Editing Sanctuary lamp (section)

{{Short description|Float lamps used in churches or temples}}
[[file:Malta - Mosta - Rotunda in 57 ies.jpg|thumb|Chancel lamp in the [[Rotunda of Mosta|Sanctuary Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady]], Malta]]
A '''sanctuary lamp''', '''chancel lamp''', '''altar lamp''', '''everlasting light''', or '''eternal flame''' is a light that shines before the altar of sanctuaries in many [[Jewish]] and [[Christianity|Christian]] places of worship.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://xrysostom.blogspot.com/2006/01/sanctuary-lamps.html|title=Ask the Pastor: Sanctuary Lamps|publisher=xrysostom.blogspot.com}}</ref> Prescribed in [[Book of Exodus|Exodus]] 27:20-21 of the [[Torah]], this icon has taken on different meanings in each of the religions that have adopted it. The passage, which refers to prescriptions for the tabernacle, states:

{{cquote|And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always. In the tabernacle of the congregation without the veil, which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order it from evening to morning before the LORD: it shall be a statute for ever unto their generations on the behalf of the children of Israel. ([[KJV]])|}}