Sanctuary

(sangk'tu-a-re.) [From L. sanctuarium.] In its general sense, any place of refuge which affords a sacred asylum. Strictly speaking, among the anc. Jews, the S. (otherwise styled Sanctum Sanctorum, or " Holy of Holies,") was the most retired part of the temple at Jerusalem in which was kept the Ark of the Covenant, and into which no person was permitted to enter save the high-priest, and he only once a year, to make interce ion for the people. In the Roman Catholic Church, the S. referred to the bema,or that inner part of the church which immediately surrounded the altar. Later, certain churches and shrines, to which criminals might flee for shelter, were known by this name. The latter were originally intended to preserve the refugees from summary and revengeful punishment, and the like. In the course of time, however, the right of S., as it was called, led to so many flagrant abuses of the law, that it became abrogated. [s. 793]