The Iconostasis

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that one of the most unique and forthright features of the Greek Church, the iconostasis, a screen running from wall-to-wall and decorated with icons, is the prime causal factor to differentiate the architecture of a Greek Orthodox church from Roman and Latin churches. The author points out that the most frequently used icon in the sketch of the Greek Byzantine iconostasis is "The Crucifix with Mary and John", whereas, the most frequent icon in the sketch of the Russian Orthodox iconostasis is a simple cross at the top.

Table of Contents
Introduction
The Emergence of the Iconostasis as a Consistent Theme in Byzantine Orthodox Churches
Influences that Impacted the Emergence of the Iconostasis in the East Orthodox Churches
Salient Features of the Greek Orthodox Churches and How Their Iconostasis Spread to Russia
Listing [by Frequency] of Icons in the Sketch of the Greek Byzantine Iconostasis
Russian Iconostasis of the Orthodox Church Established during the 17th-19th Centuries
Listing [by Frequency] of Icons in the Sketch of the Russian Orthodox Iconostasis
The Relevance of Iconoclasts as Perceived by St. John of Damascus and Pavel Florensky
Conclusion (s)

From the Paper:

"It would also be noteworthy to here acknowledge that even before being influenced by oriental trends in concern to the iconostasis early Greek Churches had a minor fence about waist high or lower, that divided the altar from the people. Naught more than an essential barrier or columns, it was common for this fence to be adorned with pictures of the saints at the top. This barrier, invariably comprised of columns at the top of which the pictures were affixed, can be idealized as the first instance of the iconoclast within the interior of the church. Gradually and eventually, the iconostasis evolved from a rather unexceptional separating fence into a "a great screen or partition running from side to side of the apse or across the entire end of the church". The iconostasis eventually came to completely obscure the altar as well as the sanctuary from the portion of the church where the worshipers are located. Solid materials, such as stone, wood and metal began to be employed in the construction of iconostasis and the final version, which is still seen today, had three doors within it. The center door, known as the royal door, leads directly to the altar while the doors to the right and left are respectively the deacon's door and the door leading to the area of the preparation of liturgy."

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