Narthex

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Narthex

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

Nave

In Romanesque architecture and Gothic architecture Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and Church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar....
, at the far end from the church's main altar

Altar

An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices and votive offerings are made for religion, or some other sacred place where ceremonies take place....
. 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.

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Am designing Armenian Orthodox church.While passing from the narthex to the nave through two doors ...

Encyclopedia

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

Nave

Altar

Catechumen

In ecclesiology, a catechumen is one receiving instruction from a catechist in the principles of the Christianity with a view to baptism. The title and practice is most often used by Orthodox Christians and by Roman Catholics....
s and penitents) to hear and partake in the service. The narthex would often include a baptismal font

Baptismal font

A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.Aspersion and affusion fonts...
so that 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

Eastern Christianity

Eastern Christianity refers collectively to the Christianity traditions and churches which developed in the Balkans, Eastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Middle East, Christianity in Africa and southern India over several centuries of religious antiquity....
some penitential services, such as the Little Hours

Little Hours

The Little Hours are the fixed daytime hours of prayer in the Divine Office of Western Christianitys both Western Christianity and the Eastern Orthodox Church....
during Holy Week

Holy Week

Holy Week in Christianity is the last week of Lent and the week before Easter. It includes the religious holidays of Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, and lasts from Palm Sunday until but not including Easter Sunday, as Easter Sunday is the first day of the new season of Pentecostarion....
are celebrated there, rather than in the main body of the church. In the Russian Orthodox Church

Russian Orthodox Church

The Russian Orthodox Church ; or The Moscow Patriarchate , also known as the Orthodox Christian Church of Russia, is a body of Christianity who constitute an Autocephaly Eastern Orthodox Church under the jurisdiction of the List of Metropolitans and Patriarchs of Moscow, in full communion with the other Eastern Orthodox Churches....
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

Vestibule

Vestibule or Vestibulum can have the following meanings, each primarily based upon a common origin, from early 17th century French, derived from Latin vestibulum, -i n. "entrance court"....
(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.

In traditional Byzantine architecture

Byzantine architecture

Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire. The empire gradually emerged as a distinct artistic and cultural entity from what is today referred to as the Roman Empire after AD 330, when the Roman Emperor Constantine I moved the capital of the Roman Empire east from Rome to Byzantium....
, the narthex is divided into two distinct structures: an esonarthex (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 colonnade

Colonnade

In classical architecture, a colonnade denotes a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, as in the famous elliptically curving colonnades that Bernini added to the fa?ade of The apostel Peter's Basilica in Rome, which embrace and define the Piazza....
d or arcaded

Arcade (architecture)

An arcade is a passage or walkway covered over by a succession of arches or Vault supported by columns. In a Gothic architecture cathedral the arcade is the lowest part of the wall of the nave, supporting the triforium and the clerestory....
atrium

Atrium (architecture)

In modern architecture, an atrium is a large open space, often several stories high and having a glazed roof and/or large windows, often situated within an office and usually located immediately beyond the main entrance doors....
or quadriporticus (quadrangle

Quadrangle (architecture)

In architecture, a quadrangle is a space or courtyard, usually rectangular in plan, the sides of which are entirely or mainly occupied by parts of a large building....
). The exonarthex may be either open on the western end or enclosed, with a door leading to the outside (as in the Chora Church

Chora Church

The Chora Church is considered to be one of the most beautiful examples of a Byzantine architecture church . The church is situated in the western, Edirnekapi district of Istanbul....
). The esonarthex and exonarthex have distinct liturgical functions. For instance, the procession at the Paschal Vigil

Easter Vigil

The Easter Vigil, also called the Paschal Vigil or the Great Vigil of Easter, is a service held in many Christian churches as the first official celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus....
will end up at the exonarthex for the reading of the Gospel

Gospel

In Christianity, a gospel is generally one of the first four books of the New Testament that describe the birth, life, ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus....
, while certain services are traditionally chanted in the esonarthex.

In some Eastern Orthodox temple

Temple

A temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A ??templum?? constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur....
s (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

Divine Liturgy

The Divine Liturgy is the common term for the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine church tradition of Christian liturgy. As such, it is used in the Eastern Orthodoxy and Eastern Catholic Churches....
for the faithful to eat a common meal, similar to the agape feast

Agape feast

The Agape, or "Love-feast", was a loosely structured early Christian service that typically included a social meal. Because food was often eaten, it is often presumed to have a connection with the liturgy Eucharist....
of the early church. To this day, this is where the faithful will bring their baskets at Pascha

Easter

Easter is the most important religious feast in the Christianity liturgical year.Christians believe that Jesus was Resurrection of Jesus from the dead three days after his Crucifixion of Jesus, and celebrate this resurrection on Easter Day or Easter Sunday , two days after Good Friday....
(Easter) for the priest to bless the Paschal foods which they will then take back to their homes for the festive break-fast

Breakfast

Breakfast is a meal eaten after a long period of sleep, most often eaten in the morning. The word came about because it means breaking the fast after one has not eaten since the night before....
. Traditionally, the narthex is where candles and prosphora

Prosphora

A prosphoron is a small loaf of bread used in Eastern Orthodox Church Liturgy. The plural form is prosphora . The term originally meant any offering made to a temple, but in Orthodox Christianity has come to mean specifically the bread offered at the Divine Liturgy....
will be sold for offering during Divine Services.

On feast days there will be a procession

Procession

A procession is, in general, an organized body of people advancing in a formal or ceremonial manner....
to the narthex, followed by intercessory prayers, called the Litiy

Litiy

The Litiy or Litiy? is a Crucession, followed by intercessions, which takes place during the All-Night Vigil in the Eastern Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite....
.

Note

By convention, ecclesiastical floor plans are shown map-fashion, with north to the top and the liturgical east end to the right. Therefore, some may refer to the narthex as being at the western end of the floor plan. This is merely a cartographic presentation for representational and conversational convenience, not to be confused with actual cardinal directions.

Narthex

Note

See also