Burial towards the West

Mr. Hawker has stated very confidently that "It was the ancient usage of the Church that the martyr, the bishop, the saint, and even the priest, should occupy in their sepulture a position the reverse of the secular dead, and lie down with their feet westward and their heads to the rising sun." It is true that a custom has existed in many places for nearly two centuries and a half to assign to the clergy a method of interment distinct from that adopted for the laity; and the observance of this usage is not limited to Romanists, for its continuance may be noted among members of the Church of Ir…