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[[File:Montreal Notre Dame.jpg|thumb|Notre Dame, Montreal, [[Canada]].]]
[[File:Montreal Notre Dame.jpg|thumb|Notre Dame, Montreal, [[Canada]].]]
According to the Catholic view of the subject, the
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'''The high altar''' is so called from the fact that it is the chief altar in a [[church]], and also because it is raised on an elevated plane in the sanctuary, where it may be seen simultaneously by all the faithful in the body of the church. It symbolizes [[Christ]], and it serves at the same time as the banquet table on which He offers Himself through the hands of the priest to the Eternal Father; for Christ is present in our churches not only in a spiritual manner but really, truly, and substantially as the victim of a sacrifice. [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07346b.htm]
"'''The high altar''' is so called from the fact that it is the chief altar in a [[church]], and also because it is raised on an elevated plane in the sanctuary, where it may be seen simultaneously by all the faithful in the body of the church. It symbolizes [[Christ]], and it serves at the same time as the banquet table on which He offers Himself through the hands of the priest to the Eternal Father; for Christ is present in our churches not only in a spiritual manner but really, truly, and substantially as the victim of a sacrifice."[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07346b.htm]
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Members of other Christian churches may also use the word "altar," but they consider the structure to be, in reality, a "holy table" rather than an altar upon which sacrifice takes place. To them, the item recalls the dining table that Christ and his Apostles used on the occasion of their [[Last Supper]]. In keeping with that imagery, their tables or "altars" are usually made with legs rather than being enclosed in the Medieval style and made of stone.
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<gallery perrow="5">The following scenes are of altars from the worship centers of a variety of different religions and denominations.
Image:Malbis Church altar.jpg|Altar of a Greek [[Orthodox Church]].
Image:Malbis Church altar.jpg|Altar of a Greek [[Orthodox Church]].
Image:Chester.jpg|Chester Cathedral, [[England]] .
Image:Chester.jpg|Chester Cathedral, [[England]] .
The earliest Christians had no altars; the heart of every [[Christian]] was an Altar.
The earliest Christians did not use altars. The use of them came from the practice of using the burial caskets of deceased believers as tables for the celebration of the Mass/Lord's Supper.
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