What to do in an unconsecrated church?

[Elzee]

What is the right thing to do when going to the consecration ceremony of a remodeled/new church? If the Blessed Sacrament isn’t present in the tabernacle and the altar hasn’t been consecrated, do you still bow to the altar when getting into your pew?

 

[ProudArmyWife]

I recently asked a similar question to our priest. Our tabernacle is in a seperate room from the rest of the chapel - so what do you do when you come in before going to the pew? His response was not to kneel, but it would be appropriate to bow toward the altar.

 

[AJV]

I’m not sure about a remodeled church, but in a new one I would not think that you bow toward the ‘altar’ (it’s not yet one) because the table-like structure only becomes an altar when it is consecrated so that the Mass may be offered on it.

 

[John_Lilburne]

Elzee:

What is the right thing to do when going to the consecration ceremony of a remodeled/new church? If the Blessed Sacrament isn’t present in the tabernacle and the altar hasn’t been consecrated, do you still bow to the altar when getting into your pew?

No, I think it would be better not to bow.
The Ceremony for the Dedication of a Church has three forms of entrance: A Procession, B Solemn Entrance and C Simple Entrance.
The preferred options, A and B have a closed Church, with everyone entering as a group. So stopping to bow or genuflect before entering a pew is likely to be difficult.
In each case the instructions have: “The bishop, without kissing the altar, goes to the chair;”. (At n. 35, 42 and 46). There is no mention of bowing to the altar.
(From The Rites Volume Two, Liturgical Press, 1990, ISBN 0-8146-6037-1, page 341).