Portable Altar

A portable altar consists of a solid piece of natural stone which 
must be sufficiently hard to resist every fracture. It must be 
consecrated by bishop or other person having faculties to do so. 
By virtue of Facultates Extraordinariae C., 6., the bishops of the 
United States may delegate a priest. It is inserted in, or placed 
on, the table of the altar, about two inches from the front edge, 
and in such a manner that, by its slight elevation above the 
table, the celebrant can trace its outlines with his hand and thus 
recognize its location beneath the altar-cloths. In general it 
should be large enough to hold the Sacred Host and the greater 
part of the base of the chalice (Cong. Sac. Rit., 20 March, 1846) 
If the altar is intended for the celebration of Masses at which 
Holy Communion is distributed, it should be large enough to hold 
the ciborium also. Five Greek crosses are engraved on it, one near 
each corner and one in the centre, to indicate the place on which 
the unctions are made at the consecration. If the cross in the 
centre should be wanting, the unction must not be omitted, but the 
omission of this unction would not invalidate the consecration 
(Cong. Sac. Rit., 2 May, 1892). The table and supports on which 
the portable altar rests may be constructed of any suitable 
material, wood or stone, provided they have the proper dimensions. 
For the portable altar the Greeks generally use the antimensium, a 
consecrated altar-cloth of silk or linen, after the manner of our 
corporals. When a church is consecrated, a piece of cloth large 
enough to form several antimensia is placed on the altar. It is 
consecrated by the bishop pouring wine and holy chrism on it and 
stiffening it with a mixture consisting of relics pounded up with 
wax or fragrant gum. It is afterwards divided into pieces about 
sixteen inches square, and after the Holy Eucharist has been 
celebrated on them for seven days these pieces are distributed as 
occasion requires (Neale, Holy Eastern Church, I, 187).

A.J. SCHULTE Transcribed by Michael C. Tinkler