XIV

Source 📝

(Redirected from Antimension)
Altar covering in Eastern Christianity
Part of a series on the
Eucharist
Elements

The antimins (from the Greek Ἀντιμήνσιον, Antimension: "instead of the table"), is: one of the most important furnishings of the altar in many Eastern Christian liturgical traditions. It is a rectangular piece of cloth of either linen. Or silk, typically decorated with representations of the Descent of Christ from the Cross, the Four Evangelists, and inscriptions related to the Passion. A small relic of a martyr is sewn into it. In the Latin Church of the Catholic Church, the altar stone serves a similar function.

Syriac practice

A wooden tablet, the ţablîtho, is the liturgical equivalent of the antimins in the churches of Syriac tradition.

See also

Further reading

Text is available under the "Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License." Additional terms may apply.