WHY CATHOLICS FACES THE EAST DURING PRAYERS SO ALSO THE ALTAR. Facing East is an ancient tradition, grounded in sure knowledge about the Second Coming, first told us by the Lord, and then repeated by an angel after the disciples had just seen the Lord ascend into heaven: “For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man” (Matthew 24:27) “…Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner [2] as ye have seen him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11) We believe that our Lord ascended on the Mount of Olives, and when He comes back, He will come on a cloud [3] from the East. Therefore, we face East when we pray. There are other important biblical references to the East. The following is a NON-comprehensive list. The wise men saw signs of the imminent birth of Christ from the East: “Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, (2) Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.” (Mat 2:1-2) Ezekiel saw the “glory of the Lord” when facing East: “And the glory of the Lord came into the house, by the way of the gate looking eastward:” (Eze 43:4 Brenton) The Jews faced Eastward during their worship: “And if the prince should prepare as a thanksgiving a whole-burnt-peace- offering to the Lord, and should open for himself the gate looking eastward, and offer his whole-burnt-offering, and his peace- offerings, as he does on the sabbath- day; then shall he go out, and shall shut the doors after he has gone out.” (Eze 46:12 Brenton ) There are lots of references in the Fathers to prayer facing East (see the end of this essay for an excerpt from St John of Damascus concerning this.) It has been a uniform part of our tradition since BEFORE Apostolic times. When the people pray, they all pray together. We are all God’s children. Does it make any sense for the people to face God, and the celebrant to turn his back to God during prayer? He cannot lead prayer when facing the people; he becomes a focal point for prayer; the people are facing him! One can see how dangerous this practice of having the celebrant face the people by observing the excesses that have occurred in the sectarian churches (Full disclosure, please see the note[4] at the end of this essay). Just driving down the road and looking at billboards shows that the “mega churches” do not share our “mind”. Their billboards feature prominently the picture of the pastor, usually with his pretty wife and 2 pretty children, a boy and a girl, all smiling beatifically at the masses, or perhaps some other “beautiful person” gushing about how they have finally found a church they can believe in. So much of, (what shall we call it? “mainstream” or “sectarian” or “Protestant”) worship has become about personality. At look at the “mega” and even small country churches shows a wholly different way of worship than the ancient Jewish/ Orthodox way. The “altar’ area is a stage, flanked with large TV screens, which show flattering close- ups of the pastor as he preaches, or the music minister as he performs. This way of “worship” is really a form of entertainment. What can it teach the people? And what are all these ministers doing smiling so much at their audience, as if they are entertainers or salesmen? This type of worship is without significant substance, and often is directed to a passive audience, rooted in their theater chairs. Ironically, some of these churches which consider themselves to be “Apostolic” do not realize that their way of worship is far removed from that of the Apostles! And don’t even get me started about the theological content of the songs being sung today! As the music minister smiles and performs, a stream of pablum, to catchy melodies, with drum rolls and guitar riffs, is being fed to the seated masses (to be fair, not all “Protestant” worship is like this, (some is quite sober and dignified) but the TV stuff is very common in many local churches.) Contrast this with true, traditional Orthodox worship. The celebrant stands, usually in front of the altar, with a serious and sober demeanor, and the people stand with him, all symbolically facing God, to the East. The people much about piety from the way the celebrant and deacons serve. All is done carefully, soberly, with thought and good order.
Posted on: Fri, 07 Jun 2013 10:14:24 +0000