This article is about an architectural feature; for the astronomical term see apsis. elements of an orbit. ...

The exterior of an apse.

In Romanesque, Byzantine and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral and church architecture, the apse (Latin absis "arch, vault"; sometimes written apsis; plural apses) is the semi-circular or polygonal section of the sanctuary at the liturgical east end beyond the altar (plan, right). The semicircular projection (which may be polygonal on the exterior, or reveal the radiating projections of chapels) may be roofed with a half-dome or with radiating vaulting. A simple apse may be merely embedded within the wall of the east end. Eastern orthodox churches may have a triple apse, which is usually a mark of Byzantine influence when it is seen in Western churches. Smaller subsidiary apses may be found around the choir or even at the ends of transepts. Apse This image was retrieved from the Probert Encyclopaedia and may have been obtained from the public domain or it could have been released without the copyright holders permission. ... Apse This image was retrieved from the Probert Encyclopaedia and may have been obtained from the public domain or it could have been released without the copyright holders permission. ... Romanesque St. ... The 11th-century monastery of Hosios Lukas in Greece is representative of the Byzantine art during the rule of Macedonian dynasty. ... See also Gothic art. ... An abbey (from the Latin abbatia, which is derived from the Syriac abba, father), is a Christian monastery or convent, under the government of an Abbot or an Abbess, who serve as the spiritual father or mother of the community. ... A cathedral is a Christian church building, specifically of a denomination with an episcopal hierarchy (such as the Roman Catholic Church or the Lutheran or Anglican churches), which serves as the central church of a bishopric. ... A church building (or simply church) is a building used in Christian worship. ... // Scope and intentions According to the very earliest surviving work on the subject, Vitruvius De Architectura, good buildings should have Beauty (Venustas), Firmness (Firmitas) and Utility (Utilitas); architecture can be said to be a balance and coordination among these three elements, with none overpowering the others. ... Latin is an Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... An ancient Roman altar An altar is any structure upon which sacrifices or other offerings are offered for religious purposes. ... A chapel is a private church, usually small and often attached to a larger institution such as a college, a hospital, a palace, or a prison. ... In architecture, a vault is an arched structure of masonry, forming a ceiling or canopy. ... The 11th-century monastery of Hosios Lukas in Greece is representative of the Byzantine art during the rule of Macedonian dynasty. ... Full descriptions of the elements of a Gothic floorplan are found at the entry Cathedral diagram. ...

Compare the exedra of Classical architecture, which may be considered apsidal, a feature of the secular Roman basilica, which provided some prototypes for Early Christian churches. The apse in the Roman basilica was often raised (as the sanctuary generally still is) as a hieratic feature that set apart the magistrates who deliberated within it. Where an apse contains an altar or throne it can be architecturally referred to as a tribune An exedra adopted by James Cameron for a neoclassical interior space, at the Hermitage In architecture an exedra is a semicircular recess, headed by a half-dome, which is usually set into a buildings facade. ... From the point of view of modern times, the ancient civilizations of the Mediterranean sometimes seem to blend smoothly into one melange we call the Classical. ... The Basilica of St. ... Interior of the Hagia Sophia. ...

A simple apse set into the east end of an English parish church, at Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire

An exedra or apse may be reduced in scale to form a niche within the thickness of walling; a niche does not reveal its presence by projecting on the exterior. Description: Blossoming Crocuses in the old graveyard behind St. ... Description: Blossoming Crocuses in the old graveyard behind St. ... Location within the British Isles. ... Generally, a niche is a special place within the scheme of things. ...

The interior of the apse is traditionally a focus of iconography, bearing the richest concentration of mosaics, or painting and sculpture, towards which all other decoration may tend. Iconography is the study and interpretation of images in art. ... This article is about a decorative art. ...

Various architectural features that may form part of the apse are drawn together here:

Chancel

The word "chancel" derives from the French usage of chancel from a Late Latin word cancelli meaning "lattice" (Online Etymology Dictionary). The grating in question separated the chancel from the nave, thus "chancel" refers to the part of a church near the main altar used by the priests and open to the choir. Vulgar Latin (in Latin, sermo vulgaris) is a blanket term covering the vernacular dialects of the Latin language spoken mostly in the western provinces of the Roman Empire until those dialects, diverging still further, evolved into the early Romance languages — a distinction usually assigned to about the ninth century. ...

Presbytery

In the presbytery or sanctuary directly to the east beyond the choir is the High Altar, where there is one (Compare communion table. This area is reserved for the clergy. The word derives from the Greek `presbuteros` meaning elder. The word choir can refer to: A musical choir. ... A religious elder (in Greek, presbuteros) is valued for his or her wisdom, in part for their age, by the logic that the older one is then the more one is likely to know. ...

Choir

According to the Concise Oxford Dictionary, the word `choir` in an architectural context means the part of a church `between the altar and the nave`, used by the church choir. Concise Oxford Dictionary (COD) is probably the best-known smaller Oxford dictionaries. ... Full descriptions of the elements of a Gothic floorplan are found at the entry Cathedral diagram. ...

Chevet

East end of the abbey church of Saint-Ouen, showing the chevet), Rouen, Seine-Maritime

In the beginning of the 13th century in France, the apses were built as radiating chapels outside the choir aisle, henceforth known as the chevet (French, "headpiece"), when the resulting structure was too complicated to be merely an "apse." Famous northern French examples of chevets are in the Gothic cathedrals of Amiens, Beauvais and Reims. Such radiating chapels are found in England in Norwich and Canterbury cathedrals, but the fully-developed feature is essentially French, though the Francophil connoisseur Henry III introduced it into Westminster Abbey. Download high resolution version (2272x1704, 1141 KB)Abbey church of Saint-Ouen, Rouen, Seine-Maritime/ Photo taken by Urban, December 2004/ GFDL File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (2272x1704, 1141 KB)Abbey church of Saint-Ouen, Rouen, Seine-Maritime/ Photo taken by Urban, December 2004/ GFDL File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Seine-Maritime is a French département in Normandy. ... The cathedral in Amiens Location within France Amiens is a city and commune in the north of France, 120 km north of Paris. ... Beauvais is a city and commune of northern France, préfecture (capital) of the Oise département. ... Location within France Reims (English traditionally Rheims) (pronounced in French) is a city of northern France, 144 km (89 miles) east-northeast of Paris. ... Norwich (pronounced variously Norritch or Norridge) is a city in East Anglia, in Eastern England, and the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. ... St Peters St, Canterbury, from the West Gate, 1993 Canterbury (Latin: Duroverum) is a cathedral city in the county of Kent in southeast England. ... Henry III (October 1, 1207 – November 16, 1272) is one of the least-known British monarchs, considering the great length of his reign. ... The Abbeys western facade The Collegiate Church of St Peter, Westminster, which is almost always referred to as Westminster Abbey, is a mainly Gothic church, on the scale of a cathedral, in Westminster, London, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. ...

Ambulatory

The word `ambulatory` refers to a curving aisle in the apse that passes behind the choir, giving access to chapels in the chevet. An "ambulatory" ("walking space") may refer to the arcaded passages that enclose a cloister in a monastery. In a modern church an aisle is a row down the middle of the church with a set of pews on each side. ... Cloister of Saint Trophimus, in Arles, France A cloister (from latin claustrum) is part of cathedrals and abbeys architecture. ... A monastery is the habitation of monks, derived from the Greek word for a hermits cell. ...

See also:

• Cathedral architecture
• Byzantine architecture
• Abbey has some architectural history and floorplans that identify apses

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