Descriptionary

lancet window a narrow window with a pointed arch, commonly found in many churches.

lectern a stand with a slanting top for convenient reading from the Scriptures.

li pai tien a Christian church in China.

lozenge a small window just above a double lancet window.

manse a clergyman's dwelling.

mensa the top slab or surface of an altar.

mihrab a niche in any religious Muslim building indicating the direction of Mecca.

minaret a tower in or flanking a mosque from which the faithful are called to prayer.

minbar in a mosque, the pulpit.

minster a monastic church.

minstrel gallery a small balcony over the entrance of a church interior.

mission a church supported by a larger church.

mission architecture Spanish colonial church and monastery architecture.

mosque a Muslim house of worship.

RELIGIOuS BuiLDINGS 47 musalla a Muslim prayer hall.

narthex a vestibule or portico of early Christian or Byzantine churches; any entrance hall leading to the nave.

nave the central portion of a church flanked by aisles, and intended for the congregation.

nimbus in any artwork, the halo of light around the head of a holy figure.

nunnery a convent.

oratory a small, private chapel.

organ loft the loft or gallery where the organ is placed.

parlatory in a monastery or convent, a place where visitors are received.

parsonage the parson's house; a rectory.

pede window next to a large window, a smaller window symbolizing one of the feet of Christ.

pew a bench for seating of the congregation.

presbytery the place or sanctuary reserved for clergy beyond the choir.

pulpit an elevated platform or lectern where most of the preaching is done. In some churches, an elevated, enclosed stand.

rectory the residence of a minister, priest, or pastor.

refectory a dining room for monks or nuns.

riddle one of a pair of curtains enclosing an altar on either side.

rood a large cross, sometimes supported on a beam (the rood beam) across the entrance of a chancel.

rood screen an ornamental wood or stone screen surmounted by a cross and separating the nave and the chancel.

rood spire a roof spire rising up over the crossing of the transepts and nave.

rose window a large, circular, stained glass window of Gothic or medieval design set in the front entrance of a cathedral. Also known as a Catherine wheel win­dow, a marigold window, or a wheel window.

sacristy near the chancel, a room for storing the altar vessels and vestments.

sanctuary same as presbytery; the immediate area around an altar.

sanctus bell a bell hung in a turret over the chancel to call people to service.

seminary a school for preparing men to be Roman Catholic or Episcopal priests, Protestant ministers, or Jewish rabbis.

sepulcher in an altar, a receptacle for sacred relics.

shrine a receptacle or building housing sacred relics, or the tomb of a saint or other revered person.

sounding board a canopy above the pulpit used to reflect the preacher's voice into the congregation.

squint a small opening or window in the wall of a church allowing a view from the transept to the main altar.

steeple the tower and spire of a church.

stupa a Buddhist shrine consisting of a built mound, sometimes in the shape of a beehive or bell.

tabernacle a box on an altar for holding the conse­crated host and wine of the Eucharist. Also, an orna­mental niche in a wall housing a statue.

transept the crossing or transverse portion of a church, forming the arms of a cruciform layout.

transept chapel a chapel entered from the transept.

triapsidal having three apses, sometimes forming a cloverleaf at the altar end of the church.

triforium a gallery or arches above the nave and below the clerestory, sometimes serving as attic space or as a gallery for spectators.

vestry a room near the altar for storing robes of the clergy and choir.

Cemeteries, Tombs, and Monuments

Bateson's belfry a coffin device consisting of a bell and cord that the interred could ring in case he miraculously revived, popular in Victorian times when people were occasionally pronounced dead prematurely.

bier a stand in which a coffin containing a corpse rests to lie in state.

Boot Hill in the American West, a cemetery for gunfighters.

Calvary a sculptured representation, often life-size, of the Crucifixion.

catacomb an underground passage with niches or recesses for graves or urns.

catafalque a draped scaffold on which is placed a coffin or effigy of the deceased during a state funeral.

cemetery beacon a graveyard lighthouse and altar used in Europe in the 12th and 13th centuries.