Where in the GIRM does it allow for ad orientem?

[NPC]

He was talking in the chapter about ad orientum worship, and noted this to add weight to his arguments.

I like the Pope Pius quote and your point about ordinary circumstances. Ad orientum is not just of antiquity but is still practiced in the Church, an option was merely given to allow versus populum for the OF Mass of course, though rubrics suggest otherwise.

Yes. It certainly does add weight to his arguments - especially when the counter-argument is attempted, stating that Christ didn’t sit with his back to the Apostles at the Last Supper. He certainly did not sit with His back to them - however, nor did He face them across a table. The Last Supper is certainly an argument in favour of a common direction of worship.

There has been some questioning here (not in your posts, Canto) about the need to face “actual” east. However, it was not always possible to build a church with the high altar at the east end - we know what would have happened during the liturgy in a church such as St. Peter’s, that the people would have faced east even if it meant that they weren’t facing the altar. Pope Benedict has clearly shown in all of his Masses and his writings on the liturgy that if a common direction of prayer is not possible (though it probably is possible in most cases) then at very least the Crucifix on the altar should be the point of orientation for priest and people.

You are right, with reference to the Pope Pius XII quote that “ad orientem” is not merely something which has the flavour of antiquity - in actual fact, it has a very solid basis in antiquity. It is not merely a matter of nostalgia or hankering after the past - the rubrics of the missal and the GIRM confirm that it is a posture which is still meant to be very much a part of the liturgical celebrations of the Church today.

 

[Brendan]

]Why, if eastward-facing churches were the universal practice, was St Peter’s built the opposite way?

It was because of the topological layout of Vatican hill.

The key feature was to center of the altar directly on the tomb of St. Peter. If the nave wen to the west, it would have restricted the size, or substantially increased the amount of Vatican hill that had to be removed.

In modern times, that would have been less of a consideration, given the availbility of bulldozers and trucks, less so when it was all spades and baskets.

But even so, the altar was orientated (no pun) so that the priest faces East.

 

[stephraim]

It was because of the topological layout of Vatican hill.

The key feature was to center of the altar directly on the tomb of St. Peter. If the nave wen to the west, it would have restricted the size, or substantially increased the amount of Vatican hill that had to be removed.

In modern times, that would have been less of a consideration, given the availbility of bulldozers and trucks, less so when it was all spades and baskets.

But even so, the altar was orientated (no pun) so that the priest faces East.

It was also due to the desire to imitate the Inner Sanctuary in the Temple of Jerusalem.

Still, the entire congregation would turn and face east during the prayers, even the great Eucharistic Prayer.

 

[Digitonomy]

It is interesting to note that Joseph Jungmann, shortly after altars began to be turned around in the 1960s, became disenchanted with the idea of versus populum that he had previously advocated so firmly.

I’m trying to figure out how my childhood church, built in the 1870s, fits into this. The entrance faces south, with the altar in the north. Part of the decision to orient it this way may have been to it build it somewhat parallel with the slope, but there was still something of a slope to contend with the way it was built. The bigger consideration may have been for the entrance to face the center of town and the neighborhoods where most of the parishioners at the time lived.

 

[archangel04]

Here is a post from my blog that might help:

benedictgal-lexorandilexcredendi.blogspot.com/2011/05/ad-orientem-and-actuosa-participatio.html

Thank you very much!