Syndicat d'Initiative
de Cerfontaine
de Cerfontaine
End of the 19th century.
M. Hoeken and G. Jansen from Sint-Truiden (the sculptors of most of the church's furniture.)
Oak wood.
This beautiful and majestic Main Altar, which also houses a tabernacle, has 3 retables depicting engravings of three Biblical scenes.
The Main Altar is, as the name suggests, the main altar of a church.
The word "altar" comes from the Old French "alter" meaning "the table on which the mass is celebrated."
On this table, the priest celebrates the holy sacrifice of the mass, called "the Eucharist," which recalls the Last Supper, his final meal.
Originally, altars were facing east, but in the Middle Ages, churches moved the main altars to the back of the places of worship, in the choir against the apse. The priest had to face this altar "ad orientem."
The symbolism of the altar is said to come from the Old Testament and the setting up of the stele in Bethel.
However, the Council of Trent in the 16th century changed the norm and obliged the priest to celebrate Mass facing the people "versus populum."
It is worth knowing that the first altars were portable. The priest had to carry it to move around and offer his services. But from the 4th century, the altar became a fixed element of stone or noble materials.
Altars often contain a relic of the saint in the "sepulcher" that must be sealed with a stone, even if the altar is made of wood.