The altar was situate in the centre of the chancel, in front of the bishop's throne, so as to allow of a passage all round it ; it was named indifferently arc, altare,i9vataaviptov and 136vog ; the latter, however, qualified by the addition of aratitaKTov. The most ancient altars were of wood, as we learn from several passages in the Fathers: amongst others, S. Austin, speaking o an outrage by the Donatists against a Catholic bishop, says, "They heat him cruelly with clubs, and such like weapons, and at last with the broken pieces of the wood of the altar." Optatus, again, speaking of the Donatists, says, "They brake the altars in such pieces as would afford them plenty of wool to make new ; but where tWre was a scarcity of wood, they contented themselves with scraping them, by way of pretended expiation." When stone altars began to be employed, is very uncertain ; all that can be determined upon this point is, that the material was in use for such purpose in the time of Gregory Nyssen, but how long before we cannot tell. Gregory, speaking of time sacred character of the church and its furniture, says, "This altar whereat we stand is by nature only common stone, nothing different from other stones, whereof our walls are made and our pavements formed ; but after it is consecrated and dedicated to the service of God it becomes a holy table, an immaculate altar which may not promiscuously be touched by all, but only by the priests in the time of divine ser vice." In the next century, a decree was passed at the council of Epone, that no altars should be consecrated, but such as were of stone. The Pontificals speak of silver altars dedicated by Constantine. The early wooden altars were similar in shape to tables, but when stone was em ployed for this purpose they assumed a somewhat different appearance, consisting either of slabs supported by a cen tral pier, or of a structure built up similar to a sarcophagus, or tomb.
The altar was covered by a canopy, supported by pillars, frequently twelve in number, in allusion to the number of the apostles, and their capitals adorned with silver bowls. The canopy which was spherical, was surmounted with a cross and the space between the pillars hung with veils, which served to conceal the altar. These are, perhaps, the veils alluded to by Chrysostom, where, speaking of the consecration of the elements, he says, "When you see the veils withdrawn, then think you see heaven opened, and the angels descending from above." Curtains, however, were used in other parts of the church, before the doors, and at the entrance to the sanctuary, which were sometimes richly adorned with gold, as was that given by Chosroes to the church at Antioch. Epiphanius relates his to pieces a veil suspended before the doors of the church, because it had a picture on it ; and Athanasius, speaking of the enormi ties of the Arians, says, "They took the bishop's throne, and the seats of the presbyters, and the table which was of wood, and the veils of the church, and whatever else they could, and carried them out and burned them." Sometimes a silver
dove was suspended over the altar. The canopy was turned ciborium, or rrypyog. In later times, crosses were set upon the altar, but the time of their introduction is not known : Sozomen and Evagrius are among the first who allude to the practice. The altar was covered with a linen cloth, as is evidenced by Optatus, who, in allusion to the extravagant pretensions of the Donatists in purifying everything that had been touched by the Catholics, says "that if anything was polluted, it must be the covering, and not the tables ;" and adds, that they pretended to wash these palls. Some times such coverings were of richer stuff, for Palladius has reference to some Roman ladies, who bequeathed their silks to make coverings for the altar. The sacred vessels were of various materials. We learn from irenmus, Epiphanius, and Jerome, that chalices were made of glass in their time ; hut there can be no doubt that silver and gold were frequently employed for this purpose ; for it is related of Laurentius, who was martyred in the time of Valerian, that he would not deliver up the plate in which they were used to celebrate the sacred mysteries ; and in an inventory delivered up at the same period, by Paul, bishop of Cirta, we find mention made of two gold cups, six silver cups, and various other vessels of the same materials.
In many churches, besides the altar, was a side-table, in a recess, on one side of the bema, where the offerings of bread and wine were received, and which is called by various names, 7raparpalr4a, prothesis, parcaorium, oblationarium, and corban. In the recess on the opposite side of the bema, was the Scenophylacium, which was a sort of vestry in which the priests robed, and where the deacons brought the vestments and vessels from the Diaconicum, previous to service. It was likewise called the Diaconicum Bematis, to distinguish it from the larger building of the same name and uses outside the church.
Under the general term exhedrm, are comprehended all the buildings that were contained within the outermost en closure, but without the walls of the church, properly so called : these were many in number consisting of schools, residences for the priests, &c.; but we shall here only take notice of the more important.
The Baptistery, during the first five centuries, formed a separate building outside the church, as we gather from Eusebius, Paulinus of Nola, and Gregory of Tours. It was a large and capacious edifice, containing several apartments, some perhaps for the catechumens, and was not unfrequently octagonal in plan. It was necessary that these buildings should be somewhat extensive, for the sacrament of baptism was but seldom celebrated, the two seasons set apart for the purpose being Easter and Pentecost; so that a large number of persons were congregated together at the same time; and there is reason to suppose that there was but one baptistery to each city, however numerous the churches may have been. In the centre of this building was the font, which was largo enough for immersion.