Bible Encyclopedias
Altarium

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

a word sometimes used to designate not merely an altar, but the space within which the altar stood. The plural is also used in a similar sense by St. Ambrose and in the Theodosian Code. The same extended sense is found in some modern languages, e.g. in Portuguese "altar mor" (great or high altar) is used in the sense of choir or chancel.