Shrine - Marble - 1890-1930 - Altar Stone, Consecration Stone

White marble altar stone or consecration stone. Originating from a Dutch church, probably from the period 1890–1930. A sealed compartment is inset into the stone and covered by a piece of marble.

Dimensions: 16.7 x 11.7 x 1 cm
Condition: A corner has been broken and re-glued.



altar stone
An altar stone is a stone set into the altar slab, or a wholly stone altar slab, in which, or under which, the relics belonging to the altar rest.

Veneration of martyrs

In the Roman Empire, Christian communities had a particularly intense veneration of martyrs. If at all possible, a community chose the tomb of a martyr to serve as the focal point of the liturgy. An altar was placed above or near the tomb, and a church building was erected around it.
Soon the practice arose of communities that did not have their own martyr obtaining a bodily relic from elsewhere. Sometimes one had to be content with large or small fragments of a relic. The Latin word for 'relic' is reliquia. Hence we call a fragment of the bodily relic of a martyr or saint in Dutch a relic.

The reliquary tomb
The sealed space in an altar where relics are placed is called the reliquary.

prescription
The stone under which or in which a reliquary tomb is located is called an altar stone. It has now become a binding requirement for altars intended for liturgical use that a relic be placed in or under an altar stone (CIC, can. 1237, §2).

Little crosses
An altar stone is recognizable by the five crosses carved into it. If the altar stone consists of a single stone altar slab, there are always a few crosses visible from a distance to churchgoers.