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Diminutive of terem, meaning an attic or chamber at the top of a house, often set apart for the womenfolk. Has the wider meaning of a high or raised residential building or palace belonging to a boya...
Horizontal moulded projection completing a building or wall. Also the upper slanting part of an entablature located above the frieze. Italian for “ledge.”
The space where the congregation is located during the church service. Greek for “shrine.”
Dominant form of Orthodox church, based around a quadratic naos, which is divided into nine bays by four columns. The central bay is crowned by a dome, which rests on the columns. The four rectangula...
Vertical structure holding up beams or vaults; column acting as a support for a cupola or a groin vault in a church. Derived from the Greek pyle, meaning “gate.”
Square hip roof in which all sides slope gently down towards the walls.
Lowest form of base or platform on which a wall, column, monument or structure rests, usually lying directly on the ground. Derived from the Greek plinthos, meaning “tile, brick, squared stone.”
Collection of sayings of saints, martyrs and hierarchs, or tales about them. Derived from the Greek paterikon, meaning “father’s book” or “lives of the fathers.”
Room in medieval monasteries where the scribes copied manuscripts. Latin for “place for writing.”
Barrier in Orthodox churches originally separating the laity in the nave from the priests preparing the sacraments at the altar. Evolved into the iconostasis by the fifteenth century. Derived from th...