What is the top of a cathedral called?
What is the top of a cathedral called?
A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape.
What is the main hall of a cathedral called?
Nave
Nave: The primary area of public observance of the Mass. It is generally the largest space, and located between the narthex and sanctuary.
What is the nave of a cathedral?
The nave is that part of a church set apart for the laity, as distinguished from the chancel, choir, and presbytery, which are reserved for the choir and clergy. The separation of the two areas may be effected by screens or parapets, called cancelli.
Where is the apse located in a typical Gothic cathedral?
Apse: The circular or angular end of a church, usually the east end.
What are cathedral doors called?
The royal doors, holy doors, or beautiful gates are the central doors of the iconostasis in an Eastern Orthodox or Eastern Catholic church. In Orthodox Churches, the sanctuary (sometimes called the Altar, which contains the Holy Table) is separated from the nave by a wooden screen called the iconostasis.
What is the difference between nave and apse?
As nouns the difference between nave and apse is that nave is (human) hand while apse is (architecture) a semicircular projection from a building, especially the rounded east end of a church that contains the altar.
What is a transept in a cathedral?
transept, the area of a cruciform church lying at right angles to the principal axis. The bay at which the transept intersects the main body of the church is called the crossing. The transept itself is sometimes simply called the cross.
What is narthex in a church?
narthex, long, narrow, enclosed porch, usually colonnaded or arcaded, crossing the entire width of a church at its entrance.
What do you mean by apse?
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.
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 apse of a church called?
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. In relation to church architecture it is generally the name given to where the altar is placed or where the clergy are seated.
What type of architecture is in the apse of St Peter’s Cathedral?
Although the entire basilica contains numerous, impressive works and structures from the Baroque—as well as the Renaissance—the apse in the rear of the Cathedral is perhaps the best representation of the Baroque. Ceiling of the Apse of St. Peter’s Basilica, Gilded Stucco.
What is the meaning of apse in architecture?
In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin absis: “arch, vault” from Greek ἀψίς apsis “arch”; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an Exedra.
What is the floor plan of a cathedral called?
Typical floor plan of a cathedral. Apse is shown in beige. In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin absis: “arch, vault” from Greek ἀψίς apsis “arch”; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an exedra.
