Iconostasis Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
In Eastern Christianity, i.e., Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, and Catholic Eastern Rites, an iconostasis is a stand for icons, i.e., religious paintings, that is portable and can be placed anywhere within a church. The word iconostasis is also often mistakenly used to refer to the templon in an Orthodox Church. However, in modern American usage it is the templon which is a wall of icons separating the nave from the sanctuary. (The plural is iconostases, whose last syllable rhymes with ease.). In these settings, the nave is the main space where most of the worshippers stand, and the sanctuary is the area around the altar, east of the nave. The iconostasis typically has three openings or sets of doors; the Holy or Beautiful Doors (or Gates) in the center, and the North and South Doors at or near either end of the iconostasis. The Holy Doors are sometimes called the Royal Doors, but that name more properly belongs to the central doors connecting the narthex, or porch, and the nave. The North and South Doors are often called "deacon's doors" because the deacons use them frequently.A number of guidelines or rubrics govern which icons are on which parts of the iconostasis, although there is some room for variation. There are also guidelines for who should enter or leave the sanctuary by which door. These guidelines were developed over the course of many centuries, with both theologically symbolic and practical reasons for them.
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