Wikipedia's first sentence called it “red light which is hung or displayed in the churches of those christian faiths who believe in transubstantiatio”. Today it says “light that shines before the altar of sanctuaries in many jewish and christian places of worship”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
We saved snapshots of this article over twenty years; you are reading the 2005 one. Red dashes: removed from Wikipedia since.Pale dots: rewritten; the numbered note shows what it says now.Red text: written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot.1 tap a number or a side note to jump between them
The opening as it read in 2005
A sanctuary lamp is a red light which is hung or displayed in the Churches of those Christian faiths who believe in transubstantiation . It is placed, often in a gold or brass candelabrum in or near the vicinity of the altar , indicating that anyone approaching the altar should genuflect (i.e., bow by bending the knee and inclining the head), to show respect for Christ , who according to the theology behind substantiation, is present in the communion wafers in the Tabernacle . The belief that Christ is physically and not just symbolically present in the tabernacle is called the Real Presence . A sanctuary lamp in a Roman Catholic Church1
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 16100320.
The opening as it stood in 2010 4 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
A sanctuary lamp , altar lamp , or eternal flame is a light that shines before the altar of sanctuaries in many denominations of Jewish and Christian places of worship.Prescribed in Exodus 27:20-22 of the Hebrew Bible , this icon has taken on different meanings in each of the religions that have adopted it.The passage, which refers to prescriptions for the tabernacle, states: And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always.In the tabernacle of the congregation without the veil, which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order it from evening to morning before the LORD: it shall be a statute for ever unto their generations on the behalf of the children of Israel.( KJV ) Ask the Pastor: Sanctuary Lamps
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 364457403.
The opening as it stood in 2015
A sanctuary lamp , chancel lamp , altar lamp , everlasting light , or eternal flame is a light that shines before the altar of sanctuaries in many denominations of Jewish and Christian places of worship.Prescribed in Exodus 27:20-21 of the Torah , this icon has taken on different meanings in each of the religions that have adopted it. The passage, which refers to prescriptions for the tabernacle, states: And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always. In the tabernacle of the congregation without the veil, which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order it from evening to morning before the LORD: it shall be a statute for ever unto their generations on the behalf of the children of Israel. ( KJV ) Ask the Pastor: Sanctuary Lamps
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 664255654.
The opening as it stood in 2020 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
A sanctuary lamp , chancel lamp , altar lamp , everlasting light , or eternal flame is a light that shines before the altar of sanctuaries in many Jewish places of worship. Prescribed in Exodus 27:20-21 of the Torah , this icon has taken on different meanings in each of the religions that have adopted it. The passage, which refers to prescriptions for the tabernacle, states: And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always. In the tabernacle of the congregation without the veil, which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order it from evening to morning before the LORD: it shall be a statute for ever unto their generations on the behalf of the children of Israel.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 948511083.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
Float lamps used in churches or temples Chancel lamp in the Sanctuary Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady , Malta A sanctuary lamp , chancel lamp , altar lamp , everlasting light , or eternal flame is a light that shines before the altar of sanctuaries in many Jewish and Christian places of worship. Prescribed in Exodus 27:20-21 of the Torah , this icon has taken on different meanings in each of the religions that have adopted it. The passage, which refers to prescriptions for the tabernacle, states: And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always. In the tabernacle of the congregation without the veil, which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order it from evening to morning before the LORD: it shall be a statute for ever unto their generations on the behalf of the children of Israel.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1150034909. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “red light which is hung or displayed in the churches of those christian faiths who believe in transubstantiatio”. Today it says “light that shines before the altar of sanctuaries in many jewish and christian places of worship”. Read the current article and compare.
2005
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2005, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
red light which is hung or displayed in the churches of those christian faiths who believe in transubstantiatio
Now
light that shines before the altar of sanctuaries in many jewish and christian places of worship
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
