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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
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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
341:(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.
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1858 Page 110 "One of the most perplexing words in etymology and application is the word narthex. In modern times it can be applied to the porch outside the church at the west end; in old days it was given to a part of the church itself,
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for military exercise, or as a splint for a broken limb. The term was also used for a casket for unguents, and hence as the title of a number of medical works. Use for the architectural feature of church building is medieval
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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
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In early
Christian churches the narthex was often divided into two distinct parts: an esonarthex (inner narthex) between the west wall and the body of the church proper, separated from the nave and
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The national encyclopædia. ed. John H F. Brabner – 1884 "This space was the narthex or " scourge," and was for the use of penitents. The name was also extended to the outer court "
278:). English use dates from the 1670s. It isn't clear how this meaning was derived, allegedly from a resemblance of the entrance area of the church to a hollow stem. In
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The doorway leading from the narthex to the nave is sometimes referred to as the "Royal Doors", because in major cathedrals (
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The purpose of the narthex was to allow those not eligible for admittance into the general congregation (particularly
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In other languages a different terminology can arise confusion. For example, in
Italian the inner narthex is called
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389:(Easter) for the priest to bless the Paschal foods which they will then take back to their homes for the festive
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appearing in the east, thus the location of the altar is known as the liturgical east, regardless of the actual
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By extension, the narthex can also denote a covered porch or entrance to a building.
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are celebrated there, rather than in the main body of the church. In the
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will end up at the exonarthex for the reading of the
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Sometimes the term "Royal Doors" is imprecisely applied to the
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to the narthex, followed by intercessory prayers, called the
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for the faithful to eat a common meal, similar to the
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delimited on all sides by a colonnade as in the first
57:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
132:For the plant known in antiquity as narthex, see
333:funerals are traditionally held in the narthex.
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440:the local style of narthex is known as a
363:, the narthex will be referred to as the
117:Learn how and when to remove this message
701:Architettura paleocristiana e bizantina
645:Peloponnesus: notes of study and travel
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321:some penitential services, such as the
167:is an architectural element typical of
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393:. Traditionally, the narthex is where
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703:(in Italian). Turin: Einaudi.
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482:temple. In the center is an
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754:Eastern Christian liturgy
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223:Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio
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