Acts 7:33

Acts 7:33. Put off thy shoes from thy feet: for the place where thou standest is holy ground. It was, and is still, in the East a mark of reverence to take off the shoes or sandals in the presence of a superior. The manifestation of the Deity made the space round the bush holy ground. In our own time, the Mohammedans always enter their mosques barefoot. It was a maxim among the Pythagoreans, that those conducting sacrifice and worship should be without shoes or sandals on their feet. In the holy places on Mount Gerizim at the present time, the Samaritans minister and worship with bare feet. This spot was expressly called by the ‘Angel' holy ground; thus, other places besides the Temple on Mount Zion were holy to the Lord. Stephen indirectly argues from this, that although God had revealed Himself in a particular spot, it did not follow that that place remained as an everlasting sanctuary. Holiness, in fact, belonged to no exclusive earthly sanctuary. ‘Where is the house that ye build unto Me, and where is the place of My rest?' (Isaiah 66:1).

There was no Temple there, said St. Chrysostom; yet the place was holy, owing to the appearance and work of Christ.