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A home altar or family altar is a
shrine A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon, or similar figure of respect, wherein they ...
kept in the home of a Western Christian family used for
Christian prayer Christian prayer is an important activity in Christianity, and there are several different forms used for this practice. Christian prayers are diverse: they can be completely spontaneous, or read entirely from a text, such as from a breviary, ...
and
family worship Family worship, sometimes simply family prayer, is prayer, bible reading, and singing of psalms and hymns conducted in private homes usually by Reformed Christians. During the Protestant Reformation, daily mass services were simplified in order to ...
. Home altars often contain a
cross A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a s ...
or
crucifix A crucifix (from Latin ''cruci fixus'' meaning "(one) fixed to a cross") is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the ''corpus'' (La ...
, a copy of the
Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus ...
(especially a Family Bible), a breviary and/or other
prayer book A prayer book is a book containing prayers and perhaps devotional readings, for private or communal use, or in some cases, outlining the liturgy of religious services. Books containing mainly orders of religious services, or readings for them ar ...
, a daily devotional,
icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The mos ...
s of
Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...
and
prayer beads Prayer beads are a form of beadwork used to count the repetitions of prayers, chants, or mantras by members of various religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Shinto, Umbanda, Islam, Sikhism, the Baháʼí Faith, and some Christian denom ...
, among other religious articles specific to the individual's
Christian denomination A Christian denomination is a distinct Religion, religious body within Christianity that comprises all Church (congregation), church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadersh ...
, for example, the images of the saints for
Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, the Small Catechism for Lutherans, and the Anglican Rosary for Anglicans.


History

''The Christian Treasury'' traces the origin of the family altar to the prophet
Abraham Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Je ...
erecting one in the Old Testament (). Since at least the 2nd century, believers such as Hipparchus, hung or painted a Christian cross, to which they prostrated in front of, on the eastern wall of their home in order to indicate the eastward direction of prayer during the seven fixed prayer times, as an "expression of their undying belief in the coming again of Jesus was united to their conviction that the cross, 'the sign of the Son of Man,' would appear in the eastern heavens on his return (see )." Syrian Christians viewed their prayers in front of the Christian cross hanging on the eastern wall of their house as symbolizing "their souls facing God, talking with him, and sharing their spirituality with the Lord." Many Christians, such as those in the tradition of the Church of the East, continue the practice of hanging a Christian cross on the east wall of their house today; communicants in the Oriental Orthodox Churches today, such as those of the Indian Orthodox Church and Coptic Orthodox Church, pray the canonical hours contained in the '' Shehimo'' and '' Agpeya'' breviaries respectively (a practice done at seven fixed prayer times a day) facing eastward. Many Christians have built on this ancient custom, with those in the West erecting home altars and those in the East erecting icon corners, usually on the eastern wall of their dwelling place.


Purpose and usage

Home altars usually are adorned with pairs of votive candles and sometimes a small vase of flowers. In many Christian households, individual family members, or the family as a whole, may gather to pray at the home altar. Christian
hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn ...
s may also be sung there. Family altars are also used to promote the "development or intensification of personal piety and godly conduct." It is common for
Western Christians Western Christianity is one of two sub-divisions of Christianity (Eastern Christianity being the other). Western Christianity is composed of the Latin Church and Western Protestantism, together with their offshoots such as the Old Catholic ...
to have a prie-dieu in front of their home altar, which provides believers a space to place their Bible and breviary while kneeling before God in prayer. As with certain traditions of
Oriental Christianity The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysite Christology, with approximately 60 million members worldwide. The Oriental Orthodox Churches are part of the Nicene Christian tradition, and represent o ...
, some Western Orthodox Christians make use of the prayer rug to provide a clean space for offering
Christian prayer Christian prayer is an important activity in Christianity, and there are several different forms used for this practice. Christian prayers are diverse: they can be completely spontaneous, or read entirely from a text, such as from a breviary, ...
s to God. The candles that adorn the home altar are often those that have been blessed that year on Candlemas Day, a feast observed in the Catholic, Lutheran, and Anglican traditions, among others.


Gallery

File:A Simple Catholic Home Altar.jpg, A Catholic home altar, with a set of candlesticks and crucifix, and a homemade
altar frontal An ''antependium'' (from Latin ''ante-'' and ''pendēre'' "to hang before"; pl: ''antependia''), also known as a ''parament'' or ''hanging'', or, when speaking specifically of the hanging for the altar, an altar frontal (Latin: ''pallium altaris ...
and
tabernacle According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle ( he, מִשְׁכַּן, mīškān, residence, dwelling place), also known as the Tent of the Congregation ( he, link=no, אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, ’ōhel mō‘ēḏ, also Tent of Meeting, etc.), ...
containing not the
Blessed Sacrament The Blessed Sacrament, also Most Blessed Sacrament, is a devotional name to refer to the body and blood of Christ in the form of consecrated sacramental bread and wine at a celebration of the Eucharist. The term is used in the Latin Church of th ...
, but a devotional object passed down as a heirloom instead File:Altar de Hanal Pixán y los Mitos.jpg, A home altar in Mexico File:Simplistic-Catholic-home-altar IMG 4013.jpg, A simplistic Catholic home altar


See also

* Icon corner – analogous concept in Eastern Christianity * Kamidana – analogous concept in
Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shint ...
* Butsudan – analogous concept in Japanese Buddhism *
Cetiya upright=1.25, Phra Pathom Chedi, one of the biggest Chedis in Thailand; in Thai, the term Chedi (cetiya) is used interchangeably with the term Stupa Cetiya, "reminders" or "memorials" (Sanskrit ''caitya''), are objects and places used by Buddhi ...
- objects and places used by
Theravada Buddhists ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...
to worship the
Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...
*
Jain house temple A house temple (Ghar Derasar or Griha Chaityalaya) is a private Jain shrine that is placed within a personal residence. Sometimes it is separate room or structure in a compound. Jain scholars prescribe that the height of a pratima in a house ...
– analogous concept in
Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle bein ...
* Wiccan altar - analogous concept in Wicca * Lararium - analogous concept in Roman ancient religion *
Family worship Family worship, sometimes simply family prayer, is prayer, bible reading, and singing of psalms and hymns conducted in private homes usually by Reformed Christians. During the Protestant Reformation, daily mass services were simplified in order to ...
*
Home stoup A home stoup is a small stoup with a small bowl and a decorated plaque that Christians in the Roman Catholic, Anglican and Lutheran traditions, hang inside homes, either at the house's entrance or, more commonly, on a bedroom wall at the head of ...
* House church *
Proprietary chapel A proprietary chapel is a chapel that originally belonged to a private person, but with the intention that it would be open to the public, rather than restricted (as with private chapels in the stricter sense) to members of a family or household, o ...
*
Spirit house A spirit house is a shrine to the protective spirit of a place that is found in the Southeast Asian countries of Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines. The spirit house is normally in the form o ...


References

{{Reflist, 2


External links


The History of Family Altars
Altars Christian terminology Christian religious objects Christian worship and liturgy Spiritual practice