Ad Orientem (1/9)
This is the first of a nine-part series explaining various aspects of the floor plan of a church. Holy Mother Church has deliberately filled her buildings with great symbolism; this series will introduce some of the many facets involved in designing and building this home for the Immaculata. NB: these images and renderings are still approximations of the final design. They are meant to give general knowledge and perspective rather than a precise and final version of what will be built.
“Ad Orientem”
Orientation is a word familiar to all. It has come to mean the getting of one’s bearings; to know where one is and where one is going. The etymology of this word, however, is perhaps less considered. Oriens is Latin for east. The word orientation finds its origin primarily in the fact that Catholic churches were made facing east. What are the reasons for this tradition which can be traced back to the earliest centuries of Christianity?
The New Jerusalem
The Church, Mystical Body of Christ, always looks to her supernatural end: Heaven. The Sacred Liturgy, in the Vespers Hymn for the Dedication of a Church, takes up the vision of St. John in the Apocalypse: “Jerusalem, heavenly city, blest vision of peace! Built from living stones, you are raised on high to the stars and attended, like a bride, by countless thousands of angels.” The church faces east towards Jerusalem, the ancient city of the Chosen People, remembering now the Eternal City and Home of the Church Triumphant.
The Rising of the Sun
Sunrise is a never-ending glory on this earth. What the sun is for the material world, the God-man Jesus Christ is for the spiritual world, for the kingdom of grace. “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men,” declares the Beloved Disciple in the first verses of his gospel. Not less than six times will our Divine Saviour, in the same chapters of St. John, refer to Himself as this supernatural light. “I am the Light of the world.” (Jn. 8,12). It was at daybreak that the Son of God rose gloriously from the dead. It is the light of dawn, shining forth during the morning Mass, which reminds us that we too hope to rise gloriously with Him.
Second Coming of Christ
“For as lightning cometh out of the east, and appeareth even into the west: so shall also the coming of the Son of men be.” (Matt. 24, 27) The Christian soul, though consoled by hope in the resurrection during this earthly pilgrimage, is nevertheless reminded often by Holy Mother the Church of the coming judgement. At the end of time, Christ the King will come again with His Cross and will judge all men. Thus are the faithful spurred on to live a life of virtue and imitation of Christ, so as to be numbered among the elect on that tremendous day of reckoning. It is indeed fitting that this word orientation has come to mean what it does: to know where one is and where one is going. For it is only in the Catholic Church, whose vision is always fixed on Christ and Eternity, that the soul of man will know his end and the means to attain it.
Fr. Patrick McBride