Illustrated Architecture Dictionary
Illustrated Architecture Dictionary
Chancel
CHAN sul
The space around the principal altar of a church for the clergy and choir, often separated by a screen or railing from the body of the churchThe east end of the church, raised above the floor of the nave, containing the choir (usually) and the sanctuary.
The area in a church which traditionally contains the altar.
Etymology: from Latin: "cancellus" = a screen
The traditional difference between a "chancel" and a "sanctuary" depends on the presence of either a choir stall or screen. NOTE: In Buffalo, many Protestant church "chancels" do not include a chior area.
Chancel aisle - The side aisle of a chancel in a large church; it usually passes around the apse, forming a deambulatory
Chancel arch - An arch which, in many churches, marks the separation of the chancel or sanctuary from the nave or body of the church
Chancel rail - The railing or barrier in place of a chancel screen by which the chancel is separated from the nave.
Chancel screen - Screen dividing the chancel from the naveIconostasis - A screen in Byzantine churches separating the sanctuary from the nave and pierced by three doors, originally a lattice of columns joined by a decorated parapet and coping. Since the 14th-15th c. it has become a wooden or stone wall covered with icons, hence the name.
See also: Church Vocabulary
Examples from Buffalo architecture
- Illustration above: St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral Choir stalls
- Central Presbyterian Church - no screen or railing
- St. John's Grace Episcopal Church no screen or railing
- Hellenic Orthodox Church of the Annunciation - Iconostasis (screen)
- Corpus Christi RC Church - railing
- St. Andrew's Episcopal Church
- St. Gerard's RC Church
- Calvary Episcopal Church, Williamsville, NY
Other examples:
- Trinity Church in New York City
