The Venerable Chapel

Originally, the altarThe altar is the central piece of furniture used in the Eucharist. Originally, an altar used to be a sacrificial table. This fits in with the theological view that Jesus sacrificed himself, through his death on the cross, to redeem mankind, as symbolically depicted in the painting “The Adoration of the Lamb” by the Van Eyck brothers. In modern times the altar is often described as “the table of the Lord”. Here the altar refers to the table at which Jesus and his disciples were seated at the institution of the Eucharist during the Last Supper. Just as Jesus and his disciples did then, the priest and the faithful gather around this table with bread and wine. of the Holy Sacrament in the south aisleLengthwise the nave [in exceptional cases also the transept] of the church is divided into aisles. An aisle is the space between two series of pillars or between a series of pillars and the outer wall. Each aisle is divided into bays. was decorated with a traditional Last Supper triptych (ca. 1589-1596). The triptych was painted by Ambrosius I Francken , a parishioner of St Andrew’s. Once the Venerable Chapel  had been completed, a fashionable portico altar was constructed. Instead of adapting the old retablePainted and/or carved back wall of an altar placed against a wall or pillar. Below the retable there is sometimes a predella., the triptych was sold to the chapel wardens of the Holy Sacrament in the nearby church of St George, who settled for this cheaper and less fashionable painting in keeping with their financial situation. The artwork was confiscated in 1794 and finally ended up in the stock of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp.

The newly finished Venerable Chapel was completed with a painting of the same subject by Pieter Ykens (1687). This painting was done on canvas, and measured to fit the new altar frame in its dimensions, form and composition. Oddly enough, the painting stresses the announcement of the betrayal, rather than the institution of the EucharistThis is the ritual that is the kernel of Mass, recalling what Jesus did the day before he died on the cross. On the evening of that day, Jesus celebrated the Jewish Passover with his disciples. After the meal, he took bread, broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat. This is my body.” Then he took the cup of wine, gave it to his disciples and said, “Drink from this. This is my blood.” Then Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance of me.” During the Eucharist, the priest repeats these words while breaking bread [in the form of a host] and holding up the chalice with wine. Through the connection between the broken bread and the “broken” Jesus on the cross, Jesus becomes tangibly present. At the same time, this event reminds us of the mission of every Christian: to be “broken bread” from which others can live.. Perhaps an allusion to the believer’s integrity, necessary to receive communionThe consumption of consecrated bread and wine. Usually this is limited to eating the consecrated host.?

Jesus and the disciples are gathered around the table. Jesus (far left) is conspicuously dressed in traditional red (originally imperial purple); therefore, and by exception, John (to Jesus’ left) is dressed in a blue tunic. The artist has painted John, with his head on Jesus’s shoulder, sitting up instead of lying close to the breast of Jesus, as stated in the Bible (Jn 13:23). When Jesus had dipped a morsel of bread in wine, he offered it to Judas with both hands, thus singling out his traitor: “It is he to whom I shall give this morsel when I have dipped it.” (Jn 13:26a) Seated in the middle of the foreground in front of Jesus, the traitor is depicted with a (full) red purse (Jn 13:29) and dressed in his characteristic yellow coat. He looks up in astonishment, and underlines his sanctimonious question with a gesture: “Is it I, Master?” (Matt 26:25) The disciples look on in silence; tensions are high. Three floating angels are holding the cross, as a sign of things to come and, at the same time, as a triumphal sign of faith. A beam sprouts from a golden triangle containing the Hebrew tetragram for God – not as a source of light, but as a sign of divine Providence.

The construction of the altar has been attributed to Lodewijk Willemssens (after 1679 – before 1687). Sitting on a throne in the altar crowning, God the FatherPriest who is a member of a religious order. holds a sceptre in his right hand while leaning on a globe. After all, Jesus’s love was ‘begotten of the Father’ (according to the Creed), and this inexhaustible love  is made tangible in the sign of broken bread, during the sacrament of the Eucharist. This Holy Sacrament is held up into the air by each of the figures seated at both ends of the altar crowning. The left figure triumphantly displays the consecrated host above the chaliceGilded metal cup, usually on a base, which the priest uses for the wine during the Eucharist., thus showing the sacrament as it is experienced during the Eucharist. The figure on the right shows us a large consecrated host as an object of veneration, held in a monstranceA decorated glass holder on a base, in which a consecrated host can be placed for worship. In general, there are two types of monstrances: the ray monstrance and the tower monstrance, with the name referring to the shape of the object. The tower monstrance is very similar to the reliquary, which was very popular before the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament became widespread.. From the CouncilA large meeting of ecclesiastical office holders, mainly bishops, presided by the pope, to make decisions concerning faith, church customs, etc. A council is usually named after the place where it was held. Examples: the Council of Trent [1645-1653] and the Second Vatican Council [1962-1965], which is also the last council for the time being. of Trent (1545-1563) up until the 1960’s, the Benediction of the Blessed SacramentThe consecrated host, in which the presence of Jesus Christ is acknowledged. A synonym is ‘the Venerable’. In larger churches a chapel is dedicated to it, usually on the south side of the church. was practiced on Sunday afternoons, and on the afternoons of other festive days.

Hidden behind the nineteenth-century tabernacleA small cupboard in the choir or in a specially designated chapel in which the consecrated hosts are kept., the predellaThe base of an altarpiece. Like the altarpiece, the predella may be painted or sculpted. area displays a scene set in marble, depicting the first miracle of ‘Feeding the Multitude’. In ‘Feeding the Five Thousand’, featuring five loaves of bread and two fish, a young man kneels before Jesus and offers him a plate with two fish. The sculptor has chosen to adhere to John’s gospelOne of the four books of the Bible that focus on Jesus’s actions and sayings, his death and resurrection. The four evangelists are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. ‘Gospel’ is the Old English translation of the Greek evangeleon, which literally means ‘Good News’. This term refers to the core message of these books. narrative (Jn 6:1-15), in which two disciples come forward. Jesus tests the first disciple, Philip, with the question: How are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat? (v. 5) The disciple Andrew, who has brought the young man to Jesus, is standing in the centre behind the seated Jesus. The grand gesture made by the church’s patron saintThis is a title that the Church bestows on a deceased person who has lived a particularly righteous and faithful life. In the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Church, saints may be venerated (not worshipped). Several saints are also martyrs. renders him even more conspicuous. This movement demonstrates either Andrew’s feelings of powerlessness – what are these (five barley loaves and two fish) for so many? (v. 9) – or Jesus’s order to distribute the loaves and fish (v. 11). Some of the disciples distribute the bread. The men who sat down (v. 11), among whom are mothers and children, take the bread and eat it. As this altar of the Holy Sacrament underlines the bread’s sacramental significance, the twelve baskets of leftovers that were collected afterwards  have not been depicted here.

Four semi-elevated white reliefs with small angels stand out against the black marble frame provided by the two column bases. Each of these angels personifies one of the three theological virtues, here connected  with the sacrament of the Eucharist.  Exceptionally, the angels’ biblical order is respected, thus denying Love its traditional place of honour. Two of the angels have been given butterfly wings instead of bird feathers.