Sanctuary?

[william ryan]

Yet more nuances. Paul Gallagher suggests chancel as a translation and
quotes a Webster dictionary definition. BUT the advisability of using
this word would depend very much on the context of translation and the
intended readership. Chancel in English has a dated, perhaps C of E ring
to it, and is now more an architectural term that a liturgical one. The
authoritative and non-denominational Oxford Dictionary of the Christian
Church (1997) says of 'chancel' that originally it was applied to that
part of  the church now called 'the sanctuary', and is now normally
applied to the whole area of the main body of the church east of the
nave and transepts (i.e. it works with older West European church
architecture from Gothic onwards but is hard to apply to Russian
cross-in-square or wooden church configurations). Under 'sanctuary' the
same work says: ' sanctuary, Greek hieraticon or more commonly bema. The
part of the church containing the altar ... in Byzantine churches it is
enclosed by the iconostasis ...' .
So sanctuary gets my vote.

Will Ryan

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
                  http://home.attbi.com/~lists/seelangs/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------