No Altar = No Church

[Wesley1982]

Most times when I go to visit a church its usually locked and there is nobody there.

 

[Dewi Sant]

I do fear that there may be a sentiment of spiritual superiority regarding the tone of this thread's title.

As Orthodox Christians, celebrate the faith which you have and the wealth of support the church enables. Do not become as the quarrelsome, criticising one communion over another. Such comparison causes the beauty of Orthodoxy to become obscured under a [literally] protestant mentality of "we are not them".

I was granted a godson in the faith not by criticising every church around me and setting myself apart, but by living a simply Orthodox life. It was the beauty of holiness which he perceived in me, a sinner, which caused him to come to Orthodoxy.

To paraphrase Saint Serpahim: "Acquire within you the spirit of peace, and a multitude around you will find their salvation."




So yes, some churches may not have altars. Do not hurt them by saying or thinking that they are not a church, rather, love them, without selfishness, without desire for their conversion, and it will happen that the act of love will express God far more effectively than any serious debate.



~forgive me.

 

[ArmyMatt]

It is actually the Antimension that makes the place of the gifts on the altar holy. It is said that even on an unconsecrated altar, as long as the service involving the Body and Blood is done on the Antimension, it is sacred. I was also taught that it is the antimension and its signature by the bishop who gave it to the priest that gives the priest license to perform the worship, and that without it, the service would not be valid. Also, only one Eucharist service per day can be performed on a given Antimension.

yeah, I was told that if a Church is on fire, that is the thing to save foremost.

 

[Dorothea]

I do fear that there may be a sentiment of spiritual superiority regarding the tone of this thread's title.

As Orthodox Christians, celebrate the faith which you have and the wealth of support the church enables. Do not become as the quarrelsome, criticising one communion over another. Such comparison causes the beauty of Orthodoxy to become obscured under a [literally] protestant mentality of "we are not them".

I was granted a godson in the faith not by criticising every church around me and setting myself apart, but by living a simply Orthodox life. It was the beauty of holiness which he perceived in me, a sinner, which caused him to come to Orthodoxy.

To paraphrase Saint Serpahim: "Acquire within you the spirit of peace, and a multitude around you will find their salvation."




So yes, some churches may not have altars. Do not hurt them by saying or thinking that they are not a church, rather, love them, without selfishness, without desire for their conversion, and it will happen that the act of love will express God far more effectively than any serious debate.



~forgive me.

This isn't about judging individual people's hearts or their love for God. It's about the structure of a Church building and how God instructed it to be built, and yes, it includes at its center, the Altar.

 

[SeventhValley]

I would imagine a Orthodox priest could do a liturgy with nothing but three people under a tree with bread and wine. Jesus did his liturgy in a dining room.

 

[Mariya116]

I would imagine a Orthodox priest could do a liturgy with nothing but three people under a tree with bread and wine. Jesus did his liturgy in a dining room.

You mean serve a liturgy?

 

[SpiritualAntiseptic]

Is a church really a church without an altar? I think not. What say you?

A Church needs the Eucharist, which requires a priest, which requires a bishop, which requires valid apostolic succession.