Editing Altar (section)

=====Anglican churches=====
[[File:altar.stmaryredcliffe.arp.jpg|thumb|The altar in St.&nbsp;Mary Anglican Church, Redcliffe, [[Bristol]]. It is decorated with a [[Altar frontal|frontal]] in green, a colour typically associated with the seasons after [[Epiphany (Christian)|Epiphany]] and [[Pentecost]]. Note the [[reredos]] behind the free-standing altar.]]

Altars in the Anglican Communion vary widely. In the [[Book of Common Prayer]], the basis of doctrine and practice for the [[Church of England]], there is no use of the specific word ''altar''; the item in question is called the [[Communion table|''Lord's Table'']] or ''Holy Table''. This remains the official terminology, though common usage may call the communion table an altar.

At the time of the Reformation, altars were fixed against the east end of the church, and the priests would celebrate the Mass standing at the front of the altar. Beginning with the [[rubric]]s of the [[Book of Common Prayer (1552)|Second Prayer Book]] of [[Edward VI]] published in 1552, and through the [[Book of Common Prayer (1662)|1662 ''Book of Common Prayer'']] (which prevailed for almost 300&nbsp;years and is still in occasional use), the priest is directed to stand "at the north syde of the Table". This was variously interpreted over the years to mean the north side of the front of a fixed communion table, the north end of a fixed table (i.e., facing south), the north side of a free-standing table (presumably facing those intending to receive the Elements who would be sitting in the quire stalls opposite), or at the north end of a free-standing table lengthwise in the chancel, facing a congregation seated in the [[nave]].{{Citation needed|date=October 2022}}

Often, where a celebrant chose to situate himself was meant to convey his churchmanship (that is, more Reformed or more Catholic). The use of candles or [[church tabernacle|tabernacles]] was banned by [[canon law]], with the only appointed adornment being a white linen cloth.
[[File:St Paul's Cathedral High Altar, London, UK - Diliff.jpg|thumb|left|High altar of St Paul's Cathedral, London]]
Beginning with the [[Oxford Movement]] in the 19th century, the appearance of Anglican altars took a dramatic turn in many churches. Candles and, in some cases, tabernacles were re‑introduced. In some churches two candles, on each end of the altar, were used; in other cases six—three on either side of a tabernacle, typically surmounted by a [[crucifix]] or some other image of Christ. When a stone altar was placed in the [[Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Cambridge]] after rebuilding works in 1841, a case was brought in the [[Court of Arches]] which resulted in an order to remove it and replace it with a wooden communion table.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |year=1930 |title=Altar |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopaedia Britannica]] |edition=14|volume=1|page=708 |language=en}}</ref>

[[File:Canterbury Cathedral altar 8.jpg|thumb|The "low" altar area at Canterbury Cathedral{{efn|The "high" altar is out of sight in the background, beneath the window. When the low altar is in use, the high altar in the back is not used, and stands "undressed".}}]]
In Anglican practice, conformity to a given standard depends on the [[ecclesiastical province]] and/or the liturgical sensibilities of a given parish. In the ''Parson's Handbook'', an influential manual for priests popular in the early-to-mid-twentieth century, [[Percy Dearmer]] recommends that "All altars should be 3&nbsp;ft. 3&nbsp;in. high, and ''at least'' deep enough to take a corporal [the square of linen placed underneath the Communion vessels] 20&nbsp;in. square, with an inch or two to spare." He also recommends that the altar stand upon three steps for each of the three sacred ministers, and that it be decorated with a silk frontal in the [[liturgical colours|seasonal colour]]. In some cases, other manuals suggest that a stone be set in the top of wooden altars, in the belief that the custom be maintained of consecrating the bread and wine on a stone surface. In many other Anglican parishes, the custom is considerably less rigorous, especially in those parishes which use free-standing altars. Typically, these altars are made of wood, and may or may not have a solid front, which may or may not be ornamented. In many Anglican parishes, the use of frontals has persisted.

When altars are placed away from the wall of the chancel allowing a westward orientation, only two candles are placed on either end of it, since six would obscure the liturgical action, undermining the intent of a westward orientation (i.e., that it be visible to the congregation). In such an arrangement, a tabernacle may stand to one side of or behind the altar, or an [[aumbry]] may be used.

Sensibilities concerning the sanctity of the altar are widespread in Anglicanism. In some parishes, the notion that the surface of the altar should only be touched by those in [[holy orders]] is maintained. In others, there is considerably less strictness about the communion table. Nonetheless, the continued popularity of communion rails in Anglican church construction suggests that a sense of the sanctity of the altar and its surrounding area persists. In most cases, moreover, the practice of allowing only those items that have been blessed to be placed on the altar is maintained (that is, the linen cloth, candles, [[missal]], and the Eucharistic vessels).

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px" perrow="5" caption="Anglican churches">
File:All Saints Bristol 07b altar ciborium.jpg|The altar with [[ciborium (architecture)|ciborium]] at [[Church of All Saints, Clifton|All Saints Anglican church]], [[Bristol, England]]
File:St Barnabas, Calton Avenue, Dulwich, London SE21 - Altar - geograph.org.uk - 1750566.jpg|The Lord's Table in St Barnabas' Church, Dulwich ([[Diocese of Southwark]])
File:StThomas'Bunyip.jpg|Altar in Bunyip, Victoria, Australia 
File:Cathedral Altar.JPG|Altar at [[Grace Cathedral, San Francisco|Grace Cathedral]], [[San Francisco]]
File:High Altar, Church of the Good Shepherd (Rosemont, Pennsylvania).jpg|Altar at Anglo-Catholic [[Church of the Good Shepherd (Rosemont, Pennsylvania)]]
</gallery>