Sanctuary
among the ancient Jews the innermost chamber of the tabernacle-afterward of the temple, in which was kept the ark of the Covenant, and was never entered, except by the high priest once a year. It was also called the Holy of Holies, Sanctum Sanctorum.
In the Christian Church, the bema, or inner portion of the ch church, imme ately round the altar, was called the sanctuary. From the sacred character of the churches, and from the rising power of the clergy, they came to be resorted to as asylums by fugitives from the hands of justice, and afterward certain churches were set apart specially for that purpose, and were termed "sanctuaries." The abuses to which this system gave rise, as tending entirely to defeat the ends of justice, led to its abolition in all the Christian countries.