If you’ve never been to Rome, what are you waiting for? It’s by far the coolest place I’ve ever been, and I can’t imagine anywhere in the world that could top it (although Assisi, Italy is a close 2nd). Walking into St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican is one of the most humbling experiences you’ll ever have. It’s ginormous (it’s a real word now, look it up), and full of artwork you knew existed, but probably didn’t realize was all under that one massive roof. What’s really cool is the architecture of the church and how elaborately designed it is. What’s even cooler is that—like everything else in the Catholic Faith—each part of the church has a name and a purpose. Today we’ll look at the parts of a (typical) church and what they’re for.
So now picture it’s Sunday morning. You rolled out of bed at the crack of 8:30, ate some chocolate chip pancakes, got dressed, and drove on over to your local parish. Hopefully you got there a little before 5 minutes ‘til Mass so you could have time to sit quietly and prepare yourself mentally and spiritually, but if not, you can just get up at the crack of 8:15 next week. Anyway, you walked through the front doors, and probably entered into the…
Vestibule – from the Latin vestibulum, meaning “entrance, or court” – which is a small section that’s separated by a screen, windows, and/or doors from the rest of the main part of the church. Traditionally, this is where those studying to enter the Catholic Faith (Catechumens) and those waiting to receive the sacrament of Reconciliation (Penitents) would stay until their initiation, in the case of Catechumens, or their reconciliation, in the case of Penitents. With the wide variations in church architecture in recent decades, many newer churches do not have a formal vestibule.
Once you walk through the next set of doors inside the vestibule, you enter the “main” part of the church where the congregation gathers. This part of the church is called the…
Nave – from the Latin navis, meaning “ship” – which is sort of symbolic of the congregation being on a journey together (a faith journey, I guess). Traditionally (and still today in some rites of Catholicism), the congregation stood throughout the Mass, rather than sat. Pews are a fairly more modern addition to the Church building. If you’re just a part of the congregation, you should probably just stop here in the nave and take a seat with the rest of the congregation. But if you WERE to go a little further into the church, you’d find a few more architectural treasures.
There are many different designs of churches, but one of the most widely used is (some form of) the Basilica style. Now, let’s be sure we distinguish between a "Basilica" and a church built in the "Basilica-style" of architecture. A Basilica, as noted in canon law (law of the Church), is a “more important” church that has been designated as a Basilica by the Pope, and has certain privileges granted to it, such as getting a bell covered by a little umbrella…which I won’t go into detail about here, but you can read more about it at http://www.newadvent.org/. A Basilica-style church, is a church that is built with a few defining characteristics to its architecture, but in its simplest form, it comes down to having its particular design make the church look like a cross when viewed from above. So, assuming the church you came to this Sunday morning is built in the very common Basilica style, you’d walk forward from the Nave to the…
Transept – from the Latin trans, meaning “across,” and saeptum, meaning “enclosure” – which, taking its Latin roots into consideration, is pretty self-explanatory. It’s the part of the church that separates the nave from the other parts we’re about to talk about, and gives the Basilica style church its characteristic “cross” shape. As a cool little aside, the transept SHOULD run north-south, and the congregation in the nave should be facing east. The idea is that during Mass, the congregation looks to the “rising sun” (or rising…“Son”? Woah-Ho! Pretty crafty, those Catholics!). Now, if you go to a church that was built prior to the Renaissance (or at least reminiscent of that style of architecture), you’d next move into the…
Chancel – from the Latin cancelli, meaning “lattice” – this is where those in religious orders would sit facing each other from opposite sides of this area during Mass or chant the Divine Office from outside the context of Mass. Some churches still have a version of this, but it’s more commonly referred to these days as the “choir” area, or some other label. However, since it’d be an incredible challenge to find a church in America that was built before the Renaissance (since America was founded quite some time after the Renaissance was over, and since the Native Americans were neither big into Catholicism nor Pre-Renaissance Ecclesiastical Architecture), chances are, you’d move from the Transept to the…
Sanctuary – from the Latin sanctus, meaning “holy," or sanctuarium, meaning “place keeping holy objects” – where most of the cool stuff happens at Mass. This area is separated in some way from the nave by either a railing, or a few stairs, or some other divider. The idea of separating what goes on in the Sanctuary from the rest of the congregation is reminiscent of the “Holy of Holies” in the Temple in Jerusalem (mentioned in the Old Testament) where the Ark of the Covenant (the box that held the original tablets of the Ten Commandments) was kept. Only the High Priest was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies. Similarly, the Sanctuary is where the Priests, Deacons, and other ministers sit and carry out their duties during the Mass. As a further division of this larger Sanctuary area, there’s also the…
Apse – form the Latin apsis, meaning “arc” or “a kind of round vessel/bowl” – which is a commonly used term in Church Architecture to denote the domed area where the Altar is located (we’ll talk about the Altar in my next post, too). Then, usually not seen by the general congregation (not as a secretive thing, but just because the general congregation usually doesn’t have any reason to be there), there’s also the…
Sacristy – from the Latin sacer, meaning “sacred” – which is the room where most things used during the Mass or other liturgical celebrations are kept. This is also generally where the Priests and Deacons will vest (one of my next posts will talk about what they wear) before Mass, and where the sacred vessels used during the Mass are purified (reverently cleaned).
So that’s a quick run-down of what the parts of a church are called and what they’re used for. So next time you’re sitting in the nave, looking up at the Sanctuary, remember that we all have a part to play on this journey, and it’s our responsibility to know what our part is and why. Check back tomorrow (or the next day) for Part 1 of what all those things we USE at Mass are called and why, and what they’re actually used for.
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