It was not until the middle ages that the altars of the
Christian church were placed against the chancel wall. This was done for the purpose of accenting the medieval distortion
of the Lord’s Supper, which made it a propitiatory sacrifice. The mistaken belief was that Christ’s body and
blood were being offered again each time the Lord’s Supper was celebrated, to atone for sins once again, neglecting
the understanding that Jesus accomplished our atonement once-for-all, on the cross of Calvary and that the Lord’s Supper
is a distribution of the benefits through Jesus’ body and blood in which we receive forgiveness, eternal life, and salvation
(I Corinthians 10:16; Luke 22:27).
While Martin Luther strongly wanted to maintain the real presence of Jesus’
body and blood in the sacrament as it is consecrated, distributed and received, he was adamant that the Eucharist was not
a re-sacrificing of Jesus over and over again. In fact, Luther called that false teaching a blasphemy. And in His careful
reforms of the Mass liturgy, one of the suggestions he made was that, like the early church, that Lutherans pull the altars
away from the chancel wall so that the pastor can face the people for the consecration (the Words of Institution). After
all, Jesus was sitting at table with the twelve in the upper room and spoke to them when He instituted the Blessed Sacrament.
And so when the pastor speaks the Words of Institution “in the stead and by the command of Christ” he speaks
them to the people over the bread and wine. Those words are Gospel ministry, our Confessions state (Ap. XXIV).
Luther
advocated a free standing altar in his comments on his 1526 [Deutsche Messe] German Mass [Luther’s Works, American Edition,
Vol. 53 p.69]. His preference was for the pastor to face the people when proclaiming the words of institution since these
words were the Gospel of the service of Holy Communion. Luther wrote: “In the true mass, however, of real Christians, the altar should not remain where it is, and the priest should
always face the people as Christ doubtlessly did in the Last Supper.” Hence we see this is perfectly Lutheran.
The free standing altar is hardly an innovation
in Christianity. It is the pattern of the house churches, before Christianity was legal in the Roman Empire, and the early
church, after the conversion of Emperor Constantine. Historic research and a revival in reformation studies have led many
congregations to bring the altar back to the people and have the pastor speak to the people instead of the wall. It is
ironic, then, that it was the Second Vatican Council of the Roman Catholic Church which initiated a popular return to a freestanding
altar, taking Luther’s suggestion seriously. Now, interestingly, many traditional Roman Catholics are reacting against
this move, arguing that a freestanding altar does not emphasize a Roman Catholic understanding of the Lord’s Supper
as a sacrifice --- and they are right! It emphasizes a biblical, traditional, Lutheran understanding of the Eucharist as
a means of grace, a mysterious meal in which Christ’s body and blood are given for the forgiveness of sins.
The freestanding altar is both a table
and a place of making the sacrifice of thanksgiving and prayer. In its design it should serve both functions. In this
the freestanding altar may be used from both sides depending upon whether the liturgical element being carried out is sacramental
or sacrificial. And so with a freestanding altar the sacrificial nature of prayer can be emphasized while also highlighting
and making clear the Words of Institution as proclamation and Divine Service. This way those words can be spoken or chanted
more clearly before the people.
How
It Works Out In Practice
For the Divine Service
of Word and Sacrament, the pastor will typically go behind the altar and face the people for the Preface through the rest
of the service of the sacrament, especially for the Words of Institution. Where there is a freestanding altar, there will
not be a crucifix on the altar itself but behind or above the altar or else a processional crucifix is used. In some cases
the platform of the altar may need minor modification to accommodate standing space. Any candles are set on the ends of the
altar on the center line of the altar. And the missal stand is placed at once side so that it can be turned to the other
side at the appropriate point in the Liturgy. In most cases the altar can be simply pulled a few feet away from the wall
so as to accommodate the pastor with some room. The altar appointments can then be simply repositioned so it may be used
from both sides easily.
