Altar
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An altar is a structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches and other places of worship. They are used particularly in Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism (until the destruction of the Second Temple), and Modern Paganism. Many historical faiths also made use of them, including Roman, Greek and Norse religion.
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Etymology
Old English had various spellings alter, altar etc. Finally "altar" may have been influenced by the French autel derived from from Latin words altare meaning podium or stage and adolere to adore, in this sense meaning to worship, honour and offer sacrifices to influence forces beyond human understanding.
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See also
- Altar candle
- Altar cards
- Altar Crucifix
- Altars in Latin America
- Altars in Roman Catholicism
- Altar rails
- Altar stone
- Altarpiece
- Analogion
- Ara Pacis
- Back-choir
- Carroccio
- Cathedral diagram
- Ciborium (architecture)
- Consecration
- Credence table
- Dambana
- Iconostasis
- Ofrenda
- Predella
- Prothesis
- Reredos
- Sacrament
- Sacred architecture
- Shrine
- Vedi (altar) and Homa (ritual)
- Winged altar
Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Altar" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.
