Altar cloth
textile covering for an altar
An altar cloth is used in the Christian liturgy to cover the altar. It serves as a sign of reverence as well as a decoration and a protection of the altar and the sacred vessels. In Orthodox churches it is covered by the antimension, which also contains the relics of saints.
Since the 2nd century the altar cloth has been seen as a symbol for the shroud of Jesus Christ; therefore it should be made of white linen. Another interpretation used two cloths and compared them with the body and soul of Christ.
Christian altar cloths
Western Churches
Special cloths (not necessarily made of linen) cover the altar in many Christian churches during services and celebrations, and are often left on the altar when it is not in use. In the early 20th century the Catholic Church considered only linen or hemp to be acceptable as material for altar cloths, although in earlier centuries silk or cloth of gold or silver were used. The Anglican Communion had similar rules in that period.
At that time, the Roman Rite required the use of three altar cloths, to which a cere cloth, not classified as an altar cloth, was generally added. This was a piece of heavy linen treated with wax (cera, from which "cere" is derived, is the Latin word for "wax") to protect the altar linens from the dampness of a stone altar, and also to prevent the altar from being stained by any wine that may be spilled.
“Altar cloth” enters the record as textile covering for an altar. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Altar, cloth and textile can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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