Priesthood and Deacons
What is the altar?
The altar is the holy table on which the Eucharistic offering is served in the Coptic Orthodox Church. It is the center of the sanctuary because the Divine Liturgy is centered on Christ's Body and Blood.
The altar is treated with deep reverence because it belongs to the sacramental worship of the Church. It is the place where the Lamb and wine are offered, where the Eucharistic prayers are served, and from which the faithful receive Christ.
Altar In Scripture And Eucharist
The Old Testament altar is the main type. Israel offered sacrifices on the altar, and the tabernacle and temple taught that approach to God requires holiness, priestly service, and sacrifice.
The Coptic altar is not a return to animal sacrifice. It receives the Old Testament type through Christ, who fulfills sacrifice and gives the Church the Eucharistic mystery.
We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat.
Christ is the true sacrifice, the true priest, and the one who offers and is offered. The Christian altar has meaning because of Him.
In the Divine Liturgy, the Church enters the one saving sacrifice of Christ sacramentally, with thanksgiving, prayer, and Communion. The altar is therefore holy because God appoints and sanctifies the Church's worship there.
How The Altar Shapes Worship
In a Coptic church, the altar is inside the sanctuary and is handled with reverence. The holy vessels are placed there. The priest prays there. The Lamb and wine are offered there. The whole church faces this place because worship is directed to God.
When you enter a Coptic church, notice how the architecture leads your attention to the altar. The Church is teaching before a word is spoken: the Eucharist
For the faithful, reverence for the altar should become reverence in life. The one who approaches Holy Communion should also seek repentance, reconciliation, and love. The sanctuary order protects reverence around the mystery so the whole Church may receive Christ faithfully.
- Church Architecture and Priests' Vestments, Servants Preparation Program, SUSCopts. Servants-prep lesson on Coptic church architecture, sanctuary meaning, altar space, and priestly vestments.
- The Coptic Sanctuary, St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church of Rochester. Parish explanation of the Coptic sanctuary, altar, iconostasis, and set-apart liturgical space.
- Coptic Liturgies, Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States. Overview of the Divine Liturgy, the three Coptic liturgies, and the principal parts of the Eucharistic service.
- The Divine Liturgy of St. Basil, CopticChurch.net. Service text and introduction for the most commonly used Coptic Divine Liturgy.
Altar: The holy table in the sanctuary where the Eucharistic gifts are offered and consecrated, treated with reverence as the center of liturgical worship.
Orthodox: Right worship and right belief, naming the Church's received apostolic faith and the life of worship that preserves it.
Sanctuary: The set-apart altar area of the church, entered by appointed clergy and altar servers according to the rite because it is ordered around the holy mysteries.
Divine Liturgy: The Church's central Eucharistic worship, where Scripture, Creed, offering, thanksgiving, consecration, and Communion are gathered into one prayer before God.
Lamb: The holy bread selected during the Offering of the Lamb, named in relation to Christ the Lamb of God who gives Himself for the life of the world.
Mysteries: The Orthodox name for the sacraments, calling attention to God's grace given through visible rites such as Baptism, Chrismation, Confession, and the Eucharist.
Holy Communion: The faithful receiving the true Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist, after baptismal life, repentance, confession, fasting, reconciliation, and pastoral preparation.
Eucharist: A Greek word meaning thanksgiving. In Orthodox worship it names the sacrament in which bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ.