Dr. Peter Kwasniewski is a Catholic author, lecturer, and longtime advocate for traditional liturgy. His new booklet, Ad Orientem: The Direction that Changes Everything, published by TAN Books, examines why the direction of worship — toward the East, symbolizing Christ — has shaped Catholic prayer since the age of the apostles.

Highlights from the conversation:

What ad orientem means: Priest and people facing the same direction — historically East — during the Eucharistic liturgy, a practice St. Basil the Great described as received from the apostles
Debunking the "banquet table" theory: Kwasniewski explains why the idea that early Christians worshiped facing one another around a table doesn't hold up to scholarship from historians such as Fr. Josef Jungmann, Fr. Louis Bouyer, Fr. Uwe Michael Lang, and Msgr. Stefan Heid
The exception of St. Peter's Basilica: Built facing west due to the location of Peter's tomb, requiring the pope to stand at the west end of the altar while still facing liturgical East
Can the Novus Ordo be celebrated ad orientem? Yes — Kwasniewski points to the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM), which presumes the priest turns toward the people only at specific points, implying an eastward-facing default
The spiritual stakes: Why facing the same direction as the congregation helps the priest avoid becoming the center of attention, and how it re-orients worship toward God rather than the assembly

Order the booklet or learn more: tanbooks.com

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Episode Contributors Bo Bonner, Dr. Peter Kwasniewski

Search Keywords Ad Orientem, Peter Kwasniewski, ad orientem Mass, TAN Books, priest facing east Mass, Novus Ordo ad orientem, General Instruction Roman Missal, Catholic liturgy podcast, traditional Latin Mass, versus populum

Credits: Produced, Edited, and Mixed by Ayden Pugh, Alexia Baker, and Brady Grimm.

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