Editing Sanctuary lamp (section)

==In Christian tradition==
{{main article|Altar lamp}}
{{multiple image
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| image1 = Sanctuarylamp.jpg
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| image2 = Our Savior Lutheran Church Baltimore Easter Altar.jpg
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| footer = Sanctuary lamps depicted in a [[Roman Catholic]] church (top image) and [[Lutheran]] church (bottom image)}}
Some Christian churches have at least one lamp continually burning before the [[Church tabernacle|tabernacle]], not only as an ornament, but for the purpose of worship. The [[General Instruction of the Roman Missal|General Instruction]] of the [[Roman Missal]] of the [[Catholic Church]], for instance, states (in 316): “In accordance with traditional custom, near the tabernacle a special lamp, fueled by oil or wax, should be kept alight to indicate and honor the presence of Christ.” The sanctuary lamp, also called a chancel lamp, is placed before the [[church tabernacle|tabernacle]] or [[aumbry]] in [[Roman Catholic]] and [[Old Catholic]] churches as a sign that the [[Blessed Sacrament]] is [[Reserved sacrament|reserved]] or stored.<ref name="Hickman2011"/> It is also found in the [[chancel]] of [[Lutheran]] churches to indicate the presence of Christ in the sanctuary, as well as a belief in the [[Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist]]; in Lutheran churches with a tabernacle or aumbry, it further indicates that the Eucharist is reserved.<ref>{{cite book |title=The American Lutheran, Volumes 9-10 |year=1926 |publisher=American Lutheran Publicity Bureau |language=en |page=95|quote=Occasionally there is a sanctuary lamp over the altar, its pulsating red light symbolizing a belief in the Real Presence, and not necessarily indicating the reserved host, as is properly supposed.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Tabernacle |url=https://flcpittsburgh.org/about/art-and-architecture/tabernacle/ |publisher=First English Evangelical Lutheran Church |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230312154411/https://flcpittsburgh.org/about/art-and-architecture/tabernacle/|archivedate=12 March 2023|access-date=23 February 2025 |language=English |date=7 October 2011}}</ref> Depending on the [[churchmanship]] of the congregation, [[Anglican]] churches may have a chancel lamp to indicate the presence of Christ in the church or in churches that practice it, it may indicate that the Eucharist has been reserved in a tabernacle or aumbry. When used in [[Methodist]] churches, it indicates the presence of Jesus in the church.<ref name="Hickman2011">{{cite book |last=Hickman |first=Hoyt L. |title=United Methodist Altars: A Guide for the Congregation |date=1 July 2011 |publisher=Abingdon Press |language=en |isbn=9781426730696 |quote=Sanctuary lamp: A candle suspended from the ceiling or mounted on the wall near the Lord's table and constantly burning throughout the week, also referred to as an "eternal light." In Roman Catholic usage it signifies the presence of Christ in the reserved sacrament; in Protestant usage it signifies Christ's presence in the church.|edition=Revised }}</ref> The sanctuary lamp may also be found in [[Eastern Orthodox Churches]]. Other [[Christian denominations]] burn the lamp to show that the light of [[Christ]] always burns in a sin-darkened world. A main influence from [[Judaism]] in the [[Old Testament]] is when God instructed [[Moses]] to have a lamp with pure oil perpetually burn in the Tabernacle (Exodus 27:20-21). This is the precedent for the Catholic custom of burning a candle before the tabernacle, which should be immobile and locked to prevent theft and [[Host desecration]], as well as whenever transporting the Sacrament anywhere.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://taylormarshall.com/2010/11/meaning-of-tabernacle-lamp-in-catholic.html |title=Meaning of the Tabernacle Lamp in Catholic Churches |publisher=Taylor Marshall|date=2010-11-17 }}</ref>

Such sanctuary or tabernacle lamps are most often coloured red, though this is not prescribed. This serves to distinguish this light from various other [[votive candle|votive lights]] within the church. In the Catholic Church, red is widely used despite the preference for white expressed by [[Adrian Fortescue (priest)|Fortescue]].<ref>{{cite journal|journal=The Ecclesiastical Review|volume=62|series=7|issue=3|date=March 1920|title=Studies and conferences:What is a rubrical altar?|pages=289|author=Amator Liturgae|quote=There is, as he also notes, no authority whatever for the glass of the sanctuary lamp being other than white|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NHkoAAAAYAAJ&dq=fortescue+sanctuary+lamp&pg=PA288|access-date=2011-12-27}}</ref> The custom of multiple lights in odd numbers (i.e., three, five, seven, or more) in place of a single lamp has become rarer, though it is still seen in some older Catholic churches and in Eastern Christianity. The lamp may hang by rope or chain over the tabernacle or near the entry of the sanctuary, or affixed to a wall; it may also be on a ledge or the [[Gradine|altar gradine]] right beside the tabernacle, or on its own nearby stand placed on the floor, as seen in the image of [[Saint Martin's Church (Kortrijk)|St. Martin's Church, Kortrijk]], Belgium, in the article [[Church tabernacle]]. Oil lamps or candles may be used, while electric ones are seen.