Corner-Stone
corner-stone
A stone placed in a prominent corner of the foundation of a church, or other building, laid at a ceremony which marks the beginning of the erection of the superstructure. It is inscribed with the date, and has a cavity to receive coins and other mementoes of the time and circumstances. The corner-stone of an ecclesiastical building symbolizes Christ, who is the Corner-stone of faith and Foundation of the Church. It also symbolizes Saint Peter, the first vicar of Christ, to whom Christ said: “Thou art Peter [Greek: petra, rock]; and upon this rock I will build my Church” (Matthew 16).
Fuente: New Catholic Dictionary
Corner Stone
(Foundation Stone)
A rite entitled “De benedictione et impositione Primarii Lapidis pro ecclesia aedificanda” (Of the blessing and laying of the Foundation Stone for the building of a church) is provided in the Roman Pontifical. As it appears in the same form in the “Giunta Pontificale” of 1520, it is probably at least as old as the time of Patricius Piccolomini (fifteenth century), and it may in substance go back two centuries farther to the time of Durandus of Mende (see Catalani, “Pont. Rom.”, II, 31). The rite itself is simple enough. Before the work of building a church is set about the rubric directs that adequate provision should be made for its maintenance, also the foundations are to be marked out subject to the approval of the bishop or his delegate, and a wooden cross set up to indicate the place where the altar is to stand. In the function which ensues the bishop first blesses holy water with the ordinary forms, then sprinkles the place where the cross stands and afterwards the foundation stone. Upon the stone itself he is directed to engrave crosses on each side with a knife, and then he pronounces the following prayer: “Bless, O Lord, this creature of stone [creaturam istam lapidis] and grant by the invocation of Thy holy name that all who with a pure mind shall lend aid to the building of this church may obtain soundness of body and the healing of their souls. Through Christ Our Lord, Amen.” After the Litany of the Saints, followed by an appropriate antiphon and Psalm cxxvi, “Unless the Lord build the house” etc., the stone is lowered into its place with another prayer and again sprinkled with holy water. More antiphons and psalms follow, while the bishop once more visits and sprinkles the other foundations, dividing them into three sections and ending each little tour with a special prayer. Finally the “Veni Creator Spiritus” is sung, and two short prayers. Then the bishop, if he deems it opportune, sits down and exhorts the people to contribute to the fabric, after which he dismisses them with his blessing and the proclamation of an indulgence.
In the Middle Ages this or some analogous rite was not unknown, but the number of Pontificals which contain anything of the sort is comparatively small (Martene, for example, in his “De ritibus” gives no specimen of the forms used in any such function.) One of the few that provide such a rite is Archbishop Chichele’s Pontifical, representing, no doubt, the use of Sarum in the early fifteenth century. The function in its details differs considerably from that just described. The only feature that is quite identical is the prayer above quoted, “Benedic, Domine, creaturam istam lapidis,” for blessing the stone, but it is supplemented in the English rite by another and much longer prayer, containing many Scriptural allusions, among the rest, one to the “stone rejected by the builders.” Moreover, in England the stone is anointed with chrism while a prayer is said which has reference to this ceremony. Of all this there is no trace in the Roman type of service.
It is not easy to assign a date to the beginning of this practice of blessing the foundation stone. An interesting fragment of evidence is, however, furnished by what is apparently the inscribed foundation stone of the first church of St. Mark at Venice. (See the paper of F. Douce in “Archaeologia,” xxvi, 217 sq.) As it is roughly circular in form, between six and seven inches in diameter, and only half an inch thick, we have probably to do with a tablet let into the foundation stone proper. It bears a rudely scratched head (of St. Mark?) and the inscription in ninth-century characters: ECCL. S. MARCI PRIMAM PETRAM POSVIT DUX IO. PARTICI [aco]; the rest is broken off. The Doge, John Particiaco, dedicated the first Church of St. Mark in A.D. 828. Of course this inscription does not make reference to any religious ceremony, but, as forms for the dedication of a church were employed much before this date, it seems unlikely that such a function should not have been accompanied by at least some simple form of ecclesiastical blessing. Moreover, the English liturgist Beletbus in the twelfth century was evidently familiar with a rite of this kind. “When the foundations have been dug,” he says, “it is necessary that the bishop sprinkle the place with holy water and that he himself, or some priest at his bidding, should lay the first stone of the foundation, which ought to have a cross engraved upon it. And it is absolutely necessary that the church should be built towards the east” (Belethus, ii; P.L., CCII, 10). Similar language is used by Sicardus (P.L., CCXIII, 17 and 20) and Durandus (Rationale, II, 7) less than a century later.
A question arises connected with the practice (1) of laying money upon the stone as a contribution to the fabric of the church and (2) of enclosing coins within or beneath it as evidence of the date. The former custom might not improbably be traced to the terms of the prayer quoted above, which, in blessing the foundation stone, in particular invokes special favours upon all “who with pure mind lend their aid to the building of this church.” It is curious, however, that in the one detailed description which we possess of a pagan ceremony of the same sort, viz., that which preceded the restoration of the Roman Temple of Jupiter upon the Capitol in the time of Vespasian (Tacitus, ” Hist.,” IV, 53), we find not only that the foundations were washed with lustral water, but that attention was especially centred upon the great stone (ingens saxum) which was dragged into its place by magistrates and people together. Moreover, gold and silver in an unwrought and virgin state were scattered upon the foundations. Stranger still, a similar ceremony seems to have prevailed in ancient Assyria, where an inscription of Nabopolassar (604 B.C.) describes how that monarch, in building a temple to Merodach, cast gold and silver upon the foundations (Schrader, “Keilinschriftliche Bibliothek,” III, ii, 5). Further, the ceremonial rite of laying a foundation stone seems to reach back to the time of Sargon, c. 3800 B.C. (ibid., pp. 85-93). The custom of placing coins in or under the foundation stone, now very general, needs further elucidation. The earliest definite instance at the moment discoverable is an entry in an account-book at Bruges, which records that, when the palace of the magistrates of the Franc was rebuilt in 1519, an angel (coin) was laid out to be placed under the foundation stone (W.H.J. Weale in “Notes and Queries,” 27 Aug., 1870, p. 184). It is just conceivable that this burial of gold and silver may represent a more primitive form of sacrifice in which a human victim was immolated and buried under the masonry; but the evidence of any widespread custom of this barbarous kind is by no means so conclusive as is maintained by such writers as Tylor (Primitive Culture, 1903, I, p. 104 sq.) and Trumbull (The Threshold Covenant, pp. 45-57).
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For the ecclesiastical function see CATALANI, Commentary on the Pontificale Romanum, II (Rome, 1739), 1-32; SAUER, Symbolik (Ratisbon, 1902), 114 sq. Cf. also DOUCE in Archoelogia, XXVI (London, 1836), 217 sq.; TRUMBULL, The Threshold Covenant (Edinburgh, 1896), 45-57.
HERBERT THURSTON Transcribed by John Fobian In memory of Helen L. Johnson
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XIVCopyright © 1912 by Robert Appleton CompanyOnline Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. KnightNihil Obstat, July 1, 1912. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., CensorImprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York
Fuente: Catholic Encyclopedia
Corner-stone
is the first stone of a church, properly laid on the north-east side, as determined by the orientation of the sun on the day of the feast, or patron saint. At Beaulieu only one stone was found on the ground, and it was in this position; that of Avranches, the solitary relic of a cathedral, is still pointed out. In modern churches then most prominent or convenient corner is selected, and the corner-stone is a square block of suitable size, laid at the angle of the topmost course of the foundation. It is customary to hollow it out in a box-like manner, and to deposit within it memorial papers, etc.
Fuente: Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
Corner-Stone
CORNER-STONE ( , ).The quotation from Psa 118:22 occurs at the close of the parable of the Wicked Vinedressers (Mat 21:42, Mar 12:10, Luk 20:17). A question was asked about the punishment of such unfaithful servants and the transferring of the vineyard to the charge of others; and the quotation afforded Scripture proof that the necessity for such a transference, however surprising to those rejected, may actually arise in Gods administration of His kingdom.
1. Literal meaning of corner-stone.The term stone of the corner is applied in Palestine net only to the stones at the extreme corners of a building, but to the stone inserted in any part of the outer wall to form the beginning of an interior room-wall at right angles to it. It applies especially, however, to the stone that is , belonging to an extreme corner of the building. In the construction of a large edifice, the foundations are generally laid and brought up to the surface of the ground, and are then left for several months exposed to the rain, so that the surrounding earth may settle down as close as possible to the wall. When the first row of stones above the ground line is to be laid, the masons place a long, well-squared block of stone at the corner to be a sure rest for the terminus of the two walls. It is the most important corner-stone (Eph 2:20).
2. Selection and treatment of the corner-stone.It is always carefully chosen, and is specially treated in view of the service expected of it. (a) It must he sound, in the case of sandstone being free from weakening cavities, and in the case of limestone being without any white streaks of spar that under pressure and strain might lead to cleavage.(b) It must be carefully dressed so as to be quite a rectangular block, whereas the ordinary stones usually slope away at the back, and the empty spaces are filled in with stone chips and plaster. It is expected to be in close and solid contact with whatever is under it and above it.(c) In preparing a place for it, the mason gives it a more liberal allowance of mortar so as to increase the power of adhesion. These qualifications are summarized in Isa 28:16. Thus the corner-stone is expected to be strong and sound in itself, and able to control the tier that belongs to it, and check any tendency to bulge either outwards or inwards.
The thought of Mat 21:44 and Luk 20:18 passes beyond the idea of a corner-stone, which is required to remain in its place, and neither falls on any one nor is fallen upon. The transition is so abrupt that some have been inclined to attach importance to the fact that the addition is omitted in Mar 12:1-12, and that certain ancient authorities (e.g. D [Note: Deuteronomist.] 33) omit it even in St. Matthew. It is a similar conception that appears in 1Co 1:23; 1Pe 2:6-7, namely, that of a stumbling-block on the public highway. The way of life was a familiar religious term, the Way being a descriptive epithet which Christ applied to Himself (Joh 14:6), and one of the first designations of the Christian Church (Act 9:2). The same situation of conflict is presented in Isa 8:14, where the fear of the Lord would be to some a sanctuary, a place of safety and rest by the way, but to others a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence. Those who marked out to their own liking the moral highway of the nation had obscured the truth that Israel existed for God, not God for Israel, and left no space for the sufferings of Christ. It was an error of blindness like that of the house-builders concerning the rejected corner-stone. They should have made allowance for the immovable object of bed-rock truth that had the right of priority. In the Syrian town of Beyront one of the carriage roads has at one point a third of its width occupied by an ancient saint-shrine, with its small rough room and dome. It is a useless and inconvenient obstacle to the traffic, but any petition to have it removed would be frowned down as an act of irreverence and infidelity. The shrine was there before the road.
3. Oriental respect for the builders.In connexion with the rejection of a particular stone, it has to he remembered that the ancients had no explosive by means of which to lighten their labours. The work had to be done by hammer, chisel, and saw, though they knew how to insert wooden wedges in prepared sockets in the line of desired cleavage, and make them expand by soaking with water. They would naturally pass by a stone that required a great deal of work and yielded only ordinary results. They carried this principle to the length of often taking prepared stones from one building for the erection of another at a considerable distance, as when the carved stones of the Ephesian temple of Diana were taken to build the church of St. Sofia in Constantinople, and the ruined edifices of Roman Caesarea supplied the material for the city wall of Acre. It would, however, sometimes happen that a stone discarded by certain builders would be recognized by a wiser master as that which he needed for an important place in his building, and this gave rise to the proverbial saying quoted in Psa 118:22, which is familiarly repeated and applied to-day in Syria.
The epigrammatic value of the saying is enhanced by the fact that in the East the master-knowledge of the different trades has always been carefully guarded, and a sharp distinction is drawn between the man who thinks and plans and the man who by his elementary manual labour merely carries out the orders of another. In the art of building, a familiar proverb says, One stroke from the master, even though it be behind his back, is better than the hammering of a thousand others. In explanation of this the story is told of a Lebanon prince who engaged a master-mason to build a large bridge of one arch over the river Adnis, and agreed to defray all costs and give the master a certain sum when the work was done. When the bridge was constructed, and nothing remained but to remove the scaffolding, the master claimed his remuneration; and as the prince argued for a reduction of the sum, the master declined to remove the scaffolding. Other men were engaged to do this, but they found it to be such a complicated and dangerous task that they abandoned it, and the original builder had to be called in on his own terms. He stepped forward, and, standing with his back to the network of supporting beams, gave a single tap with his hammer to a particular wedge. Its removal liberated the supports, and as he hurriedly sprang back, the scaffolding collapsed, and left the empty arch of the completed bridge. He alone knew how to do it. Similar proverbs are current with regard to the baker, tailor, carpenter, blacksmith, teacher, doctor, and almost every form of technical industry and specialized profession. The master in his trade occupies a position of respect similar to that of the father in the family and the sheikh in the tribe. In no department is this submission more thoroughgoing than in the deference shown to the Rabbis and priests as the trained masters of religious observance and ecclesiastical duty. In consequence of this the people of the country find a keen though guarded enjoyment in any situation that seems to discredit the wisdom of the wise.
4. Figurative applications of the corner-stone.In Jdg 20:2 and 1Sa 14:38 the word pinnth (corner-stones) is translated the chiefs of the people, as being those whose opinions and actions gave stability and direction to others. In Isa 19:13 it is stated that the error of Egypt was through her trust in the princes of Zoan and Noph, who were I the corner-stones of her tribes. In the East, the mason in laying a row of stones begins with the corner-stone, and some twelve feet farther down, or at the other terminus of the wall, if it be short, another stone of the same height is laid with lime, and then the masons measuring-line is stretched tightly over the outer top-corner of each. This gives the line of frontage and elevation to all the stones that fill in the space between them. Zoan and Noph, the corner-stones, being themselves in a false position, affected all between that took measure from them. In Zep 1:16; Zep 3:6 the same word is translated towers, as the corners of the wall were especially fortified; and in 2Ch 26:15 bulwarks ( Revised Version NT 1881, OT 1885 in all three passages battlements). In Job 38:6 the act of laying the foundation corner-stone of a house is made to describe that of the creation of the world. In Jer 51:26 the inability of Babylon to furnish any more a corner-stone is made to figure its perpetual desolation. In Zec 10:4, in the prophecy of the pre-eminence of Judah, the corner-stone is a conspicuous emblem, along with the tent-peg and the bow, as signifying that that tribe was to excel in the peaceful industries of the city and the field, and in the art of war.
Such were the meanings of the rejected corner-stone that in their Messianic application were hidden from those who crucified the Lord of glory (1Co 2:8), but were revealed to the Gentiles, the other husbandmen, when the word of acceptance and service came to them (Eph 2:19-22).
It is a tragical error to suppose that the message of the rejected corner-stone was exhausted in the forfeiture and fate of Israel. The city of God is still being built, and blindness with regard to the corner-stone, the mystical presence and the missionary command of Christ, may again expose the builders to scorn, and necessitate another transference of the service.
Literature.Hasting’s Dictionary of the Bible , art. Corner-stone; Expositor, 5th ser. ix. [1899] p. 35 ff.; Expos. Times, vii. 372, xiv. 384; Jonathan Edwards, Works [1840], ii. p. 61 ff.; Maclaren, Sermons Preached in Manchester, 1st ser. p. 1 ff.
G. M. Mackie.
Fuente: A Dictionary Of Christ And The Gospels
Corner-Stone
korner ston (, pinnah, , zawth; , akrogoniaos): Part of the public or imposing buildings, to which importance has been attached in all ages and in many nations, both on account of its actual service and its figurative meaning. Ordinarily its use in the Bible is figurative, or symbolical. No doubt the original meaning was some important stone, which was laid at the foundation of a building.
(1) With the Canaanites, who preceded Israel in the possession of Palestine, corner-stone laying seems to have been a most sacred and impressive ceremonial. Under this important stone of temples, or other great structures, bodies of children or older persons would be laid, consecrating the building by such human sacrifice (see FORTIFICATION, II, 1). This was one of many hideous rites and practices which Israel was to extirpate. It may throw light on the curse pronounced upon the rebuilding of Jericho (Jos 6:26; see PEFS, January, 1904, July, 1908). See CANAAN.
(2) Old Testament references. – The Hebrew word pinnah, corner, is found or implied in every occurrence of this idea. Derived from a root signifying to turn, it means turning, and therefore edge or corner. Ordinarily it is used with ‘ebhen, stone (Psa 118:22); or it may occur alone, having acquired for itself through frequent use the whole technical phrase-idea (Zec 10:4 the King James Version).
Figurative Uses
While all the passages indicate the stone at the corner, there appear to be two conceptions: (a) The foundation-stone upon which the structure rested (Job 38:6; Isa 28:16; Jer 51:26); or (b) The topmost or cap-stone, which linked the last tier together (Psa 118:22; Zec 4:7); in both cases it is an important or key-stone, and figurative of the Messiah, who is the First and the Last. In Job 38:6 it beautifully expresses in figures the stability of the earth, which Yahweh created. In Zec 10:4 the leader or ruler in the Messianic age is represented by the corner-stone. The ancient tradition of the one missing stone, when the temple was in building, is reflected in or has been suggested by Psa 118:22 (Midrash quoted by Pusey under Zec 4:7). It is probable that we should read in Psa 144:12 not corner-stones, but corner-pillars, or supports (compare Greek Caryatides) from a different Hebrew word, zawth, Brown, Driver, and Briggs, Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, under the word
(3) New Testament passages. – Psa 118:22 is quoted and interpreted as fulfilled in Jesus Christ in a number of passages: Mat 21:42; Mar 12:10; Luk 20:17; Act 4:11 and 1Pe 2:7; it is also the evident basis for Eph 2:20. Isa 28:16 is quoted twice in the New Testament: Rom 9:33, from Septuagint combined with the words of Isa 8:14, and in 1Pe 2:6, which is quoted with some variation from Septuagint. The Old Testament passages were understood by the rabbis to be Messianic, and were properly so applied by the New Testament writers. See also HOUSE.
Fuente: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Corner-stone
The symbolic title of ‘chief corner stone’ is applied to Christ in Eph 2:20, and 1Pe 2:8; 1Pe 2:16, which last passage is a quotation from Isa 28:16. There seems no valid reason for distinguishing this from the stone called ‘the head of the corner’ (Mat 21:42), although some contend that the latter is the top-stone or coping. The ‘corner-stone’ was a large and massive stone so formed as, when placed at a corner, to bind together two outer walls of an edifice. This properly makes no part of the foundation, from which it is distinguished in Jer 51:26; though, as the edifice rests thereon, it may be so called. Sometimes it denotes those massive slabs which, being placed towards the bottom of any wall, serve to bind the work together, as in Isa 28:16. Of these there were often two layers, without cement or mortar. This explanation will sufficiently indicate the sense in which the title of ‘chief corner-stone’ is applied to Christ.
Fuente: Popular Cyclopedia Biblical Literature
Corner Stone
One of the designations of Christ. In Isa 28:16, the Lord God lays in Zion “for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.” This is quoted in 1Pe 2:6. In 1Co 3:11 we are told “other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ;” and in Eph 2:20 we read “Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone.” Thus the Lord Jesus is the chief corner stone that binds all together, and is the foundation upon which all rests. In addition to this, as the stone which the Jewish builders rejected, Christ has become the head stone of the corner. As well as being the foundation He must have the highest place. “This is Jehovah’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes.” Psa 118:22-23; Zec 4:7; Mat 21:42; 1Pe 2:7.
Fuente: Concise Bible Dictionary
Corner-Stone
Corner-Stone. A quoin or cornerstone, of great importance in binding together the sides of a building. The phrase “corner-stone” is sometimes used to denote any principal person, as the princes of Egypt, Isa 19:13, and is thus, applied to our Lord. Isa 28:16; Mat 21:42; 1Pe 2:6-7.