Editing Narthex

{{More citations needed|date=August 2023}}{{Short description|Building component}}
{{For|the plant known in antiquity as narthex|Ferula communis}}
[[File:Narthex.png|thumb|Plan of a Western cathedral, with the narthex in the shaded area at the [[Liturgical east and west|western]] end.]]
[[File:HSX Millingen 1912 fig 105.jpg|thumb|Floorplan of the [[Chora Church]], showing both inner and outer narthex.]]
The '''narthex''' is an architectural element typical of [[Early Christian art and architecture|early Christian]] and [[Byzantine architecture|Byzantine]] [[basilica]]s and [[Church architecture|churches]] consisting of the entrance or [[Vestibule (architecture)|vestibule]], located at the west end of the [[nave]], opposite the church's main [[altar]].<ref>By convention, ecclesiastical floor plans are shown map-fashion, with north to the top and the liturgical east to the right. Therefore, some may refer to the narthex as being at the western end of the floor plan. This is done for symbolic reasons, as scriptures say to look for [[Christ]] appearing in the east, thus the location of the altar is known as the liturgical east, regardless of the actual [[cardinal directions]].</ref> Traditionally the narthex was a part of the church building, but was not considered part of the church proper.

In early Christian churches the narthex was often divided into two distinct parts: an esonarthex (inner narthex) between the west wall and the body of the church proper, separated from the nave and [[aisle]]s by a wall, [[arcade (architecture)|arcade]], [[colonnade]], screen, or rail, and an external closed space, the exonarthex (outer narthex),<ref>In other languages a different terminology can arise confusion. For example, in Italian the inner narthex is called ''endonartece'' and the outer narthex ''esonartece'', as the inner narthex in English. Krautheimer (1986), ''passim''</ref> a court in front of the church [[façade]] delimited on all sides by a colonnade as in the first [[Old St. Peter's Basilica|St. Peter's Basilica]] in [[Rome]] or in the [[Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio]] in [[Milan]]. The exonarthex may have been either open or enclosed with a door leading to the outside, as in the [[Byzantine architecture|Byzantine]] [[Chora Church]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/403704/narthex?anchor=ref933261 |title=narthex |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|access-date=23 April 2012}}</ref>

By extension, the narthex can also denote a covered porch or entrance to a building.

==Etymology==
The original meaning of the [[Classical Greek]] word ''narthex'' νάρθηξ<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0058%3Aentry%3Dna%2Frqhc LSJ narthex]</ref> was "[[giant fennel]]".
Derived meanings are from the use of the fennel stalk as [[thyrsus]], as a schoolmaster's cane, as a [[singlestick]] for military exercise, or as a splint for a broken limb. The term was also used for a casket for unguents, and hence as the title of a number of medical works. 
Use for the architectural feature of church building is medieval ([[Byzantine Greek]]), in use by the 12th century (''[[Etymologicum Magnum]]''). English use dates from the 1670s. It isn't clear how this meaning was derived, allegedly from a resemblance of the entrance area of the church to a hollow stem.
In [[Modern Greek]] ''narthekas'' (νάρθηκας) no longer has the classical meaning and is either the porch of a church, as English, or the brace of a sprained wrist or sling of a broken arm. 
 
In English the narthex is now the porch outside the church at the [[Liturgical east and west|west end]]; formerly it was a part of the church building itself,<ref>[[William George Clark]] ''Peloponnesus: notes of study and travel'' 1858 Page 110  "One of the most perplexing words in etymology and application is the word narthex. In modern times it can be applied to the porch outside the church at the west end; in old days it was given to a part of the church itself, ..."</ref>
albeit not considered part of the church proper,  used as the place for [[penitent]]s.<ref>The national encyclopædia. ed.  John H F. Brabner – 1884 "This space was the narthex or " scourge," and was for the use of penitents. The name was also extended to the outer court "</ref>

==Purpose==
The purpose of the narthex was to allow those not eligible for admittance into the general congregation (particularly [[catechumen]]s and [[penitent]]s) to hear and partake of the service. The narthex would often include a [[baptismal font]] so that infants or adults could be baptized there before entering the nave, and to remind other believers of their baptisms as they gathered to worship. The narthex is thus traditionally a place of penitence, and in [[Eastern Christianity]] some penitential services, such as the [[Little Hours]] during [[Holy Week]] are celebrated there, rather than in the main body of the church. In the [[Russian Orthodox Church]] funerals are traditionally held in the narthex.

Later reforms removed the requirement to exclude people from services who were not full members of the congregation, which in some traditions obviated the narthex. Church architects continued, however, to build a room before the entrance of the nave.  This room could be called an inside [[Vestibule (architecture)|vestibule]] (if it is architecturally part of the nave structure) or a porch (if it is a distinct, external structure). Some traditions still call this area the narthex as it represents the point of entry into the church, even if everyone is admitted to the nave itself.

In the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], the esonarthex and exonarthex had, and still have, distinct liturgical functions. For instance, the procession at the [[Easter Vigil|Paschal Vigil]] will end up at the exonarthex for the reading of the Resurrection [[Gospel]], while certain penitential services are traditionally chanted in the esonarthex.

In some Eastern Orthodox [[temple]]s, the narthex will be referred to as the ''[[Refectory|trapeza]]'' (refectory), because in ancient times, tables would be set up there after the [[Divine Liturgy]] for the faithful to eat a common meal, similar to the [[agape feast]] of the [[early church]]. To this day, this is where the faithful will bring their [[Easter baskets|baskets]] at [[Easter|Pascha]] (Easter) for the priest to bless the Paschal foods which they will then take back to their homes for the festive [[breakfast|break-fast]]. Traditionally, the narthex is where [[candles]] and [[prosphora]] will be sold for offering during [[Divine Services]].

The doorway leading from the narthex to the nave is sometimes referred to as the "Royal Doors",<ref>Sometimes the term "Royal Doors" is imprecisely applied to the [[Holy Doors]].</ref> because in major cathedrals (''[[Katholikon|catholica]]'') there were several sets of doors leading into the nave, the central one being reserved only for the use of the [[Byzantine emperor]].<ref>See {{bibleverse||Ezekiel|44:1–3|KJV}})</ref>

On [[feast days]] there will be a [[procession]] to the narthex, followed by intercessory prayers, called the [[Lity (Orthodox Vespers)|Litiy]].

In [[Armenia]] the local style of narthex is known as a ''[[gavit]]''.

<gallery widths="200px" heights="150px">
File:Predeal Murals2.jpg|In the narthex of a small Orthodox church in Romania, looking through the doorway into the [[nave]] and [[Holy Doors]].
File:C0168-Pechersky-Ascension-refectory.JPG|Side view of a narthex in an [[Eastern Orthodox]] temple. In the center is an [[analogion]] at which the priest hears [[Confession (religion)|confessions]], to the right of that is a silver [[baptismal font]] and vessels for dispensing [[holy water]]. The main hall is to the left ([[Pechersky Ascension Monastery]], [[Nizhny Novgorod]]).
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Antechamber]]
* [[Babinets (architecture)]]
* [[Cathedral diagram]]
* [[Liturgical east and west]]
* [[Lobby (room)|Lobby]]
* [[Scarsella (architecture)|Scarsella]]
* [[Westwork]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book
 | last=Krautheimer
 | first=Richard
 | author-link=Richard Krautheimer
 | title=Architettura paleocristiana e bizantina
 | publisher=Einaudi
 | location=Turin
 | year=1986
 | language=it
 | isbn=88-06-59261-0
}}

== External links ==
* {{commons category-inline|Narthexes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Church architecture]]
[[Category:Eastern Christian liturgy]]
[[Category:Architectural elements]]