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Plan of a Western cathedral, with the narthex in the shaded area at the western end. Floorplan of the Chora Church, showing both inner and outer narthex.. The narthex is an architectural element typical of early Christian and Byzantine basilicas and churches consisting of the entrance or vestibule, located at the west end of the nave, opposite the church's main altar. [1]
The church building is divided into three main parts: the narthex , the nave (the temple proper) and the sanctuary (also called the altar or holy place). A major difference of traditional Orthodox churches from Western churches is the absence of any pews in the nave. In some ethnic traditions of Orthodoxy, it was deemed disrespectful to sit ...
The name must have carried symbolic meaning, as the mosaics in the narthex describe Christ as the Land of the Living (ἡ Χώρα τῶν ζώντων, hē Chōra tōn zōntōn) and Mary, the mother of Jesus, as the Container of the Uncontainable (ἡ Χώρα τοῦ Ἀχωρήτου, hē Chōra tou Achōrētou).
The architectural articulation of the distinct spaces of a cross-in-square church corresponds to their distinct functions in the celebration of the liturgy.The narthex serves as an entrance hall, but also for special liturgical functions, such as baptism, and as an honored site of burial (often, as in the case of the Martorana in Palermo, for the founders of the church).
Originally, there was no narthex or timber roof, which covers both the nave and the narthex. At the beginning of the 12th century the narthex covered by a calotte and two traverse arches was added. This addition of a steep-pitched roof gave Agios Nikolaos the nickname 'of the Roof' ('tis Stegis'). [1]
Russian Orthodox churches contain many ritualistic components that are inseparable from the architecture of the building. The mosaics, murals, and icons that are installed on the church iconostasis define the wall as a spiritual barrier that can only be crossed by the clergy.
"Proskynetarion" can mean a monumental icon of the Eastern Orthodox Church usually depicting Christ, the Virgin Mary, or the patron saint of a church. Proskynetaria were usually made of mosaic or fresco in a marble frame and placed on the piers separating the parts of a templon in a Byzantine church, though proskynetaria of patron saints were often in the narthex or on the nave walls.
In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, usually only men can enter the altar portion behind the iconostasis. However, one will see women serving behind the iconostasis at female monasteries. The word iconostasis comes from the Greek εἰκονοστάσι(-ον) (eikonostási(-on)), still in common use in Greece and Cyprus), which means ' icon stand '.