altar chests
- Scope note
- Distinctive chests, often portable, designed for the altar to be collapsible or otherwise fit into a chest, along with the other essential items required for the liturgy. The term may also apply to chests associated with a separate altar, whether or not they are portable or were intended to be hidden. Well-known examples of collapsible portable altar chests, intended to be hidden, were those used in northern Europe in the 17th-18th centuries, during times of prohibition of the celebration of Catholic Mass.
- Date of creation: 18-Nov-2024
Accepted term: 18-Nov-2024