Ad orientem, meaning 'to the east' in Ecclesiastical Latin, is a phrase used to describe the eastward orientation of Christian prayer and Christian worship, comprising the preposition ad and oriens, p
A 15th-century bishop celebrates Mass ad orientem, facing in the same direction as the people
Tridentine Mass, celebrated regularly ad orientem
A Christian cross hanging on the eastern wall of a modern house, indicating the eastward direction towards which prayer is focused
Eastern Orthodox Christian pilgrims making prostrations at Golgotha in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem
The qibla is the direction towards the Kaaba in the Sacred Mosque in Mecca, which is used by Muslims in various religious contexts, particularly the direction of prayer for the salah. According to Isl
Ad orientem
…prayer towards the east, and Christian prayer towards Jerusalem. The Islamic practice of praying initially towards Jerusalem, as well as the concept of praying in a certain direction, is derived from the Jewish practice, which was ubiquitous among the Jewish communities of Syria, Palestine, Yathrib and Yemen. Additionally, the…
Muslims surrounding and facing the Kaaba for prayer
The Mihrab in one of the walls of a mosque indicates the qibla direction to be used for prayers. Picture from the Shah-i-Zinda, Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
A portion of the qibla table compiled by astronomer and muwaqqit Shams al-Din al-Khalili of Damascus in the 14th century. The qibla directions are listed in the Arabic sexagesimal notation.
The Islamic Center of Washington (founded 1953), one of the early mosques in the United States. Its qibla faces the northeast in line with astronomical calculations.