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Altar rail
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==Catholic Church== [[File:Compton, Surrey. Church of St. Nicholas DSC 2809.jpg|thumb|Altar rails at the Church of St. Nicholas in [[Compton, Waverley|Compton, Surrey]].]] Newly constructed Catholic churches rarely have altar rails, which were once common in parish churches, those of the late nineteenth century being particularly decorative. Communicants knelt at the railings to receive the [[Eucharist]] by a priest. After the [[Second Vatican Council]], many parishes removed their altar rails, and an unfounded idea arose that the council or the [[Holy See]] had ordered the change.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=pyoHDAAAQBAJ&dq=nichols+removalitis&pg=PA64 Aidan Nichols, ''Lost in Wonder: Essays on Liturgy and the Arts'' (Routledge 2016), p. 64]</ref> [[File:Altarrails.jpg|thumb|A set of altar rails in [[St. Teresa's Carmelite Church]], [[Dublin]]]] Some Catholics and many architects and planners criticised some removals, often on liturgical, historical and aesthetic grounds. While in some states, the Roman Catholic Church has adopted a minimalist approach towards the removal of altar rails; in other countries, for example in [[Ireland]], almost every re-ordering eliminated altar rails. Many Catholics resisted the changes: some took legal action to try to prevent the removal of altar rails and of other traditional features in pre-Vatican II sanctuaries.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2011/07/restored-and-renovated-st-joseph.html#.YiPGPe7P0nU|title=Restored and Renovated St. Joseph Cathedral, Sioux Falls, Opened}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2019/01/follow-up-on-recent-restoration-in.html#.YiPHk-7P0nU|title = Follow-Up on a Recent Restoration in Chattanooga, Tennessee}}</ref> Not all Catholics supported the changes to sanctuaries. Some disputed the belief that the altar rails were a barrier, claiming that many churches were able to allow full participation by the laity in the [[Mass of Paul VI|Ordinary form]] without removing altar rails. In recent times, a number of restorations of historic churches have re-introduced altar rails, since the idea that Vatican II required their removal is a misconception.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2011/07/restored-and-renovated-st-joseph.html#.YiPGPe7P0nU|title=Restored and Renovated St. Joseph Cathedral, Sioux Falls, Opened}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2019/01/follow-up-on-recent-restoration-in.html#.YiPHk-7P0nU|title = Follow-Up on a Recent Restoration in Chattanooga, Tennessee}}</ref> The ''[[General Instruction of the Roman Missal]]'' states explicitly that the sanctuary "should be appropriately marked off from the body of the church either by its being somewhat elevated or by a particular structure and ornamentation".<ref>[http://www.liturgyoffice.org.uk/Resources/GIRM/Documents/GIRM.pdf General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 295]</ref>
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