向东方

向东方（拉丁語：Ad orientem），是用來描述基督教祈禱和基督教崇拜的東向的短語，由介詞ad（朝向）和orior（上升）的分詞oriens（上升，日出，東方）組成。 向东方被用來描述早期基督徒在祈禱時所面臨的向東祈禱的方向，這種做法在東正教會、東方正統教會、敘利亞更正教派、東方亞述教會中繼續存在，它同時存在在東儀天主教會以及東儀路德教會的儀式中。向东方儀式和脫利騰彌撒直到1960年代前一直都是羅馬天主教會中的範式。 Arthur Serratelli. Praying Ad Orientem. Catholic News Agency. 28 February 2017 [2022-02-18]. （原始内容存档于2017-09-11） （英语）. From the earliest days of Church, Christians also faced east when at prayer. In fact, Tertullian (160–220 AD) actually had to defend Christians against the pagans who accused them of facing east to worship the sun. Many Church Fathers, such as St. Clement of Alexandria, St. Basil and St. Augustine, also speak of the practice of facing east. In the 3rd century, the Didascalia, a treatise on church order from northern Syria, set down the rule of facing east during the Eucharist. ... Before Christianity was legal in the Roman Empire, Christians worshipped in their homes. One of the oldest known house churches has been discovered on the far eastern edge of the Roman Empire, in present day Syria, at Dura-Europos. This house church dates from 233 A.D. Archaeologists have uncovered an assembly room in the house where as many as 60 people would gather for prayer. The room was designed with an altar against the east wall. In this way, the priest and all the faithful would together be facing east when celebrating the Eucharist. Writing in the 7th century, St. John of Damascus gives three explanations for the eastward stance of Christians at prayer. First, Christ is “the Sun of Righteousness” (Mal 4:2) and “the Dayspring from on high” (Lk 1:78). Facing the light dawning from the east, Christians affirm their faith in Christ as the Light of the world. Second, God planted the Garden of Eden in the east (cf. Gn 2:8). But, when our first parents sinned, they were exiled from the garden and moved westward. Facing east, therefore, reminds Christians of their need to long for and strive for the paradise that God intended for them. And, third, when speaking of his Second Coming at the end of history, Jesus said, “For just as lightning comes from the east and is seen as far as the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be” (Mt. 24:27). Thus, facing the east at prayer visibly expresses the hope for the coming of Jesus (cf. St. John Damascene, An Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, Book IV, Chapter 12). Holding fast to this ancient tradition of facing eastward at prayer, the 12th century builders of the first St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna oriented this church to be in line with sunrise on the feast of St. Stephen. ... In celebration of the ancient Coptic Rite of Egypt, a deacon exhorts the faithful with the words “Look towards the East!” His age-old exhortation, found also in Greek and Ethiopian liturgies, stands as a strong reminder of the spiritual direction of our prayer.  Thunø, Erik. The Apse Mosaic in Early Medieval Rome. Cambridge University Press. 2017: 130 [2022-02-18]. ISBN 9781107069909. （原始内容存档于2022-03-18） （英语）. In the West, the tradition is first witnessed by Augustine: 'When we stand at prayer, we turn to the east (ad orientem), whence the heaven rises.'  Charlton T. Lewis, Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary, ad. www.perseus.tufts.edu. [2022-02-18]. （原始内容存档于2022-02-18）.  Charlton T. Lewis, Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary: "orior. [2022-02-18]. （原始内容存档于2022-02-18）.