Orientation

ORIENTATION. - In its sacred meaning, orientation is not the art of determining the cardinal points for practical purposes, but is: 1) the art of knowing how to indicate the place that the divinity has chosen to receive there the adoration of men; 2) the direction that the worshipper, whether community or individual, must take in order to enter into communication with the divinity.

I. ORIENTATION OF THE PLACE

Originally a clearing surrounded by trees, enlivened by a spring, or else a mountain or rocky recess, was regarded by primitive peoples as the dwelling preferred by the divinity and the most suited to its manifestations. Therefore, whoever must fix the place of worship does not choose it on the basis of personal criteria, but by questioning the divinity with appropriate rites in order to obtain its approval.

The word o. derives from the position the sun has at its rising on the circle of the horizon and which guides with its light the progress of men from dawn to sunset. Hence solar o. is universal among all peoples; in some places the rising in the sky of stars or planets other than the sun is also taken as a criterion of orientation for sacred buildings.

In Mexico the great temples (teocallis) were oriented with the main door 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 point from which both rise. In Egypt, in general, the o. of temples is to the east, but the one that follows the heliacal rising (19 July) of the star Sothis (Sirius) of the constellation of the Dog is also of great importance. The mastabas, small private tombs in the shape of a truncated pyramid, have the door to the east in the direction of the "amenti" or world of the afterlife. In Assyria it does not appear that the temples proper had a fixed o. The ziggurats, however, towers of four to seven steps that 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 is oriented to the east and has its rear to the west (Ex. 26, 22). In ancient India too the o. to the east was the principal one: of the three fires, two had to be lit in the open air for the sacrifice; the one oriented to the east was the principal one.

The Etruscan o. follows the line of the north-south hinge with the left to the east (favourable part) and the right to the west (unfavourable part) and reflects in the world of men the division that exists in the world of the gods, as is evident from the bronze liver of Piacenza. In Rome, the temple with Etruscan o. (north-south) was that of Capitoline Jupiter. The Romans preferred o. along the decumanus (west-east) and the augurs proceeded from an elevated observation post to the determination of the sacred space (templum) on which the sacred building was to be erected, or which at least was to be considered withdrawn from profane use; Vitruvius (IV, 8) observes that if the nature of the place prevents the normal o., this must follow the most important part of the city and the one richest in temples of the gods. In Greece the majority of temples dedicated to the gods were oriented to the east: that of heroes or of the dead to the west, but they could also be oriented with respect to a star (Gemelli, Capra, Oras). Even the most ancient Christian buildings, whenever circumstances permit, are oriented to the east, in accordance with the direction of prayer.

II. ORIENTATION OF THE ORANT

In prayer the o. differs 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 insofar as it was the dwelling place of Yahweh. After the exile and following the Deuteronomic reform which concentrated in Jerusalem the single seat of worship, the Jews, including 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 which the Talmud confirms. In private houses and in synagogues an ornamental painting indicated the point of o. (mizrāh). The great synagogue of Dura (244 A.D.) was also oriented toward Jerusalem, as is evident from the niche where the scroll of the Law was kept, even though at that time the temple had already been destroyed for over a century. The Samaritans turned, in praying, toward their mount Gerizim, where they believed Yahweh dwelt. The Babylonian priests in prayer turned to the east: the Greeks toward the place where they believed the divinity to be present and, in the temples, toward the statue of the god (Homer, Il., VIII, 364; Herodotus, I, 31; IX, 61); the Romans in praying turned to the east (Virgil, Aen., VIII, 18; XII, 173); in the 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, then Muhammad prescribed that toward Mecca (Qur'an, II, 139). Therefore in mosques there is the miḥrāh indicating the direction (qiblah) of Mecca. This indicator, in mosques that are an adaptation of ancient Christian churches (e.g., Hagia Sophia in Constantinople), may be found outside the axis of the building.

The o. toward Jerusalem was maintained by Christians coming from Judaism (Irenaeus, Haer., I, 22) while Gentile Christians preferred that toward the east also because, according to the eschatological vision of Christianity (Mt. 24:30), the Son of Man will appear with his sign (the Cross) on the last day like the lightning that crosses the sky from east to west.

Therefore 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 supreme Judgment. It is therefore not astronomical o. (which Christianity has surpassed: Tertullian, De orat., XI) but the eschatological value of coming from the east that determined the orientation of the ancient Christian churches.

Nicola Turchi