OK, so everyone(ish) knows that,when Muslims pray, they face east, towards Mecca. Technically, they don't face "east," though - in America, they face northeast, and in other places they face whatever direction that makes the shortest distance to Mecca. Now, this isn't going to be 100% theologically correct on the Muslim side (I apologize - it's been 4 years since I took Western Religion and even then, we only learned so much about each tradition), but from what I can gather, they pray in that direction because they're facing the "House of God," or the Kaaba. Now, did YOU know that, prior to Vatican 2, the Church really emphasized facing east, too? Think about it - that's where our holy city is (Jerusalem), too. The church building itself would face east, with the altar and tabernacle on the eastern wall. Part of the reason why it was such a big deal originally for the priest to face east was because he, though leading the people, was first and foremost worshiping. This isn't to say that's not what he's doing now, but the direction thing was super important then - they didn't think about God being "up" or "everywhere" the same way we often do now. Plus, before tabernacles were always at the front of the church behind the altar, the crucifix that the altar server carried up was placed directly behind the altar (or near it if it was pushed against the wall, to be practical) - the sun rises in the east, and the belief went with the Son rising in the east. Neat, right? Wouldn't you want to be facing the Son when He rises? Of course!
Something interesting to note is that Pope Benedict was a really big supporter of everyone facing east. However, now he fully supports the idea of the "liturgical east" - basically, churches are getting reoriented, but by putting a crucifix on the altar (a little one at the very edge, closer to the congregation than the priest), everyone is rightly oriented to where the Son will rise, or the "liturgical east." I personally think this is a very clever way to get around the problem. On first hearing the the Pope liked everyone facing east, I was a bit concerned, because I think, at least in this day and age, it makes more sense to have the priest face us. The Mass is just watched/witnessed by the people anymore - we actively participate in it - so having the priest face away from us towards a wall doesn't seem to be the best idea anymore. But I love the symbolism of facing east, ready to witness His second coming - how cool is that? Even though it's a bit silly to have a "liturgical east," I like that it emphasizes the tradition without creating a crazy uproar. Basically, our Church is awesome - I love learning about all these symbolic things the Church fathers have put into the liturgy. It just makes it mean so much more!
*Did you know? We are buried to this day with our feet facing east - traditionally, it was so that when Christ came back, we'd be able to pop right up and head over to the holy land! hahaha
* Also, remember that Islam developed after Christianity - so if the idea of facing east rubbed off from one to the other, it might have been Christianity tradition onto Islamic tradition!
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