Sacred Directions

When you stand in front of the altar in an Anglican or Catholic church, you are almost certainly facing East. The graveyard is very unlikely to be at the north side and if your church is called St Michael's, it will very likely be situated on the North side of your town or city. Cardinal points play an important role in sacred architecture. Is this simply a matter of history and culture or is there something deeper going on? To discuss sacred direction, Ernie Rea is joined by Martin Palmer, Secretary General of the Alliance of Religions and Conservation; Jon Cannon, Architectural Historian and Author of Sacred Spaces; and Vikram Lall, award winning Indian architect, educator and author. Producer: Helen Lee.