altar cloth) is used by various religious groups to cover an altar. Christianity, ancient Judaism, and Buddhism are among the world religions that use altar cloths. Because many altars are made of wood… …   Wikipedia

  • Altar (Catholicism) — High altar of St. Michael s Church, Munich. In the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church, the altar is where the Sacrifice of the Mass is offered. Mass may sometimes be celebrated outside a sacred place, but never without an altar, or at least an… …   Wikipedia

  • Altar rails — A set of altar rails in St. Treasa s Carmelite Church, Dublin Altar rails are a set of railings, sometimes ornate and frequently of marble or wood, delimiting the chancel in a church,[1] the part of the sanctuary that contains the altar. A gate… …   Wikipedia

  • Altar crucifix — An Altar Crucifix or Altar Cross is a cross placed upon an altar, and is the principal ornament of the altar.[1] Contents 1 History 2 Purpose and use 2.1 Catholic and Anglican churches …   Wikipedia

  • Altar — For other uses, see Altar (disambiguation). Detail from Religion, Charles Sprague Pearce (1896). Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building, Washington, D.C …   Wikipedia

  • Altar Candlesticks — • Consists of five parts: the foot, the stem, the knob about the middle of the stem, the bowl to receive the drippings of wax, and the pricket, i.e. the sharp point that terminates the stem on which the candle is fixed Catholic Encyclopedia.… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Altar Candles — • For mystical reasons the Church prescribes that the candles used at Mass and at other liturgical functions be made of beeswax Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Altar Candles     Altar Candles …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Altar candlestick — Altar candlesticks hold the candles used in the Catholic liturgical celebration of Mass.tructureThese candlesticks consist of four principal parts: the foot, the stem, the bowl to catch drippings, and the pricket on which the candle is placed.… …   Wikipedia

  • Altar (Wicca) — A Wiccan altar is typically a piece of furniture, such as a table or chest, upon which a Wiccan practitioner places several symbolic and functional items for the purpose of worshipping the God and Goddess, casting spells, and/or saying chants and …   Wikipedia

  • Altar of repose — The altar of repose is an altar in a Roman Catholic or Anglo Catholic church where the Communion hosts, consecrated in the Mass on Holy Thursday, are reserved for Holy Communion to be given the following day which is Good Friday. This day, on… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”