Category Archives: Church Tour

Picture Tour of St. Sophia

Sanctuary The area behind the iconostasis is the sanctuary. As the narthex was historically the place of the penitent and catechumens, and the the nave is the place of the faithful, the sanctuary is the place of the clergy. In … Continue reading →

Iconostas The iconostas is literally the “stand of icons” that rise up at the front of the nave, separating it from the sanctuary. Our icons are described as theology in color or windows to heaven because of the reality they … Continue reading →

Sacristy Connected on one side to the nave and connected on the other side to the sanctuary, we have a sacristy and a vestry for the use of the clergy and servers. They are accessible through the white doors in … Continue reading →

The Doors It is our tradition to model our churches on Hagia Sophia, the Church of Holy Wisdom in Constantinople. The main front doors there are called the royal doors since those were the doors by which the emperor entered … Continue reading →

The Polyelaios Polyelaios translates from Greek as “much oil.” It refers to a large chandelier which, in some Byzantine traditions, hangs from the center of the church beneath the cupola. If a polyelaios is present, it often has a large … Continue reading →

Nave The central section of the temple is called the nave. It corresponds to the Hekhal of the Old Testament temple–the Holy Place–and represents the world redeemed by Christ Jesus. It is here that the faithful gather to pray and … Continue reading →

Vestibule The first room in the temple is the vestibule, which is actually not part of the church proper. It corresponds to the outer court or Court of the Gentiles in the Old Testament temple.   Our vestibule has a … Continue reading →

The Temple Byzantine architecture is a microcosm, thus the church building itself becomes a symbol of our world and teaches us salvation history. In the eastern Christian tradition, the church building is referred to as the temple, which in Ukrainian … Continue reading →

The Church Interior You may have noticed that our church looks a little different from most other Churches. Though we are in communion with the Pope of Rome, we do have a unique tradition that reflects both our Eastern (Orthodox) … Continue reading →