Altar-stones

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What happened to altar-stones, the ones fixed in altars? Are they all removed in accordance with the revised Rite of Dedication of a Church and an Altar?

How do they put the relics under the altar under the revised RDCA?
 
jimkhong said:
What happened to altar-stones, the ones fixed in altars? Are they all removed in accordance with the revised Rite of Dedication of a Church and an Altar?

How do they put the relics under the altar under the revised RDCA?
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you mean the ones that are in or beyond the altars? 🙂 I asked the Pastor the same question. We have one in the church downtown 🙂 It’s a bone from a Saint. I don’t know the name, though.
 
The only mention that I recall is that the practice is a venerable one and should be maintained so long as the authenticity of the relics can be verified. They may be inset into the mensa of the altar, as was done previously, or placed somewhere inside the structure of the altar.
 
jimkhong said:
What happened to altar-stones, the ones fixed in altars?
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It is unclear why you believe something happened to them. They are right where they have always been-- in the altar.
jimkhong said:
Are they all removed in accordance with the revised Rite of Dedication of a Church and an Altar?
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No.

Here are the relevant canons regarding altars:

vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P4K.HTM
jimkhong said:
How do they put the relics under the altar under the revised RDCA?
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I don’t understand the question.
 
Sorry, I assumed that everyone had the relevant references. Ch4 n11 of RDCA states

“It is fitting to continue the tradition in the Roman liturgy of placing relics of martyrs or other saints beneath the altar.”

Also, with the requirement for mass to be celebrated only on a fixed, and in certain circumstances, movable altars, the use of small altar-stones to make any table an altar has follow away, as I understand it.

Anyone familiar with the RDCA who can throw some light on it?
 
jimkhong said:
Sorry, I assumed that everyone had the relevant references. Ch4 n11 of RDCA states

“It is fitting to continue the tradition in the Roman liturgy of placing relics of martyrs or other saints beneath the altar.”

Also, with the requirement for mass to be celebrated only on a fixed, and in certain circumstances, movable altars, the use of small altar-stones to make any table an altar has follow away, as I understand it.

Anyone familiar with the RDCA who can throw some light on it?
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From the CIC (emphasis added)
Can. 1235 §2. It is desirable to have a fixed altar in every church, but a fixed or a movable altar in other places designated for sacred celebrations.
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Can. 1237 §1. Fixed altars must be dedicated, and movable altars must be dedicated or blessed, according to the rites prescribed in the liturgical books.
§2. The ancient tradition of placing relics of martyrs or other saints under a **fixed **altar is to be preserved, according to the norms given in the liturgical books.
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There was a time (pre-conciliar) when a consecrated Altar Stone (or its equivalent) * was required for the celebration of Mass, irrespective of the place of celebration or of the altar itself. The short version is that this is no longer true.

There is no longer a requirement (notice the word desirable in Canon 1235) that a church or other oratory have a fixed altar in the first place. Notice further that in Canon 1237 there is no **requirement **for a movable altar to be dedicated, and although it may be dedicated, the only mention of relics is in §2 which concerns fixed altars only.
  • An “equivalent” to an Altar Stone would be a Byzantine Antimension. These were used frequently “in the field” during WWII, etc, since they are cloth and easily folded, so are far more portable than even a portable Altar Stone.
 
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