THE ALTAR

The new altar is carved from Natural Bath Stone. It has a simple austere dignity and dominates the Sactuary. The church has been designed so that the altar becomes the focal point of our attention. In catholic worship the altar has a profound significance. St. John Chrysostom says: "This wonderful altar by its nature is indeed of stone but it becomes holy after it receives the Body of Christ. You hold the altar holy because it sustains Christ's Body."

The special place of the altar can be traced back to the very origins of God's people. For the Jews the altar was a sign of God's presence among them After Moses sprinkled the blood of the sacrifice over the people he dashed the remainder of the blood against the altar. In so doing he indicated a kind of lifeline between people and God Himself. [Exodus 24:8]

But it is Jesus that gives the altar its full meaning. He is at the same time altar, priest and victim. Our reverence for the altar derives from His sacrifice, His is the blood of the new and eternal covenant. The connection is so close that the altar has now become a sign of Christ. This is expressed in the Pontifical [a special book of Blessings] when it says; "the altar is Christ."

The early Christians often used the tombs of the Apostles and maryrs as an altar. The faith of the martyrs was an inspiration to them. From this developed the custom of enclosing relics of the saints in the altar. Our altar contains the relics of Ss. Stephen, Laurence, John and Paul, and these have come from the altar in the old church. We have added to them a relic of St. Augustine of Hippo, the spiritual father of the Augustinian Order. So our altar draws together the past and the present, the old and the new.

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