What is an Orthodox iconostasis?
The iconostasis represents one of the most important architectural features of Orthodox churches. It is an unbroken screen, composed of icons, separating the Sanctuary, where the sacrament of the Eucharist is celebrated, from the central part, the nave, where the congregation stands.
What is an iconostasis in a church?
iconostasis, in Eastern Christian churches of Byzantine tradition, a solid screen of stone, wood, or metal, usually separating the sanctuary from the nave.
What is the purpose of an iconostasis in an Orthodox church building?
The Iconostasis is the link between heaven (the Holy of Holies) and the nave (The Holy Place). Therefore, everything is symbolic upon the Iconostasis. The Icons of Christ, the Theotokos, and various saints and feasts are there because Christ, the Theotokos, the saints etc., lead us and guide us into the Holy of Holies.
What is the genesis of iconostasis?
Lesson Summary. The iconostasis is a vertical element commonly found in Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches. It serves as a division between the sanctuary and the nave, and several religious figures are represented on it. It originated from the Jewish tradition of separating the congregation leader from the faithful …
What does the word iconostasis mean?
Definition of iconostasis : a screen or partition with doors and tiers of icons that separates the bema from the nave in Eastern churches.
How do you say iconostasis?
noun, plural i·co·nos·ta·ses [ahy-kuh-nos-tuh-seez].
When was the iconostasis invented?
The iconostasis developed from the Byzantine templon, which had appeared during the 5th and 6th centuries AD, and which may have been influenced by the proscenium in classical theatre, or by the barrier before the adyton (sanctuary) of a Greek temple[1].
What is the Knave of a church?
nave, central and principal part of a Christian church, extending from the entrance (the narthex) to the transepts (transverse aisle crossing the nave in front of the sanctuary in a cruciform church) or, in the absence of transepts, to the chancel (area around the altar).
Why is a nave called a nave?
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.