The term reredos is sometimes confused with the term retable. While a reredos generally forms or covers the wall behind an altar, a retable is placed either on the altar or immediately behind and attached to the altar. "Many altars have both a reredos and a retable." But this distinction may not always be observed.
In smaller churches, where the altar is backed by the outside east wall and there is no distinct choir, the chancel and sanctuary may be the same area. In churches with a retroquire area behind the altar, this may only be included in the broader definition of chancel.
Reredos: Behind the altar may be a reredos screen. It can be a curtain, a picture or carvings in stone or wood. Sometimes it has niches containing figures of saints.
In most older churches, a sacristy is near a side altar, or more usually behind or on a side of the main altar. In newer churches the sacristy is often in another location, such as near the entrances to the church.
The component parts of a fixed altar in the liturgical sense are the table (mensa), the support (stipes) and the sepulchrum. (See ALTAR-CAVITY.) The table must be a single slab of stone firmly joined by cement to the support, so that the table and support together make one piece.
In Lutheran and many Anglican churches, a pulpit is found on the Gospel side (the side left of the altar) from which the pastor reads the Gospel and preaches the sermon; a lectern is found on the Epistle side (the side right of the altar) from which readers read aloud the other Scripture lessons, such as the Epistle.
The terms narthex and vestibule are used almost interchangeably, but there is a slight technical difference. 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.
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.
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 a painted panel above and behind a church altar called?
An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church.
What is the difference between a narthex and vestibule?
A vestibule is an outer chamber, lobby, or porch leading to an interior area. A narthex is a vestibule specifically at the western (or at least liturgical western) entrance to a church, at the opposite end from the altar. It's a specific kind of vestibule.
What is an artwork that is placed behind an altar in a church called?
altarpiece, work of art that decorates the space above and behind the altar in a Christian church. Painting, relief, and sculpture in the round have all been used in altarpieces, either alone or in combination. These artworks usually depict holy personages, saints, and biblical subjects.
Etymology. The original meaning of the Classical Greek word narthex νάρθηξ was "giant fennel". Derived meanings are from the use of the fennel stalk as thyrsus, as a schoolmaster's cane, as a singlestick for military exercise, or as a splint for a broken limb.
Vestibules are similar to foyers, but the terms do not have the same meaning. Though they have the same purpose, foyers are larger and more formal spaces found in many public settings. In design, a foyer may often lay behind a vestibule or a second set of doors.
What is the difference between a foyer and a narthex?
A foyer is an entry gathering area in a home or office, a narthex is an entry gathering area to a religious space. Churches may have a narthex, offices may have a foyer.
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.
The term narthex, Greek for “scourge,” refers to a porch or gathering space outside the main worship space (or nave). Early Christians used this term to refer to the outer portico where penitents (those who had committed serious sins) and catechumens (converts preparing for baptism) gathered for worship.
The term nave derives from the Latin navis, meaning “ship,” and it has been suggested that it may have been chosen to designate the main body of the building because the ship had been adopted as a symbol of the church.
Technically a reredo is placed on the floor behind the altar and a retable is set on the altar. But the two terms are often confused. A dossal screen (dorsel, spellings vary) now generally refers to a cloth hanging behind an altar. But the term has a broader history.
The altar cloth, aka fair linen, lies at the heart of the Christian liturgy. It's beginning goes back centuries to its origin in the Gospels with Joseph of Arimathea's provision of a “clean linen” [Matt. 27:59] for the burial shroud of the crucified Saviour.
Salt is usually laid out in the shape of a cross as a way to purify the souls as they cross over. The cempasúchil , widely known as marigolds, are one of the most recognized flowers associated with the Day of the Dead. The bright color and strong fragrance are believed to attract spirits to the altar.
Many altars are made with three levels, which represent Earth, Heaven and Purgatory. Some altars are made with seven levels to represent the steps souls must take to rest in peace. The boxes or levels are then covered with either white or black cloths.
Architecturally, there are two types of altars: Those that are attached to the eastern wall of the chancel, and those that are free-standing and can be walked around, for instance when incensing the altar. Early Coptic altar carved into the wall of the Temple of Isis on the island Philae in Egypt.
