ABSP - Churches

Churches

Words

Heraldry

abbey	a building inhabited by a community of monks or nuns governed by an abbot or abbess.
adytum	the sacred part of a temple or church; a church chancel.
almery aumbry awmrie awmry ambery ambry	a recess for church vessels, a cupboard.
altarwise	in the proper position of an altar, that is, at the east of a church with its ends towards the north and south.
ambery	see ALMERY.
ambry	see ALMERY.
ambulatory	an aisle down the east end of a church, behind the altar.
antechapel	an anteroom to a chapel or church.
antechoir	the space in front of the choir in a church.
apse	a rounded extension at end of building, especially at the east end of a church.
apsidal	having shape of an APSE.
apsidiole	a subsidiary APSE.
aumbry	see ALMERY.
awmrie	see ALMERY.
awmry	see ALMERY.
baptistery	part of church reserved for performing baptisms.
baptistry baptistery	that part of a church (or, formerly, a separate building adjacent to a church) used for baptism.
basilic basilica	a large oblong hall with double colonnades and a semicircular apse; a Roman Catholic church with honorific privileges > BASILICAS or BASILICAE.
basilical basilican	of, relating to, or resembling, a BASILICA.
beadhouse bedehouse	a chapel.
belfried	having a BELFRY.
belfry	the part of a church housing the bells.
bema bima bimah	a raised platform in a synagogue.
bethel	a place of worship for seamen; a nonconformist chapel. [Hebrew 'house of god'].
bethesda	a Nonconformist church building.
campanile	a freestanding bell tower on church property > CAMPANILI or CAMPANILES.
cantorial	located on the north side of the choir in a church.
capitol	a citadel on top of a hill; esp. the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, on the Saturnian or Tarpeian (later called Capitoline) Hill at Rome.
cathedra	the chair or throne of office of a bishop or other high official > CATHEDRAS or CATHEDRAE.
cathedral	the principal church in a diocese, so called because in it the bishop has his official chair (cathedra).
cella	the inner chamber of a classical temple > CELLAE.
chancel	the part of a church containing the altar and seats for choir.
chantry chauntry	a chapel or altar built for prayers for its benefactor's soul.
chapel	a place of Christian worship in a larger building, esp. a place set apart, with a separate altar, in a church or cathedral.
chevet	the east end of (especially French Gothic) church or chancel.
chorten	a Buddhist shrine.
church	a building designed for public forms of worship, esp. Christian worship; (verb) to bring someone to church.
churchly	resembling a church: CHURCHLIER, CHURCHLIEST.
ciborium	a freestanding canopy to cover an altar; a vessel for holding eucharistic bread > CIBORIA.
claustral cloistral	of, like, or characteristic of a CLOISTER.
cryptal	pertaining to or like a crypt.
dagaba dagoba	a dome-shaped structure built over relics of Buddha or some Buddhist saint.
darbar	a hall in a Sikh temple.
decanal	located on south side of the choir in a church.
delubrum	a font, a temple or shrine having a font > DELUBRUMS.
dharmsala dharmshala	a building having a religious or charitable purpose, a free or cheap lodging for travellers.
diaconicon	a SACRISTY for sacred vessels in Orthodox churches.
dorsel dossal dossel	a cloth hanging for the back of an altar.
duomo	a cathedral > DUOMI or DUOMOS.
faldistory	the throne or seat of a bishop within the chancel.
faldstool	a prayer desk from which the Litany is read at church service; a bishop's round armless chair.
fane	a temple.
fenestella	recess in church wall for storing communion vessels.
feretory	a (portable) shrine containing the relics of a saint; a small room or chapel in which shrines were deposited.
frithstool	a seat in churches near the altar, to which offenders formerly fled for sanctuary.
galilee	a small chapel or porch at western end of some medieval English churches.
gargoyle gurgoyle	a carved face on a church to keep away evil spirits.
genizah	a room adjoining a synagogue used to store old or damaged books.
gompa	a Buddhist temple or monastery in Tibet.
gopura gopuram	in Southern India, a pyramidal tower over the gateway of a temple.
hagioscope	an opening cut in the wall of a church to enable viewing of the altar.
iconostas iconostasis	in Eastern churches, a screen separating the sanctuary from the nave > of both is ICONOSTASES.
jube	a rood-loft, or screen and gallery. [L. imperative of jubere, to command].
kirk	church.
kiva	an underground chamber used in religious rites by Pueblo Indians. [Hopi].
lamasery lamaserai	a monastery or convent of lamas, in Thibet, Mongolia, etc.
laura lavra	a group of huts or cells inhabited by reclusive monks in Egypt and the Middle East. [Gk. lavra, lane, alley].
lectern lecturn lettern	a choir desk, or reading desk, in some churches, from which the lections, or Scripture lessons, are chanted or read; hence, a reading desk.
lichgate lychgate	the roofed gate of a churchyard.
mandir mandira	a Hindu or Jain temple.
mechitza	a screen in a synagogue separating men and women > MECHITZAS or MECHITZOT.
megachurch	a very large church.
mihrab	a niche or slab in a mosque marking the direction of Mecca.
mimbar minbar	a mosque pulpit.
minaret	a tall tower or turret connected with a mosque and surrounded by one or more projecting balconies from which a muezzin calls at hours of prayer. [Arabic manarat, from nar, fire].
minareted	having a MINARET.
minster	a church associated with a monastery.
monastery	the residence of a religious community, esp. of monks, living in seclusion from secular society and bound by religious vows.
monopteron	a circular temple with one ring of columns.
mosk mosque	an Islamic temple.
musjid	a mosque.
naos	the inner cell of a temple > NAOI or NAOSES.
narthex	a small entrance or porch to a church > NARTHEXES.
nave	the largest part of church where the congregation sits.
nef	a church nave.
nunnery	the convent or religious house of a community of nuns.
nymphaeum	a temple, sanctuary or grotto of the nymphs > NYMPHAEA or NYMPHAEUMS.
oratory	a small chapel for private prayer.
pagod pagoda	an Eastern temple, esp. in the form of a many-storeyed tapering tower. [Persian butkhada, idol temple].
pantheon	a temple dedicated to all the gods, or where images or other memorials of all the gods of a nation are collected. [After Pantheon, a domed circular temple in Rome, built c. 120 AD. From Greek pantheion, from pan- (all) + theos].
parabema	in Byzantine architecture, a chapel walled off from the BEMA.
parclose	a railing in a church enclosing altar, chapel or tomb.
parvis parvise	an enclosed area, often surrounded with colonnades or porticoes, in front of a building, esp. a cathedral or church.
penetralia	the innermost or most private parts, esp. of a temple or palace; hidden things or secrets. [L. penetralia, from neuter pl. of penetralis, inner, from penetrare, to penetrate.]
penetralian	relating to PENETRALIA, the innermost or most private parts e.g. of a temple.
pew	in a church, one of several long benchlike seats with backs, used by the congregation.
piscina	a basin set in wall of church to drain away ceremonial water > PISCINAE or PISCINAS.
poppyhead	a raised ornament on top of the upright end of seats in churches.
predella	a platform for an altar; a portable altar or decoration upon it.
priory	a monastery or convent governed by a prior or prioress.
procathedral	a parish church serving as a cathedral.
pronaos	a vestibule in front of a temple > PRONAOI.
proseucha proseuche	a place of prayer, an oratory > in both cases PROSEUCHAE.
pulpit	a raised platform, usually surrounded by a barrier, set up in churches as the appointed place for preaching, leading in prayer, etc.
pulpital	relating to a PULPIT.
pulpited	having a PULPIT.
pulpitum	a gigantic stone screen separating cathedral choir from the nave > PULPITUMS.
repository	side altar in Catholic church.
reredorse reredos reredosse	a usually ornamental wood/stone screen or wall behind an altar. The pl. of REREDOS is REREDOSES or REREDOSSES.
retable	a shelf or ornamental setting for panels behind an altar.
retrochoir	the part of a cathedral or large church behind the high altar.
revestiary revestry	the apartment, in a church or temple, where the vestments, etc., are kept; -- now contracted into VESTRY.
rood	a cross or crucifix at the entrance to a church chancel.
sacrarium	the sanctuary or sacristy (room housing sacred vessels) of a church; a piscina (stone basin for ablutions) > SACRARIA.
sacrarial	of or like a SACRARIUM.
sacristy	a room in a church where sacred objects are kept.
sedile sedilium	a kind of seat in a church, usu. in pl. which in both cases is SEDILIA.
sekos	a sacred enclosure in an ancient Egyptian temple > SEKOSES.
sepulcher sepulchre	a receptacle in an altar for holding religious relics; (verb) to bury in a sepulchre.
stasidion	a stall in a Greek church > STASIDIONS.
stupa	a mound or monument commemorative of Buddha.
subsellium	one of the stalls of the lower range where there are two ranges.
synagog synagogue	a Jewish church. [Gk. synagoge, from syn, together + agoge, a bringing, from agein to lead].
synagogal	relating to a SYNAGOG, a Jewish church.
synthronus	the seat of a bishop and his presbyters, behind the altar.
temenos	a place dedicated to a god; a sacred precinct > TEMENE.
temple	a building or place dedicated to the worship of a deity or deities.
templed	supplied with a temple or temples, or with churches; inclosed in a temple.
teocalli	an ancient Mexican or Central American place of worship, usually consisting of a truncated pyramid surmounted by a temple. [Nahuatl teotl, god + calli, house].
teopan	a TEOCALLI, an Aztec pyramid temple.
toran torana	in the Indian subcontinent, a sacred Buddhist gateway.
torii	the gateway of a Japanese Shinto temple > TORII — no —S hook.
transenna	a screen enclosing a shrine.
transept	the part of a church off to one side of main structure.
transeptal	of or like a TRANSEPT, the part of a church off to one side of main structure.
vestral	relating to a VESTRY.
vestry	a priest's dressing room.
vihara	a Buddhist or Jain temple or precinct.
vimana	in the Indian subcontinent, the central tower enclosing the shrine in a temple.
wat	a Thai Buddhist temple or monastery; (adj.) (Scots) wet: WATTER, WATTEST.
wicket	a small door forming part of larger door of a church or castle.

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