Luisella Scrosati is one of the finest Catholic journalists in Italy at this time. She often writes articles of considerable interest on liturgical topics. With the permission of La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana, we offer NLM readers the following translation of her article series on the topic of spiritual, architectural, and liturgical orientation, beginning today with “L’orientamento della preghiera”, originally published in Italian on November 9 of this year.
No religious man, whether pagan, Jewish, or Christian, neglected the posture of the body in prayer, and especially in the presentation of offerings to the deity. In particular, three aspects appear especially well documented in writings and visual representations: standing posture, raised and open hands, and eyes turned toward the sky—characteristics that were common to both the faithful who presented offerings and prayers and the priest who sacrificed them to the deity.
These bodily attitudes express a clear aspect: prayer and the offering of sacrifices are performed in the presence of God; the body is called to present itself before the deity, adopting appropriate postures, while orienting the deep intention of the heart. This participation of the body in prayer is a typically and exquisitely human characteristic: when we address a person with respect, we also turn physically towards them, we seek their gaze with our eyes, we assume a suitable posture.
But there is another significant aspect that marks the orientation of prayer. In pagan cults, images of idols played the role of focus of orientation. The person praying turned toward the image and stretched out their hands in that direction. The same was true for sacrifice: the offerer and the priest were oriented toward the image.
This led to an interesting fact: the altar had a direction, that is, it had a front and a back, so that the priest offering the sacrifice stood in front of it, oriented toward the image of the deity. Stefan Heid (Altar and Church, pp. 236-237) points out that, according to the Roman architect Marcus Vitruvius Pollio, the altar had to be located outdoors on the western side of the temple, facing east, so that the priest could offer the sacrifice with his gaze turned towards the sky, in an easterly direction, in front of the image of the idol. Clement of Alexandria also confirms this orientation: “This is why even the most ancient temples faced west, so that those who stood in front of the statues of the gods would be led to turn towards the east” (Stromata, VII, 43, 7).
In Judaism, too, orientation was fundamental. The prohibition against making images of Yahweh prevented there being statues and representations similar to those of the pagans, but this prohibition did not cancel out the importance of the correct orientation of prayer and sacrifice. Referring to the sacrificial offering, God commands Moses: “This is the perpetual burnt offering for your generations, at the entrance of the tent of meeting, in the presence of the Lord, where I will meet with you to speak with you” (Ex. 29, 42). The sacrifice of animals took place on the bronze altar, inside the sacred enclosure, but outside the Holy Place. The sacrifice had to be offered by the priests “in the presence of the Lord,” that is, facing the Holy of Holies. The sacrifice of incense also had to be offered “before the Lord”: “He shall burn it at sunset, when Aaron fills the lamps: a perpetual incense before the Lord for your generations” (Ex. 30, 8). Every sacrifice offered by the king and the people was offered “before the Lord” (cf. 1 Kings 8, 62).
This expression is found in many passages of the Old Testament to indicate not so much an inner attitude as a physical orientation, closely linked to the orientation of the altars. No Levite would ever have offered a sacrifice standing between the Holy of Holies and the altar, and no Jew would ever have prayed with his back to the Temple—something expressly condemned by the Lord through the prophet Ezekiel (cf. Ezek 8, 16).
For Christians, too, the exercise of the priesthood is synonymous with standing in the presence of God, standing before God, standing before his face, presenting oneself before the eyes of the divine Majesty. In conspectu Dei stare, coram oculis Dei, astare coram te, adstantes ante tuam Maiestatem, are expressions that are found in abundance in ancient liturgical texts and in those of the Fathers. Expressions that, once again, are not intended to express mere inner recollection, but a concrete bodily orientation: the priest stands before God because he stands at the front of the altar (ante altare stans), facing the image of Christ and the East—a cardinal point also present in pagan cults, which takes on a new meaning for Christians.
The priest who sacrifices and the faithful who offer are “on the same side,” in front of the altar, and they stand before God, looking at Him, represented in an image, as seen in numerous mosaics and apse frescoes; or simply towards the East, the cardinal point considered most noble by nature, an expression in creation of the Sun of righteousness (Mal 4, 2), the rising Sun (Luke 1, 78), Jesus Christ our Lord.
There are countless texts of the Fathers that indicate this custom of praying facing the East, that is, oriented, as coming directly from the Apostles. St. John Damascene, after explaining the reasons for this orientation, writes that “this tradition of the Apostles is not written; in fact, they have handed down to us many things that are not written” (The Orthodox Faith, IV, 12). St. Basil the Great gives as an obvious and established fact that prayer rises by turning to the East, although few now remember the reason: “This is why we all look to the East when we pray; but few know that we are searching for our original homeland, the paradise that God planted in Eden, in the East” (The Holy Spirit, XXVII, 66, 60).
In prayer and sacrifice, Christians and priests therefore face the East, often looking at an image of Christ. The altar is also oriented in this direction. It is important, in this regard, to clear up a misunderstanding: the oriented altar has often been confused with the “wall” altar, i.e., the altar that has only three sides free and is set in a more complex structure; the altar free on all four sides has been considered a sign of free orientation, imagining that the priest could stand facing the faithful. However, this is not the case: the altar was always oriented, i.e., it had a front and a back, and the priest stood at the front [i.e., the western side, facing east], even when the altar was free on all four sides.
This theme of the orientation of prayer introduces us to another important question, that of the orientation of sacred buildings. We will discuss this in the next installment.
These bodily attitudes express a clear aspect: prayer and the offering of sacrifices are performed in the presence of God; the body is called to present itself before the deity, adopting appropriate postures, while orienting the deep intention of the heart. This participation of the body in prayer is a typically and exquisitely human characteristic: when we address a person with respect, we also turn physically towards them, we seek their gaze with our eyes, we assume a suitable posture.
But there is another significant aspect that marks the orientation of prayer. In pagan cults, images of idols played the role of focus of orientation. The person praying turned toward the image and stretched out their hands in that direction. The same was true for sacrifice: the offerer and the priest were oriented toward the image.
This led to an interesting fact: the altar had a direction, that is, it had a front and a back, so that the priest offering the sacrifice stood in front of it, oriented toward the image of the deity. Stefan Heid (Altar and Church, pp. 236-237) points out that, according to the Roman architect Marcus Vitruvius Pollio, the altar had to be located outdoors on the western side of the temple, facing east, so that the priest could offer the sacrifice with his gaze turned towards the sky, in an easterly direction, in front of the image of the idol. Clement of Alexandria also confirms this orientation: “This is why even the most ancient temples faced west, so that those who stood in front of the statues of the gods would be led to turn towards the east” (Stromata, VII, 43, 7).
In Judaism, too, orientation was fundamental. The prohibition against making images of Yahweh prevented there being statues and representations similar to those of the pagans, but this prohibition did not cancel out the importance of the correct orientation of prayer and sacrifice. Referring to the sacrificial offering, God commands Moses: “This is the perpetual burnt offering for your generations, at the entrance of the tent of meeting, in the presence of the Lord, where I will meet with you to speak with you” (Ex. 29, 42). The sacrifice of animals took place on the bronze altar, inside the sacred enclosure, but outside the Holy Place. The sacrifice had to be offered by the priests “in the presence of the Lord,” that is, facing the Holy of Holies. The sacrifice of incense also had to be offered “before the Lord”: “He shall burn it at sunset, when Aaron fills the lamps: a perpetual incense before the Lord for your generations” (Ex. 30, 8). Every sacrifice offered by the king and the people was offered “before the Lord” (cf. 1 Kings 8, 62).
This expression is found in many passages of the Old Testament to indicate not so much an inner attitude as a physical orientation, closely linked to the orientation of the altars. No Levite would ever have offered a sacrifice standing between the Holy of Holies and the altar, and no Jew would ever have prayed with his back to the Temple—something expressly condemned by the Lord through the prophet Ezekiel (cf. Ezek 8, 16).
For Christians, too, the exercise of the priesthood is synonymous with standing in the presence of God, standing before God, standing before his face, presenting oneself before the eyes of the divine Majesty. In conspectu Dei stare, coram oculis Dei, astare coram te, adstantes ante tuam Maiestatem, are expressions that are found in abundance in ancient liturgical texts and in those of the Fathers. Expressions that, once again, are not intended to express mere inner recollection, but a concrete bodily orientation: the priest stands before God because he stands at the front of the altar (ante altare stans), facing the image of Christ and the East—a cardinal point also present in pagan cults, which takes on a new meaning for Christians.
The priest who sacrifices and the faithful who offer are “on the same side,” in front of the altar, and they stand before God, looking at Him, represented in an image, as seen in numerous mosaics and apse frescoes; or simply towards the East, the cardinal point considered most noble by nature, an expression in creation of the Sun of righteousness (Mal 4, 2), the rising Sun (Luke 1, 78), Jesus Christ our Lord.
There are countless texts of the Fathers that indicate this custom of praying facing the East, that is, oriented, as coming directly from the Apostles. St. John Damascene, after explaining the reasons for this orientation, writes that “this tradition of the Apostles is not written; in fact, they have handed down to us many things that are not written” (The Orthodox Faith, IV, 12). St. Basil the Great gives as an obvious and established fact that prayer rises by turning to the East, although few now remember the reason: “This is why we all look to the East when we pray; but few know that we are searching for our original homeland, the paradise that God planted in Eden, in the East” (The Holy Spirit, XXVII, 66, 60).
In prayer and sacrifice, Christians and priests therefore face the East, often looking at an image of Christ. The altar is also oriented in this direction. It is important, in this regard, to clear up a misunderstanding: the oriented altar has often been confused with the “wall” altar, i.e., the altar that has only three sides free and is set in a more complex structure; the altar free on all four sides has been considered a sign of free orientation, imagining that the priest could stand facing the faithful. However, this is not the case: the altar was always oriented, i.e., it had a front and a back, and the priest stood at the front [i.e., the western side, facing east], even when the altar was free on all four sides.
This theme of the orientation of prayer introduces us to another important question, that of the orientation of sacred buildings. We will discuss this in the next installment.
