Orientation of churches

Cathedral oriented to the east

Achsknick

The orientation of churches is the architectural feature of orientating, or facing churches towards the east (Latin: oriens). The orientation of churches towards the liturgical east has persevered until the present day in a number of Christian denominations.

Explanations

There are several possible explanations for this orientation.

The Jewish custom of fixing the direction of prayer and orienting synagogues (Mizrah) influenced Christianity during its formative years. In early Christianity, it was customary to pray facing toward the Holy Land.

Gregory of Nyssa thought that the Orient contained man's original home, the earthly paradise.

Thomas Aquinas suggested that Our Lord lived His earthly life in the East, and that from the East He shall come to judge mankind ^[1]

Tertullian noted that places of Christian worship are always in "high and open places, facing the light". ^[2] This led some people at the time to regard early Christianity as a form of sun worship.^[3]

Exceptions

The great Roman Basilicas of the Lateran, St. Peter's, St. Paul's (originally), St. Lorenzo's, as well as the Basilica of the Resurrection in Jerusalem and the basilicas of Tyre and Antioch, reversed the normal rule by placing the apse in the western extremity.

References

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Orientation of Churches". Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company.