Some of the terms used for ecclesiastical buildings share a meaning with temporal uses, others not. In many instances, eccelsiastical meaning came first, in both cases.
Church main floor plan
From an architectural-ecclesiastical standpoint, the altar and its sanctuary always stand in the east no matter what the church building’s actual geographic orientation. Thus, the entrance is always in the west, the left side is always north, and the right side always south.
Aisle is the walkway along one or both sides of the nave, usually separated by an arcade. Also, the seating area, if any, on the opposite side from the that in the nave. A chapel attached to a large church that was completely open to the main area was also called an aisle.
Ambulatory in the main church is the processional way around the east end behind the chancel, usually separated by a wall. It is also another name for the covered walkway of a cloister.
Apse is the semicircular or polygonal end of a church building, common in Continental Europe but more rare in the Isles, usually covered with a semi-domed roof. Its parent is the Roman exedra.
Atrium, in church architecture, is a forecourt often enclosed by walls or colonnades, also called an exonarthex. In Roman houses and buildings, the atrium was often built in the center entirely surrounded by rooms.
Baptistry in some churches is a room or area (such as the north end of a narthex, for examples) set aside especially for baptisms, in the Middle Ages primarily of infants.
Cantoris is the the Gospel of north side of the quire, so-called from having been the side on which the cantor or precentor sat.
Chapel in this context is a small chamber off the main part of the church building set aside in honor of a particular saint, sacred object (such as the Holy Blood), or sacred event (such as the Transfiguration), usually either entirely or partially enclosed but sometimes otherwise open, and always with its own altar. A side chapel (porticus) lay off the nave, aisle, or narthex of the main building. A Lady chapel was a side chapel dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. An apse chapel (apsidiole) stood off the ambulatory of an apse; usually there were three of these. A crypt chapel is one in a crypt and an undercroft chapel is one in an undercroft.
Chancel is the are of a church’s interior set aside for the clergy and other sacred ministers of the Mass. It includes the quire, the presbyterium (in such exists), and the sanctuary.
Choir loft is a raised part of a church built specially for lay singers, in general a much later development.
Chrismarium, also called consignatorium, is a place set aside in some churches to perform confirmation. These were rare.
Crossing is the point where the nave, transept, and chancel meet, often underneath an elaborate intertwining of arches.
Crypt is a stone chamber, usually directly underneath the apse or chancel, set aside for burials, relics, or chapels, but often the term is used interchangeably with undercroft.
Decani is the Epistle or south side of the quire, so-called from having been the side where the dean (or other title of the head of the chapter) sits.
Epistle side is the right or south side of a church, so-called from it being the one from which the Epistle is read from the lectern during the Mass. In medieval churches, men sat on this side.
Galilee was a covered porch which appeared at the beginning of the Romanesque period between the narthex and the atrium, at first intended for audientes and penitentes. As the Romanesque period flowered, the atrium disappeared while the Galilee grew more prominent and more elaborate.
Gospel side is the left or north side of a church, so-called from it being the one from which the Gospel is read from the pulpit during the Mass. In medieval churches, women sat on this side.
Narthex it the vestibule of a church, just east of the atrium, if there is one, and west of the nave.
Nave is the main body of the church for the laity, east of the narthex and west of the crossing, transept, or chancel, between the aisles on the north and the south if there are such. The walkway between the pews on the Epistle side and those on the Gospel side is most often referred to as the center aisle, but its proper name is also the nave.
Presbyterium is (in some churches) the part of the chancel between the quire and the sanctuary and high altar specially reserved for the clergy. In English cathedrals with two transepts, this lay in the crossing of the second closest to the apse.
Processional is the passage or walkway going behind the high altar used for processions around the inside of the church.
Quire, also spelled choir, is the seating place for choristers and sometimes sacred ministers and clergy for both Mass and canonical hours, generally between the transept and the sanctuary. The cantoris is the north or Gospel side of the quire facing the decani on the south or Epistle side of the quire.
Retroquire, also called back-choir, is the space behind the high altar between it and the east wall.
Revestiary is a room for storing and changing into sacred vestments used for church services (now called vestry).
Sacristy is the room for storing and caring for sacred vessels and sacred instruments used at Mass and other services.
Sanctuary is the area on the chancel immediately around the high altar, usually atop a bema.
Transept is the area between the nave and the chancel, particularly in a cruciform church, often with one or more side chapels at either end.
Undercroft is the basement of a church, often used for storage and sometimes with a crypt and/or chapels in or off it.
Church architectural features
Altar rail separates the sanctuary, and sometimes entire chancel depending on interior structure of the church, from the rest of the interior.
Ambry is a cabinet recess into the wall of a church for containing the reserved sacrament (in the sanctury, generally in the reredos) or for holy oil (in the sacristy), with a locked door for security.
Ambulatory is a covered walkway, generally around a cloister garth or processional of an apse but can also be used for the walking spaces through a nave or along the aisles.
Apsidiole was one of the two minor apses added to either side of the main apse of a triapsidal church, in addition to being the technical term for an apse chapel.
Apses, as an architectural features, were from the High Middle Ages added to side and apse chapels and to the ends of transepts, though, ecclesiastically, the apse section of a church was at the eastern end behind the quire.
Arcade is a series of adjoining arches, generally supported by columns.
Belfry is the section of a steeple or campanile housing the bell chamber, though it earlier referred to the whole tower.
Bema is the raised platform of a sanctuary and its altar.
Campanile is the proper technical term for a steeple with a belfry, in other words, a bell tower, which is detached from the church.
Cell in the case of church architecture is that of an anchorite (such as a Culdee) adjoining the outer wall of the church with an opening and possibly even a door into the interior of the church.
Chevet is the name for the structure of the church that includes the quire, the apse, and the apsidioles (apse chapels) as a unit.
Clerestory is a line of windows one, two, or three stories above the ground level that allow in light and/or fresh air.
Colonnade a row or series of columns, joined together by an entablature along the entire length.
Entablature is a superstructure of moldings joining a colonnade.
Feretory is the space where a church’s relics are stored; also refers to a portable reliquary.
Lantern is the section of a steeples above the belfry that is open to allow light to reach inside during the day, and in some cases in which to hang a lamp to provide light as a beacon at night.
Matroneum was an interior feature of the Early Gothic period, a gallery similar in form to a triforium. The standard in the Early Gothic period was aisle, matroneum, triforium, clerestory; the matroneum disappeared in the High Gothic period.
Niche is a recess into the wall of the church or into the reredos that can either be empty or contain statues, flowers, or candles.
Pulpitum is a large, very ornate transverse structure dividing the chancel from the nave, generally of three arches, with the central arch open to allow access to the chancel, the majority being of stone but with many which were made of fine wood. These usually stood at the east side of the transept, and were primarily a feature of cathedrals.
Reliquary is a container for a relic, where a portable feretory or one embedded within a wall or altar stone.
Reredos is a large screen or wood or stone behind the altar, often with several niches and/or an ambry for the reserved sacrament. Some are quite large and tall, reaching three stories high.
Rood screen is an addtion that came about in the Late Middle Ages that also divided chancel from nave, usually of wood, at the top of which nearly always stood a cross in the center. These were more open than a pulpitum, many comprising just a beam that did not reach the ground. In many cathedrals, these were added in addition to a pulpitum, one bay apart. Because they were smaller in size and less intricate in design, many were added to parish churches.
Rostrum is the dias supporting a pulpit.
Sediliae are recessed seats on the north side of the chancel, usually three in number for the main ministers at Mass (celebrant, deacon, subdeacon).
Spire is the pointed roof at the top of a steeple.
Steeple is a tower attached to a building, specifically a church in this case and usually (but not always) a bell tower.
Tower is the section of a steeple that forms the base, whether rising up from the ground or just from the roof of the church.
Triforium is the gallery (a balcony in the interior of a building) within a church, generally just below the clerestory, above the aisles and open to the nave, separated by a colonnade or arcade, sometimes wide enough to accommodate seating in addition to a walkway.
Church furnishings
Altar is the large stone (or wood) structure upon which the Sacrifice of the Mass is carried out.
Altar stone is a stone or marble or granite with a reliquary, usually embedded in the mensa of the high altar.
Altar cross, sometimes a crucifix, sits on the altar or atop the tabernacle, except after the stripping of the altar on Maundy Thursday.
Antependium is the proper term for the elaborate frontal hanging for the altar, generally of the color of the season of the church calendar.
Cathedra is the chair for the bishop, originally behind the altar and later moved to the gospel side of the chancel.
Crèche set is a set of statues representing the characters of the Nativity and related events, usually including animals and a model manger, that is used at Christmas time. Usually, it is set up at the beginning of Advent, with figures added as they come into the story along the calendar, with those representing the Magi added on Epiphany. In some churches, it is tradition to leave the set up through the Octave of the Epiphany.
Credence table, or credence shelf, is attached to or against the back wall on the Epistle side for holding cruets, bread box, ciborium, lavabo, and often chrismales for use at Mass.
Eucharistic lights are the two candles that sit on the altar during the Mass at opposite ends of the mensa.
Font is the stone or wood foundation holding the basin for holy water which is used in baptism. Only parish churches were allowed baptismal fonts, along with churches of monasteries in rare special cases.
Herse, also known as a Judas candlestick or rastrum, is a two-branched, fifteen receptacle candelaubrum used during Tenebrae.
Icon is a two-dimensional scene of a Biblical or other sacred event, of Jesus Christ, or of any saints, usually painted and stylized.
Lectern is the stand from which the Epistle and other Lessons are read that stands in the transept before the Epistle or south side of the nave.
Litany desk is exactly the same as a prie-dieu, but stands on the Gospel or north side of the chancel, often in front of the cathedra.
Mass bells hang from the inside of the front wall of the nave to be rung at the start of the Mass (and sometimes for other services).
Mensa is the top of the altar, usually a separate slab of wood or stone.
Missal stand is a brass stand for holding the missal atop the altar.
Office lights are two candleabra with three candles each used during services other than the Mass.
Paschal candle is especially for Easter and the fift days leading up and including Whitsunday. It is also lit for baptisms, confirmations, and for funerals.
Pavement candles are floor-standing candles standing at the west corners of the bema lit during the Mass.
Pews are the benches or seats for the laity in the nave, always facing toward the liturgical east.
Piscina is a special sink in the sacristy used to cleaning the sacred vessels whose drain runs directly into the ground.
Presence lamp holds a large candle inside ruby-colored glass that signals the presence of the Reserved Sacrement, generally hanging from the ceiling over the altar.
Prie-dieu is a prayer desk with a kneeler, originally for private devotions at home but later brought into churches for the priest, standing before his seat on the south or Epistle side of the chancel.
Pulpit is the stand from which the Gospel is read and the homily or sermon preached that stands in the transept before the Epistle or south side of the nave, often atop a rostrum
Relic, in Christian traditional, is a sacred object connected to a saint or to Christ himself. A first order relic is a part of a saint’s body; a second order relic is something a saint wore or carried; a third order relic is a piece of some place or thing connected to the saint but not of his or her personal belongings or body.
Retable is a set of one to three steps of shelves behind an altar used for placing flowers and candles.
Rood is, strictly speaking, the True Cross, but in the Late Middle Ages came to be the term for the trio of a Great Crucifix with statues of St. Mary the Virgin and St. John the Apostle.
Stalls are the seats in the chancel for officiating ministers or members of a cathedral, collegiate, or monastic chapter during Mass and other services, always facing toward the center.
Stations of the Cross are a series of icons representing steps along the Way of the Cross hanging on the wall in consecutive order from the east end of the northern wall circumambulating to the east end of the southern wall.
Statues, usually of Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, and various saints, may stand on the floor or in niches about the interior of the church.
Stoup, usually attached to the wall, holds holy water for dipping one’s fingertips into upon entering or leaving a church.
Tabernacle, also called an ark, is a casket for containing the reserved sacrament, often sitting on top on the altar in the center of the mensa, at least in churches where the altar is against the back wall.
Church auxiliary buildings and rooms
Calefactory is the dayroom of a monastery; more specifically the room in which a fire was allowed.
Chapterhouse is the room in a monastery, cathedral, or collegiate church for meetings of their chapters, whether for business or education.
Cloister is a covered walkway around a green area, usually enclosed on all sides by buildings, with an arcade or colonnade between the garth and the cloister, found in monasteries, cathedrals, and large churches.
Cloister garth is the green area, often a garden, enclosed by a cloister.
Deanery was the residence of a dean.
Dorter is the building housing cells for monastics or rooms for canons and other chapter members of cathedrals and collegiate churches.
Galley is the proper name for the kitchen at any church facility.
Garderobe is the individual closet within a reredorter or necessarium.
Grammar school was often attached to a cathedral, collegiate church, or monastery, with its headmaster a member of the chapter of the first two.
Guesthouse, attached to a monastery or chapterhouse of a cathedral or collegiate church for guests.
Infirmary was where the sick recuperated.
Lavatorium was where monastics washed their hands before meals, the term carrying over to dormitories at cathedrals and collegiate churches.
Library held books and provided study space.
Misericord was a special room for relaxation of monks granted such allowances.
Misericorde was an additional refectory at a monastery in which eating of meat was allowed.
Reredorter, also known as a necessarium, is the proper name for a latrine in a monastery or cathedral or collegiate dormitory, and carried over into modern parish houses for the bathrooms there.
Parish hall, also called a church hall, serves for modern parishes much the same function as chapterhouses and calefactories, with additional influences from village halls in England. Parish halls first arose in the eighteenth or nineteenth centuries.
Parsonage is the home for a parson of a parish.
Provostry is the home for a provost of a collegiate church.
Rectory is the home for a rector of a parish.
Refectory, also known as a frater, is the dining hall of a monastery or chapterhouse, and of a parish hall.
Scriptorium is the room in which manuscripts and books were produced, mostly in monasteries.
Slype is a short covered passage between two buildings of a large complex, such as between the chapterhouse and the transept of a chapel or between the calefactory and the galley.
Vicarage is the home of a vicar.
No comments:
Post a Comment