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Narthex
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The narthex of a church is the entrance or lobby area, located at

the end of the nave, at the far end from the church's main altar.
Traditionally the narthex was a part of the church building, but was
not considered part of the church proper. It was either an indoor
area separated from the nave by a screen or rail, or an external
structure such as a porch. The purpose of the narthex was to allow
those not eligible for admittance into the general congregation
(particularly catechumens and penitents) to hear and partake in the Plan of a Western cathedral, with the
service. The narthex would often include a baptismal font so that narthex shown in grey.
infants or adults could be baptized there before entering the nave,
and to remind other believers of their baptisms as they gathered to
worship. The narthex is thus traditionally a place of penitence, and
in Eastern Christianity some penitential services, such as the Little
Hours during Holy Week are celebrated there, rather than in the
main body of the church. In the Russian Orthodox Church funerals
are traditionally held in the narthex.

Later reforms removed the requirement to exclude people from

services who were not full members of the congregation, which in
some traditions obviated the narthex. Church architects continued,
however, to build a room before the entrance of the nave. This room
could be called an inside vestibule (if it is architecturally part of the
nave structure) or a porch (if it is a distinct, external structure).
Some traditions still call this area the narthex as it represents the
point of entry into the church, even if everyone is admitted to the
nave itself.

Floorplan of the Chora Church,

showing both inner and outer narthex.

In the narthex of a small Orthodox

church in Romania, looking
through the doorway into the nave
and Holy Doors.

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Narthex - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narthex

In traditional Byzantine architecture, the narthex is divided into two

Narthex in an Eastern Orthodox
temple. In the center is an
analogion at which the priest hears
confessions, to the right of that is a
silver baptismal font and vessels
for dispensing holy water
(Pechersky Ascension Monastery,
Nizhny Novgorod).
their homes for the festive break-fast. Traditionally, the narthex is where candles and prosphora will be sold for
offering during Divine Services.
distinct structures: an endonarthex (inner narthex), between the outer
porch and the body of the church proper separated from the nave and
aisles by a wall, arcade, colonnade, or screen; and an exonarthex (outer
narthex) outside the main façade of the church, usually part of a
colonnaded or arcaded atrium or quadriporticus (quadrangle). The
exonarthex may be either open on the western end or enclosed, with a
door leading to the outside (as in the Chora Church). The endoonarthex
and exonarthex have distinct liturgical functions. For instance, the
procession at the Paschal Vigil will end up at the exonarthex for the
reading of the Resurrection Gospel, while certain penitential services are
traditionally chanted in the endonarthex.
In some Eastern Orthodox temples (churches), the narthex will be
referred to as the trapeza (refectory), because in ancient times, tables
would be set up there after the Divine Liturgy for the faithful to eat a
common meal, similar to the agape feast of the early church. To this day,
this is where the faithful will bring their baskets at Pascha (Easter) for
the priest to bless the Paschal foods which they will then take back to

The doorway leading from the narthex to the nave is sometimes referred to as the "Royal Doors",[1] because in
major cathedrals (catholica) there were several sets of doors leading into the nave, the central one being
reserved only for the use of the Emperor[2]

On feast days there will be a procession to the narthex, followed by intercessory prayers, called the Litiy.

Note
By convention, ecclesiastical floor plans are shown map-fashion, with north to the top and the liturgical east to
the right. Therefore, some may refer to the narthex as being at the western end of the floor plan. This is done for
symbolic reasons, as scriptures say to look for Christ appearing in the East, thus the location of the altar is
known as the liturgical East, regardless of the actual cardinal directions.

See also
Westwork
Antechamber
Cathedral diagram

References
1. ^ Sometimes the term "Royal Doors" is imprecisely applied to the Holy Doors.
2. ^ See Ezekiel 44:1-3 (http://bibref.hebtools.com/?book=%20Ezekiel&verse=44:1-3&src=KJV) )
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narthex"
Categories: Church architecture | Eastern Christian liturgy | Religious architecture | Architectural elements

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This page was last modified on 15 November 2010 at 01:00.

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