Why is the Altar in church?

Answer 1

will alter is a high table which is usually located at the front of the church and they keep The Bible on it

This is someone different answering

An alter is usually covered with an altar cloth and has candles on it

Answer 2

Generally, it is the large table like piece of furniture up the front in the middle of a church.
The alter represents where the sacrifices are made before God. It's also a way of "taking your problems, struggles, worries, and etc. to the Lord and leaving them with Him."

Answer 3

The answer depends on the denomination of the Christian Church the altar is in.

Typically there is nothing in an altar, it usually serves as a table to hold the items needed in liturgical rites in a Christian church. These items could include books (prayer book, or service book), chalice and patten for Communion, candles, and a cross or crucifix.

Some altars -- usually those in Episcopalian, Anglican, or Roman Catholic churches -- will have a compartment for the consecrated host (bread) and wine used in the rite of Communion.

Some Roman Catholic churches may have relics in the altar. At one time, and possibly at present, it was believe that certain relics would specially consecrate a worship place, and they would be placed in the altar (built to hold them).

Answer 4

The altar is symbolic of a central point of worship. The use of altars go back to the days of Abraham and Moses in the Old Testament, when they would build altars at important locations to remind them of God's work.

Traditionally, the altar in most Christian churches contains candles and a Holy Bible. In many protestant churches, communion elements are also placed on the altar. In the vast majority of churches, the offering is placed on the altar as a sign that the financial gifts included in the offering are being offered into the hands of God.

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Catholic AnswerThe altar symbolizes Our Blessed Lord, it symbolizes the Cross, and the sacrifice Our Blessed Lord offered thereon of Himself.

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from The Catechism of the Catholic Church, second edition, English translation 1994

1182

The altar of the New Covenant is the Lord's Cross, (cf. Heb 13:10) from which the sacrament os the Paschal mystery flow. On the altar, which is the center of the church, the sacrifice of the Cross is made present under sacramental signs. The altar is also the table of the Lord, to which the People of God are invited. (Cf. General Instruction on the Roman Missal 259) In certain Eastern liturgies, the altar is also the symbol of the tomb (Christ truly died and is truly risen).

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1366 The Eucharist is thus a sacrifice because it re-presents (makes present) the sacrifice of the cross, because it is its memorial and because it applies its fruit:

[Christ], our Lord and God, was once and for all to offer himself to God the Father by his death on the altar of the cross, to accomplish there an everlasting redemption. But because his priesthood was not to end with his death, at the Last Supper "on the night when he was betrayed," [he wanted] to leave to his beloved spouse the church a visible sacrifice (as the nature of man demands) by which the bloody sacrifice which he was to accomplish once for all on the cross would be re-presented, its memory perpetuated until the end of the world, and its salutary power be applied to the forgiveness of the sins we daily commit. (Council of Trent {1562}; Denzinger-Schönmetzer, Enchiridion Symbolorum, definitionum et declarationum de rebus fidei et morum {1965} 1740; cf. 1 Cor 11:23; Heb 7:24, 27.

Answer

They are where the mass is said and the bread and wine are consecrated. The altar represents the table the apostles gathered around with Jesus at the last supper.

The altar at the Temple in Jerusalem in Biblical days was for sacrifice. Animals (often lambs) would be sacrificed on the altar to act as a 'carrier' for sin, so that the relationship between God and the sinner could be restored. The sacrifice of Jesus (the 'lamb' of God) on the Cross, was the once-and-for-all sacrifice so that the relationship between God and Humans could be restored for ever. The altar in a church has two uses. In the Roman Catholic Church, the doctrine of the 'mass', where bread and wine are blessed, and shared, is that there is a 're-sacrifice' of Christ, and therefore the term 'altar' suggests that a sacrifice has taken place. However, in the Protestant Churches (such as the Anglican Church) the 'altar' is more commonly referred to as the 'Communion Table' or 'The Lord's Table'. The 'mass' is referred to as 'Holy Communion' or 'The Eucharist' or 'The Lord's Supper'. Protestants regard the sacrifice of Jesus as a once-and-for-all event, and so any sort of 're-sacrifice' is not only meaningless, but is seen as wrong. Therefore, in most Anglican churches, the Communion service is regarded not as a sacrifice, but as a memorial of Christ's death and passion, and the table represents the table in the Upper Room at which Christ and his disciples ate the Last Supper. In this meal he commanded us to eat bread and drink wine together in memorial of Him. This is therefore done either around the Communion Table, or with the Table at the far end of the Church if there is a larger gathering of people.

Answer 5

The altar symbolizes Our Blessed Lord, it symbolizes the Cross, and the sacrifice Our Blessed Lord offered thereon of Himself.

from The Catechism of the Catholic Church, second edition, English translation 1994

1182 The altar of the New Covenant is the Lord’s Cross, (cf. Heb 13:10) from which the sacrament os the Paschal mystery flow. On the altar, which is the center of the church, the sacrifice of the Cross is made present under sacramental signs. The altar is also the table of the Lord, to which the People of God are invited. (Cf. General Instruction on the Roman Missal 259) In certain Eastern liturgies, the altar is also the symbol of the tomb (Christ truly died and is truly risen).

1366 The Eucharist is thus a sacrifice because it re-presents (makes present) the sacrifice of the cross, because it is its memorial and because it applies its fruit:

[Christ], our Lord and God, was once and for all to offer himself to God the Father by his death on the altar of the cross, to accomplish there an everlasting redemption. But because his priesthood was not to end with his death, at the Last Supper “on the night when he was betrayed,” [he wanted] to leave to his beloved spouse the church a visible sacrifice (as the nature of man demands) by which the bloody sacrifice which he was to accomplish once for all on the cross would be re-presented, its memory perpetuated until the end of the world, and its salutary power be applied to the forgiveness of the sins we daily commit. (Council of Trent {1562}; Denzinger-Schönmetzer, Enchiridion Symbolorum, definitionum et declarationum de rebus fidei et morum {1965} 1740; cf. 1 Cor 11:23; Heb 7:24, 27.

Answer 6

so people can go up and pray to God in church

Answer 7

A altar is a prayer elevated place to talk to the god mostly use in RPGs and MMOs lol.

Answer 8

In most fundamental churches it is In front of the congregation, between the front most pew and the pulpit. In more formal orthodox type churches it is often behind the pulpit

Answer 9

An altar is a table or some other structure used for carrying out religious rites.