The Church Architecture Glossay (as defined by me)

You're going to think I'm going crazy with blogging, but I'm really just behind on starting all of this up. Some extra things are required. It has occurred to me, after several hours of looking for good definitions of church-y terms that I'd read but wasn't sure I ever understood, that there's no way anyone's going to understand anything I'm going to say without their own foray into the wonders of Google and Wikipedia. To alleviate this strain from your life, I've compiled a list of terms that I'll probably use, with definitions. Feel free to Google any that seem unclear.

First, before I get to that, most churches are laid out in a cruciform shape- that is, they look like a cross. Western and Romanesque churches have Latin crosses, like what you traditionally think of when you think of a cross, whereas eastern and Byzantine churches have a Greek cross, with even arms. Most are oriented east-west, with the altar at the east end and the door at the west, though that doesn't have to be the case. OK, so, here goes.

Nave- the main body of the church, where the congregation sits. It stops at the transept, before the chancel. It normally includes the pulpit and the lectern.

The nave at St. Vitus Cathedral, my example church of the day

Transept- the cross-bar of the church, where the north-south arm meets the east-west arm. It's normally an open floor space, but you'll have a tower above it, or a dome, seen from the outside. The north-south arm can have side chapels or can be a means of entrance for processions, I think.

Dome above the transept in St. Nicholas Church in Lesser Town, Prague

Choir- (sometimes also called quire so you don't confuse it with the people who sing) the area in between the transept and the chancel. It normally has the choir stalls in it, though congregation and clergy can sit there in some churches. It can have the organ, or the organ can be at the back. It can hold the choir or the choir can be up in the balcony. It just depends on the church, and some churches don't have choirs. Quires. They mostly have choirs.
Chancel- the part of the church where the altar is. It's normally raised and can also be called the sanctuary, though we've used the term sanctuary to refer to the entire inside of the church. It used to be, any criminal who could get to the chancel could call sanctuary, which makes me imagine a mad dash through the church and an epic slide to the chancel, which is unfortunately normally raised and separated from the rest of the church by a rail or a screen.

And tourists.

Lectern- a podium you read the Bible from.
Pulpit- the place you preach from. It's central and in the chancel area in protestant churches, but is normally off to the side in the nave in most of the churches I'll be looking at.

So. Fancy. Normally has eagles on it for St. John.

Altar- an altar? One of those things in the middle of chancels that you put crucifixes on, and candles and stuff? They're normally stone and permanent in Catholic churches, but moveable and wooden, more representative of the Lord's Supper, in Protestant churches. Thanks, Martin Luther!

Candles. Required.

Apse- a semi-circular recess covered by a semi-dome. Also known as that awkward curved space behind the chancel and altar where the choir sits in Methodist (and apparently Anglican) churches, but originally was where the Roman emperor sat in basilicas, changed to where God would be in early churches.

Apses. Very poisonous. You go first. (OK, in real life, this is a smaller apse in the staircase of St. Nicholas)

Clerestory- (this is just here because I think it's fun)- the upper level of the nave or just high windows, meant to let in light.
Retro-choir- in big cathedrals and churches, it's the space behind the main altar where there can be another, smaller altar back to back with the main altar. Chapels can also radiate out of this curved portion of the church.

I was so proud when I recognized this architectural feature that I think I actually said Bam! aloud.

Ambulatory- the procession way around the cathedral, where you can amble. It goes back 'round by the retro-choir.
Arcade- a series of arches. Win.

OK, I think that's all I've got right now. Expect this post to be edited as I find more terms that are weird and need defining, or pictures that better show what I'm talking about.