When entering a church the main focus is usually on the alter. An alter is found in Roman Catholic Church, they are linked to sacrifice. It is used to re-enact the sacrifice of Jesus during the mass. Unlike other religions Catholics believe Jesus’s death is the most important point. This is important to strengthen a person’s belief that God sent his only son to die for us which is one of the central beliefs of the Roman Catholic religion.
This contrasts with the communion table which focus’s instead on the last supper, non Catholics believe that Jesus’s life and resurrection is more important than Jesus’s death. It reminds people of the last supper and gives the community an opportunity to share together when taking the Holy Eucharist, this is when people take the bread and wine which is the body and blood of Christ.
The host, the blessed bread, is kept in a Tabernacle. A tabernacle is used in Roman Catholic churches to hold the host as hosts are not thrown away because it is the body of Christ. This shows the real presence. It is also a focus for people praying, it aides their worship.
In a Roman Catholic Church a sanctuary light is lit when hosts are present in the Tabernacle. It shows the Catholic belief in the real presence. It gives out information, catches people’s attention and also creates an atmosphere for people to worship in and gives a person an object to focus on when praying.
Candles, incense and stained glass windows are also very important because they create an atmosphere, a sense of wonder and respect in a place of worship. This is important for worship as it helps a person to focus their prayers on God and Jesus.
Jesus’s death is shown on the Stations of the Cross and on crucifixes which are placed around the walls of a Roman Catholic Church. These are important because they strengthen the belief that Jesus died for us and tells the story of his death and resurrection. In the past few people could read to stories from the bible was painted on the walls or on stained glass windows.
Catholics believe that the forgiveness of sins is very important, the Angleton Church does not believe this. The confessional box is also connected to Jesus’s death. Jesus died so that we could repent our sins by asking for forgiveness and to go up to heaven when we die. It gives a person space and privacy to ask God for forgiveness and help, allowing them to speak to priests in privacy.
In all churches there are Fonts which are used for baptism. By being baptised a person is being cleaned from sin through the waters of baptism. Fonts are placed either by the door of the church to represents that baptism is the entry into the Church, or in the centre of the church to represents that baptism is the entry into the church community. Fonts are extremely important because they enter a person into the church and the community and cleanses them of their sins.
Lecterns and pulpits are in all churches. They emphasis the word on God by the priest moving to a different area to speak the word of God or to read from the bible. They focus a person’s attention on the priest and on what the priest is saying.
