Prayer facing East

[Gelassenheit]

I was looking through a Catholic web site the other day that mentioned the following:

“Ideally, prayer should be offered facing East when possible.”

This intrigued me, as I’d heard of the idea of facing the East in prayer before, but not in the Catholic context. Is this correct, and if so, can anyone explain the reasons behind it?

Thanks in advance for any help and information, and God bless.

 

[Dr.Colossus]

The tradition of prayer facing East comes from the fact that Christ will return from the East at His Second Coming. Churches have traditionally been built with the altar facing east, and from this we get the Latin phrase *Ad Orientum *(literally “to the East”) which refers to Mass celebrated with the Priest and the congregation facing the altar. The direction of the altar is always referred to as “Liturgical East”, independent of the direction it is actually facing.

 

[Gelassenheit]

Dr. Colossus:

The tradition of prayer facing East comes from the fact that Christ will return from the East at His Second Coming. Churches have traditionally been built with the altar facing east, and from this we get the Latin phrase *Ad Orientum *(literally “to the East”) which refers to Mass celebrated with the Priest and the congregation facing the altar. The direction of the altar is always referred to as “Liturgical East”, independent of the direction it is actually facing.

Thanks, that clears things up nicely, especially the last part.

 

[Petergee]

Dr. Colossus:

The tradition of prayer facing East comes from the fact that Christ will return from the East at His Second Coming.

What basis do you have for baldly stating this as a “fact”? In any case, as the earth is a globe, it’s impossible for anything outside the Earth to approach the whole world from the East.

I thought that the tradition of praying and facing churches to the East arose in the Mediterranean world because East is the direction of the Holy Land. (For the same reason, medieval maps usually had East at the top. After the invention of the compass, the habit of putting North at the top of maps began.)

 

[Todd_Easton]

This is discussed some in the article on “Orientation of Churches” in the Catholic Encyclopedia.

 

[Dr.Colossus]

Petergee:

What basis do you have for baldly stating this as a “fact”? In any case, as the earth is a globe, it’s impossible for anything outside the Earth to approach the whole world from the East.

Church Tradition holds this view, based in part on Ezekiel 43:2-4, Matthew 24:27, Acts 1:11 and Revelation 7:2. I call it “fact” because I believe in the inerrancy of Catholic Tradition.

I thought that the tradition of praying and facing churches to the East arose in the Mediterranean world because East is the direction of the Holy Land. (For the same reason, medieval maps usually had East at the top. After the invention of the compass, the habit of putting North at the top of maps began.)

You are correct. Prayer facing East existed even in ancient Jewish practices from a tradition of praying toward Eden. I did not include it In my previous answer as I was intending to comment specifically on the Catholic/Christian reason for this practice.