ICONOSTASIS 



THE Iconostasis is the chief and most distinctive feature 

 in all Greek churches, whether Catholic or Orthodox. 

 It may be said to differentiate the Greek church com- 

 pletely from the Roman in its interior arrangement. It con- 

 sists of a great screen or partition running from side to side 

 of the apse or across the entire end of the church, which divides 

 the sanctuary from the body of the church, and is built of solid 

 materials such as stone, metal, or wood, and which reaches 

 often (as in Russia) to the very ceiling of the church, thus 

 completely shutting off the altar and the sanctuary from the 

 worshipper. It has three doors : the great royal door in the 

 middle (so called because it leads directly to the altar upon 

 which the King of kings is sacrificed), the deacon's door to 

 the right, and the door of the proskomide (preparation for 

 Mass) upon the left, when viewing the structure from the 

 standpoint of a worshipper in the body of the church. 



Two pictures or icons must appear upon every iconostasis, 

 no matter how humble, in the Greek church ; the picture of 

 Our Lord on the right of the royal door, and that of Our Lady 

 upon the left. But in the finer churches of Russia, Greece, 

 Turkey and the East, the iconostasis has a wealth of paintings 

 lavished upon it. Besides the two absolutely necessary pic- 

 tures, the whole screen is covered with them. On the royal 

 door there is always the Annunciation and often the four Evan- 

 gelists. On each of the other doors there are St. Michael and 

 St. Gabriel. Beyond the deacon's door there is usually the 

 saint to whom the church is dedicated, while at the opposite 

 end there is either St. Nicholas of Myra or St. John the Bap- 

 tist. Directly above the royal door is a picture of the Last 

 Supper, and above that is often a large picture (deisus) of 

 Our Lord sitting crowned upon a throne, clothed in priestly 

 raiment, as King and High-priest. At the very top of the ico- 

 nostasis is a large cross (often a crucifix in bas-relief), the 



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