Monuments of the early church . ed upon four round legs orcolumns. Four times the design is repeated around the baseof the dome, and on each altar rests an open book bearing thename of one of the Gospels. The custom of leaving the Gos-pels upon the altar finds witness elsewhere. The change of form which the altar underwent in the sixth FUBNITURE—The Altar 161 century was due exclusively to the cult of relics, or rather to thenew form that cult then took of enclosing the relics icithin thealtar. In treating of the catacombs it has been shown thatthe Eucharist w^as early brought into close relat
Monuments of the early church . ed upon four round legs orcolumns. Four times the design is repeated around the baseof the dome, and on each altar rests an open book bearing thename of one of the Gospels. The custom of leaving the Gos-pels upon the altar finds witness elsewhere. The change of form which the altar underwent in the sixth FUBNITURE—The Altar 161 century was due exclusively to the cult of relics, or rather to thenew form that cult then took of enclosing the relics icithin thealtar. In treating of the catacombs it has been shown thatthe Eucharist w^as early brought into close relation with thetombs of the martyrs; that it was celebrated either in themartyrs crypt and upon his tomb, or in a chapel directly aboveit. The great basilicas which Constantine and later emperorsbuilt above the tombs of the Apostles and martyrs were inthorough keeping with early traditions, and they were repeatedeverywhere throughout the Christian world. It was accounteda matter of prime importance that the altar be brought into. illlillillllllll,llj :•. ? w ? ^ il, ^^-^ r ? • L- k. w ,i;:i^i i::i __J:ilil_:Siii ig l«Sil;li tf ^^^ Fig. 55. — Altar with confessio, S. Giorgio in Velabro, Kome. the closest possible relation with the tomb, or be located atleast directly above it. To accomplish this end, hillsides wereexcavated and whole galleries of the catacombs were cut tombs had to be destroyed in reaching the grave of themartyr; but his resting-place was scrupulously respected,and except in the rarest cases the body was not movedeven the few feet which might be required to bring itinto the desired relation to the church, all considerations ofconvenience were subordinated to the aim of bringing thechurch to the body. In the most favorable case the floor ofthe presbyterium was brought to a level with the top of thetomb (sarcophagus, loculus, cubiculum, or whatever it mightbe); and since the altar stood usually upon the edge of a plat- 162 ARCHIT
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectchristi, bookyear1901
