apse, in architecture, a semicircular or polygonal termination to the choir, chancel, or aisle of a secular or ecclesiastical building. First used in pre-Christian Roman architecture, the apse often functioned as an enlarged niche to hold the statue of a deity in a temple.
Where in a church is the apse?
In architecture, an apse is a curved or rounded section at one end of a building. You’ll most often find an apse in a church. In Gothic, Romanesque, and Byzantine Christian churches, it’s very common to find a semicircular area with a vaulted ceiling, often topped by a dome, on the east side of the building.
What does a apse look like?
In the world of architecture, an apse is a semi-circle, like an upside down bowl, built into the ceiling over a pinnacle point. In pre-Christian times, it would be the highest point of the ceiling.
What is the difference between nave and apse?
Glossary. Aisle: A pair of walkways that are parallel to the primary public spaces in the church, e.g. nave, choir and transept. The aisles are separated from the public areas by pillars supporting the upper walls, called an arcade. Apse: The end of the building opposite the main entry.
Which structure had an apse?
The polygonal or semi-circular end of a church, usually roofed with a vaulted ceiling or a dome. In ancient Rome the basilica had an apse at both ends and this style became the norm in early Christian churches.
What is the purpose of the apse?
apse, in architecture, a semicircular or polygonal termination to the choir, chancel, or aisle of a secular or ecclesiastical building. First used in pre-Christian Roman architecture, the apse often functioned as an enlarged niche to hold the statue of a deity in a temple.
What does the apse meaning?
Definition. An apse is a semicircular recess, often covered with a hemispherical vault. Commonly, the apse of a church, cathedral or basilica is the semicircular or polygonal termination to the choir or sanctuary, or sometimes at the end of an aisle.
What part of a church is the nave?
The nave (/neɪv/) is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel.
What is an apse mosaic?
Apse mosaics are a form of visual communication employed by popes throughout the Middle Ages, from the sixth through to the thirteenth centuries. This essay examines the nature of this visual mode and the means by which viewers could understand it.
What is the space underneath a church called?
A crypt (from Latin crypta “vault”) is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics.
What is the stage at the front of a church called?
Overview. The chancel is generally the area used by the clergy and choir during worship, while the congregation is in the nave.
What is the main part of a church building called?
The nave is the main part of the church where the congregation (the people who come to worship) sit. The aisles are the sides of the church which may run along the side of the nave. The transept, if there is one, is an area which crosses the nave near the top of the church.
What is the tower on top of a church called?
A steeple is a tall pointed structure on top of the tower of a church.
Why is the apse in the east?
The Apostolic Constitutions, a work of Eastern Christianity written between 375 and 380 AD, gave it as a rule that churches should have the sanctuary (with apse and sacristies) at the east end, to enable Christians to pray eastward in church as in private or in small groups.
What is the tall part of a church called?
In architecture, a steeple is a tall tower on a building, topped by a spire and often incorporating a belfry and other components. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a religious structure.
Why is the nave important in a church?
The nave is the central corridor or room of a Christian church that leads to the transept and the chancel where the clergy would be.
What is a vestibule in a church?
A vestibule is a little area just inside the main door of a building, but before a second door. You often find vestibules in churches, because they help keep heat from escaping every time someone enters or exits.
What is the difference between a narthex and a vestibule?
A vestibule is a passage, hall, or room between the outer door and the interior of a building, whereas the narthex is a porch or lobby that connects the outside to the main worship area.
What separates the sanctuary from the nave?
25 Area that separates a nave from a sanctuary : TRANSEPT.
What is the ground around a church called?
A churchyard is a green space next to or surrounding a church. Churchyards are always on church grounds. The Church of England considers them ‘consecrated land’. This means a Christian priest has blessed the land. Any land where a church has been is usually consecrated land too, even if the church is no longer there.
What is the dome of a church called?
The word “cupola” is another word for “dome”, and is usually used for a small dome upon a roof or turret. “Cupola” has also been used to describe the inner side of a dome. The top of a dome is the “crown”. The inner side of a dome is called the “intrados” and the outer side is called the “extrados”.
Who is in the center of the mosaic of in the half dome of the apse?
This mosaic suggested the order provided by Christianity through the artistic tactics of symmetry and hierarchy. Jesus is at the center of the mosaic, flanked by his subordinates (the twelve apostles).
What is the entryway to a church called?
The narthex is an architectural element typical of early Christian and Byzantine basilicas and churches consisting of the entrance or lobby area, located at the west end of the nave, opposite the church’s main altar.
What are the four parts of the church?
The words one, holy, catholic and apostolic are often called the four marks of the Church.
What are the three parts of the church?
the Church Triumphant, which consists of those who have the beatific vision and are in Heaven. These divisions are known as the “three states of the Church,” especially within Catholic ecclesiology.
What is the difference between an altar and a stage?
A stage is owned and manned by man; an altar is owned and supervised by a particular deity to whom it is erected and dedicated.
What is the top of an altar called?
A canopy placed over an altar is called a ciborium (a word of which “civory” is a variant form) or baldachin.
What is a nave insult?
Knave, rascal, rogue, scoundrel are disparaging terms applied to persons considered base, dishonest, or worthless. Knave, which formerly meant merely a boy or servant, in modern use emphasizes baseness of nature and intention: a dishonest and swindling knave.
What is another name for Tabernacle?
In this page you can discover 20 synonyms, antonyms, idiomatic expressions, and related words for tabernacle, like: house of God, sanctuary, altar, temple, mercy-seat, recess, shrine, tent, church, synagogue and new jerusalem.
What is a prayer room called?
A multifaith space or multifaith prayer room is a quiet location set aside in a busy public place (hospital, university, airport, etc.) where people of differing religious beliefs, or none at all, are able to spend time in contemplation or prayer.
What is the pointy part of a church roof called?
A pointed cone shape on top of a building is called a spire, especially when it rises from the roof of a church. The part of a church roof that rises above a city skyline or a village’s rolling hills, pointing sharply up toward the sky, is its spire.
What is a Catholic prayer room called?
This place of our prayer is sometimes called an “oratory.” The word “oratory” comes from the Latin word “orare,” meaning, “to pray” and is most commonly used to refer to a small chapel.
What do Catholics call a sanctuary?
In many Western Christian traditions including Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, and Anglican churches, the area around the altar is called the sanctuary; it is also considered holy because of the belief in the physical presence of God in the Eucharist, both during the Mass and in the church tabernacle at other times.
What does a apse look like?
In the world of architecture, an apse is a semi-circle, like an upside down bowl, built into the ceiling over a pinnacle point. In pre-Christian times, it would be the highest point of the ceiling.
Why are church doors red?
For many churches, the color red symbolized the “blood of Christ” or has an inference to “Passover”. For others, it represented a color that denoted a place of sanctuary that offered physical safety and spiritual refuge from outside evils.
What is the priest seat called?
cathedra, (Latin: “chair,” or “seat”), Roman chair of heavy structure derived from the klismos—a lighter, more delicate chair developed by the ancient Greeks. The cathedra was used in the early Christian basilica as a raised bishop’s throne placed near the wall of the apse, behind the altar.
Why is a pew called a pew?
late 14c., peue, “raised, bench-like seat for certain worshipers” (ladies, important men, etc.), frequently enclosed, from Old French puie, puy “balcony, elevated place or seat; elevation, hill, mound,” from Latin podia, plural of podium “elevated place,” also “front balcony in a Roman theater” (where distinguished …
What is the difference between nave and apse?
Glossary. Aisle: A pair of walkways that are parallel to the primary public spaces in the church, e.g. nave, choir and transept. The aisles are separated from the public areas by pillars supporting the upper walls, called an arcade. Apse: The end of the building opposite the main entry.
What is the middle aisle in a church called?
The nave (/neɪv/) is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel.