ORIENTATION. — In its sacred sense, orientation is not the art of determining cardinal points for practical purposes, but rather: 1) the art of knowing how to indicate the place which the divinity has chosen to receive the adoration of men; 2) the direction which the hour, whether of a community or an individual, must take in order to establish communication with the divinity.
I. ORIENTATION OF THE PLACE
Originally, a clearing surrounded by trees, enlivened by a spring, or a mountain or rocky recess was considered by primitive peoples as the preferred dwelling of the divinity and the most suitable for its manifestations. Therefore, whoever had to determine the place of worship did not choose it on the basis of personal criteria, but by consulting the divinity through appropriate rites to obtain its approval.The word "orientation" derives from the position of the sun at its rising on the horizon circle, which guides with its light the progress of men from dawn to dusk. Hence, solar orientation is universal among all peoples; in some places, the rising of stars or planets other than the sun are also taken as criteria for orienting sacred buildings.
In Mexico, the great temples (teocalli) were oriented with their main entrance to the west. In China, the temple of the sun was oriented to the east, that of the moon to the west, in accordance with the cardinal points from which they rise. In Egypt, in general, the orientation of temples is to the east, but great importance is also given to that which follows the heliacal rising (July 19) of the star Sothis (Sirius) of the constellation of the Dog. The mastabas, small private tombs in the shape of a truncated pyramid, have their entrance to the east in the direction of the *ameni* or world of the afterlife. In Assyria, proper temples do not seem to have had a fixed orientation. The ziggurats, however, towers of four to seven stages which were an integral part of the temples, generally—but not always—had their corners oriented toward the cardinal points. Among the Hebrews, the tabernacle with the Holy of Holies was oriented to the east and had its rear to the west (Ex. 26, 22). In ancient India, too, easterly orientation was the principal one: of the three fires, two had to be lit outdoors for sacrifice; the one oriented to the east was the principal one.
Etruscan orientation follows the north-south line with the left to the east (the favorable side) and the right to the west (the unfavorable side), reflecting in the world of men the division that exists in the world of the gods, as can be seen from the bronze liver of Piacenza. In Rome, the temple with Etruscan orientation (north-south) was that of Jupiter Capitolinus. The Romans preferred orientation along the decumanus (west-east), and the augurs proceeded from an elevated observation point to determine the sacred space (*templum*) on which the sacred building was to be erected, or at least which had to be considered withdrawn from profane use. Vitruvius (IV, 8) observes that if the nature of the place prevents normal orientation, it should follow the most important part of the city and richest in temples of the gods. In Greece, the majority of temples dedicated to the gods were oriented to the east; those of heroes or the deceased to the west, but they could also be oriented with respect to a star (Gemini, Capra, Ursa).
Even the earliest Christian buildings, whenever circumstances permitted, were oriented to the east, in accordance with the direction of prayer.
II. ORIENTATION OF THE WORSHIPPER
In prayer, orientation varies according to beliefs and circumstances. Primitive peoples orient themselves toward the object in which they believe the divinity to be present, whether it be a tree, a stone, a mountain, etc. The ancient Hebrews turned toward the Temple as the dwelling place of Yahweh. After the exile and following the Deuteronomic reform which concentrated the unique seat of worship in Jerusalem, the Jews, even those of the diaspora, oriented themselves toward Jerusalem, taking care to pray on a balcony or terrace with open windows (cf. Dan. 6, 11), a prescription confirmed by the Talmud. In private homes and synagogues, an ornamental painting indicated the point of orientation (*misrah*). Even the great synagogue of Dura (24, 4 A.D.) was oriented toward Jerusalem, as evidenced by the niche where the scroll of the Law was kept, even though by that time the Temple had been destroyed for more than a century. The Samaritans, when praying, turned toward their Mount Gerizim, where they believed Yahweh dwelled. Babylonian priests in prayer turned to the east; the Greeks toward the place where they believed the divinity to be present, and in temples, toward the statue of the god (Homer, *Iliad*, VIII, 364; Herodotus, I, 31; IX, 61); the Romans, when praying, oriented themselves (*Virgil, Aeneid*, VIII, 18; XII, 173); in prayer to Jupiter, they oriented themselves toward the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus (*Livy*, VI, 20). Among Muslims, the direction of prayer was originally toward Jerusalem, but Muhammad prescribed that it should be toward Mecca (*Qur’an*, II, 139). Hence, in mosques there is the *mihrab*, an indicator of the direction (*qiblah*) of Mecca. This indicator, in mosques that are adaptations of ancient Christian churches (e.g., Hagia Sophia in Constantinople), may be found outside the axis of the building.The orientation toward Jerusalem was maintained by Christians coming from Judaism (*Irenaeus, Against Heresies*, I, 22), while Gentile Christians preferred that toward the east, also because, according to the eschatological vision of Christianity (*Matt.* 24, 30), the Son of Man will appear with his sign (the Cross) on the last day like lightning that traverses the sky from east to west.
Hence, the Cross marks the *qiblah* of Christian prayer; and from this derives the custom of depicting the Cross in the apse of churches, where it is meant to recall Christ who will come on the day of the Last Judgment. It is therefore not astronomical orientation (which Christianity has surpassed: Tertullian, *On Prayer*, XI) but the eschatological value of the coming from the east that determined the orientation of ancient Christian churches.