Editing Sanctuary (section)

=== Sanctuary as a sacred place ===
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In Europe, Christian churches were sometimes built on land considered to be a particularly holy spot. Often these there were legends associated with these locations regarding miracles or martyrdom believed to have taken place or where a holy person was buried. Examples are [[St. Peter's Basilica]] in Rome and [[St. Albans Cathedral]] in England, which commemorate the martyrdom of [[Saint Peter]] (the first Pope) and [[Saint Alban]] (the first Christian martyr in Britain), respectively. Such locations were also often the sites of religious importance to the community before Christianity arrived.

The place and the church built there were considered to have been sanctified (made holy) by what happened there. In modern times, the [[Catholic Church]] has continued this practice by placing in the altar of each church, when it is consecrated for use, a box ([[Altar stone|the ''sepulcrum'']]) containing [[relic]]s of one or more saints, usually martyrs. This relic box is removed when the church is [[Deconsecration|deconsecrated]] as a holy space. In the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], the [[antimension]] on the altar serves a similar function. It is a cloth [[icon]] of Christ's body taken down from the cross, and typically has the relics of a saint sewn into it. In addition, it is signed by the parish's [[bishop]], and represents his authorization and blessing for the [[Eucharist]] to be celebrated on that altar.