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Ad orientem

A 15th-century bishop celebrates Mass ad orientem, facing in the same direction as the people
Tridentine Mass, celebrated regularly ad orientem

Ad orientem, meaning "to the east" in Ecclesiastical Latin, is a phrase used to describe the eastward orientation of Christian prayer and Christian worship,[1][2] comprising the preposition ad (toward) and oriens (rising, sunrise, east), participle of orior (to rise).[3][4]

Ad orientem has been used to describe the eastward direction of prayer that the early Christians faced when praying,[2][1][5] a practice that continues in the Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox churches, Mar Thoma Syrian Church, Assyrian Church of the East, as well as the Eastern Catholic and Eastern Lutheran churches.[6][7] It was normative in the Roman Catholic Church until the 1960s,[dubious – discuss] and remains so in the Tridentine Mass; some Lutheran and Anglican churches continue to offer their respective liturgies ad orientem.[8] Although the Second Vatican Council never ordered any change from ad orientem to versus populum, a posture facing the people, in the aftermath of the council the change was nevertheless widespread and became the norm. Ad orientem was never forbidden, however: the Pauline Missal, indeed, presumes that Mass is said ad orientem in its rubrics, indicating that in the celebration of the Mass the priestly celebrant faces the altar with his back to the congregants, so that they all face in the same direction.[9]

Since the time of the Early Church, the eastward direction of Christian prayer has carried a strong significance, attested by the writings of the Church Fathers.[1] In the 2nd century, Syrian Christians hung a Christian cross on the eastern wall of their house, symbolizing "their souls facing God, talking with him, and sharing their spirituality with the Lord".[10] Two centuries later, Saint Basil the Great declared that "facing the east to pray was among the oldest unwritten laws of the Church".[11] Nearly all Christian apologetic tracts published in the 7th century in the Syriac and Arabic languages explained that Christians prayed facing the east because "the Garden of Eden was planted in the east (Genesis 2:8) and ... at the end of time, at the second coming, the Messiah would approach Jerusalem from the east."[12]

Parishes of the Coptic Church, a church of Oriental Orthodox Christianity, are designed to face east and efforts are made to remodel churches obtained from other Christian denominations that are not built in this fashion.[10]

  1. ^ a b c Arthur Serratelli (28 February 2017). "Praying Ad Orientem". Catholic News Agency. From the earliest days of Church, Christians also faced east when at prayer. In fact, Tertullian (160–220 AD) actually had to defend Christians against the pagans who accused them of facing east to worship the sun. Many Church Fathers, such as St. Clement of Alexandria, St. Basil and St. Augustine, also speak of the practice of facing east. In the 3rd century, the Didascalia, a treatise on church order from northern Syria, set down the rule of facing east during the Eucharist. ... Before Christianity was legal in the Roman Empire, Christians worshipped in their homes. One of the oldest known house churches has been discovered on the far eastern edge of the Roman Empire, in present day Syria, at Dura-Europos. This house church dates from 233 A.D. Archaeologists have uncovered an assembly room in the house where as many as 60 people would gather for prayer. The room was designed with an altar against the east wall. In this way, the priest and all the faithful would together be facing east when celebrating the Eucharist. Writing in the 7th century, St. John of Damascus gives three explanations for the eastward stance of Christians at prayer. First, Christ is "the Sun of Righteousness" (Mal 4:2) and "the Dayspring from on high" (Lk 1:78). Facing the light dawning from the east, Christians affirm their faith in Christ as the Light of the world. Second, God planted the Garden of Eden in the east (cf. Gn 2:8). But, when our first parents sinned, they were exiled from the garden and moved westward. Facing east, therefore, reminds Christians of their need to long for and strive for the paradise that God intended for them. And, third, when speaking of his Second Coming at the end of history, Jesus said, "For just as lightning comes from the east and is seen as far as the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be" (Mt. 24:27). Thus, facing the east at prayer visibly expresses the hope for the coming of Jesus (cf. St. John Damascene, An Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, Book IV, Chapter 12). Holding fast to this ancient tradition of facing eastward at prayer, the 12th century builders of the first St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna oriented this church to be in line with sunrise on the feast of St. Stephen. ... In celebration of the ancient Coptic Rite of Egypt, a deacon exhorts the faithful with the words "Look towards the East!" His age-old exhortation, found also in Greek and Ethiopian liturgies, stands as a strong reminder of the spiritual direction of our prayer.
  2. ^ a b Thunø, Erik (2017). The Apse Mosaic in Early Medieval Rome. Cambridge University Press. p. 130. ISBN 9781107069909. In the West, the tradition is first witnessed by Augustine: 'When we stand at prayer, we turn to the east (ad orientem), whence the heaven rises.'
  3. ^ "Charlton T. Lewis, Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary, ad". www.perseus.tufts.edu.
  4. ^ "Charlton T. Lewis, Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary, ŏrĭor". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2023-05-21.
  5. ^ "Cum ad orationem stamus, ad orientem convertimur, unde caelum surgit" (Augustini De Sermone Domini in Monte, II, 5, 18; translation: "When we stand at prayer, we turn to the east, whence the heaven rises" (Augustine, On the Sermon on the Mount, Book II, Chapter 5, 18).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference DSWA2016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Richards1908 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Ruff2016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Carragáin, Tomás Ó (2010). Churches in Early Medieval Ireland: Architecture, Ritual and Memory. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-15444-3.
  10. ^ a b Kalleeny, Tony. "Why We Face the EAST". Orlando: St Mary and Archangel Michael Church. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  11. ^ Morris, Stephen (2018). The Early Eastern Orthodox Church: A History, AD 60–1453. McFarland & Company. p. 28. ISBN 978-1-4766-7481-0. The Christians faced east to pray for several reasons. Jesus was expected to come again to judge the world "as lightning flashes from the east to the west" (Matthew 24:27). Jesus was the Dawn that enlightened the world. Basil the Great wrote that facing the east to pray was among the oldest unwritten laws of the Church (On the Holy Spirit 27).
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference Griffith2008 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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