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altar
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St. Josaphat Catholic Church: altar Buddhism: temple in Kunming, China Figure 178: Pala d'Oro, altar screen of gold cloisonne enamel, Byzantine, 10th-12th century, reassembled with later additions in a Gothic frame in 1342-45. In St. Mark's Cathedral, Venice. Stone ritual altar with carved pillars viewed through an arched doorway at a Qing Dynasty tomb in Shenyang, China, with ornate building details in the background.
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St. Josaphat Catholic Church: altar
altar summary
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St. Josaphat Catholic Church: altar
St. Josaphat Catholic Church: altar Altar decorated for Christmas, St. Josaphat Catholic Church, Detroit, Mich.

altar

religion
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Britannica Editors
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History

altar, in religion, a raised structure or place that is used for sacrifice, worship, or prayer. Altars probably originated when certain localities (a tree, a spring, a rock) came to be regarded as holy or as inhabited by spirits or gods, whose intervention could be solicited by the worshiper. The worshiper’s gifts to propitiate or please the gods were placed on an altar nearby. In primitive religions a stone or heap of stones or a...

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