Ontario Heritage Trust

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Ablaq >> Masonry laid in courses of alternating colours to create a striped effect. (associated with Islam)
Aedicule >> A frame for a window, doorway, niche or shrine, with a pedestal and columns supporting a pediment. (associated with multiple faiths)
Aisle >> Part of a church parallel to, but divided by, columns from a nave, choir or transept. (associated with multiple faiths)
Akron plan >> A church with curved theatre-style seating, which has Sunday school areas located behind the sanctuary. The Sunday school classrooms are placed in a radial plan around a central instruction area. Often there are moveable walls between these rooms and the central area to allow for a central instruction area. (associated with Christian faiths)
Alcove >> Arched recess or niche in the wall of any building or room. (associated with multiple faiths)
Alley >> A passage through blocks of seating in a church. (associated with multiple faiths)
Altar >> Any surface – usually a block, pedestal or table – on which sacrificial offerings to a deity are made. (associated with multiple faiths)
Altar of repose >> An alcove or side-altar where the Host is kept from Maundy Thursday until Good Friday. (associated with Christian faiths)
Altarpiece >> A painting or relief, usually of religious subject matter, framed and set above and behind an altar. (associated with Christian faiths)
Altar-rail >> Rail marking the most sacred part of a church, dividing the rest of the chancel from it. It also marks the point at which the communicants kneel during the Eucharist. (associated with Christian faiths)
Altar-screen >> A partition, often richly decorated, separating the nave from the chancel or sacrarium. (associated with Christian faiths)
Altar-slab or Altar-stone >> Block of stone forming the top of an altar. (associated with Christian faiths)
Altar-table >> Wooden Holy table used in post-Reformation churches, also called mensa. (associated with Christian faiths)
Alura, alure >> An alley or passage behind a parapet; or a clerestory gallery. (associated with Christian faiths)
Amalaka >> A type of capital found in Hindu architecture, resembling the Indian gooseberry plant. (associated with Hinduism)
Ambo >> A raised platform that acts as both lectern and pulpit in a church, most commonly found in hall style churches. (associated with Christian faiths)
Ambry, aumbry, almery or aumery >> A niche in a wall used for storing various sacred vessels and articles used during a religious service. (associated with Christian faiths)
Ambulatory church >> A church with an aisle that continues around the apse. (associated with Christian faiths)
Amphitheatre seating >> A seating plan wherein the seats/benches arc, encircling a preaching platform. Often the floor rises toward the back of the church, not unlike a Roman amphitheatre. (associated with multiple faiths)
Angle buttress >> A buttress set at 45 degrees to the wall of the church, used for supporting a corner. (associated with Christian faiths)
Ante-chapel >> A room located at the west end of a chapel, serving as a waiting area or entrance to the chapel. (associated with Christian faiths)
Ante-choir >> Fore-choir, or an area located before the choir of a church or cathedral. (associated with Christian faiths)
Ante-church >> An extension of the west end of a church, like a narthex, but consisting of aisles and a nave of several bays. Also known as a fore-church. (associated with Christian faiths)
Apse or apsis >> A semicircular or polygonal space that is vaulted and projects from an external wall, often terminating the nave of a basilica, intended to house the high altar. Apsidal chapels were also built on the eastern sides of transepts of larger churches. (associated with Christian faiths)
Apsidiole >> Apse-shaped. (associated with Christian faiths)
Arcade >> A series of arches on columns or piers supporting a wall. (associated with Christian faiths)
Ark >> Receptacle for storing the scrolls in a synagogue. It is also a type of cupboard used to store priests’ vestments in a church. (associated with Judeo-Christian faiths)
Ashlar >> Dressed and squared building stone. (associated with multiple faiths)
Ataurique >> Plasterwork carved with flowers and leaf patterns. (associated with multiple faiths)
Avulu >> Term for the courtyard of a mosque that, in the summer, could be used as an extension of the prayer area. (associated with Islam)
Baldachin >> A canopy over an altar, usually supported by columns. (associated with Christian faiths)
Baptismal font >> An article of church furniture consisting of a large, sometimes movable, circular basin on a stand, holding the water for baptism. (associated with Christian faiths)
Baptismal tank >> A large tank or pool filled with baptismal water, usually sunk in the floor of a church or in a separate baptistery. Also called an immersion font. (associated with Christian faiths)
Baptisterium >> (See Baptistery) Also called Baptistery or Baptistry. (associated with Christian faiths)
Baptistery >> A building or part of a church containing a font, used for baptismal rites. Also called Bapistry or Baptisterium. (associated with Christian faiths)
Baptistry >> (See Baptistery) Also called Baptistery or Baptisterium. (associated with Christian faiths)
Barrel vault >> The simplest form of vault – a half-cylinder vault supported by walls or columns, also called a tunnel vault. If the apex of the vault is pointed, it is called a pointed vault. (associated with multiple faiths)
Basilica >> A church plan that features a narthex at the entrance, nave and side aisles divided by arcades and terminating with an apse at the sanctuary. (associated with Christian faiths)
Batter >> The inward sloping of a wall, doorway or window. (associated with multiple faiths)
Bay >> A vertical division of architectural spaces created by the rhythm of architectural elements, doors and/or windows, arches, buttresses or other repeated architectural spatial units that separate the space into corresponding portions. (associated with Christian faiths)
Belfry >> A room located in a church tower in which the bells and their supporting timbers are located. (associated with Christian faiths)
Bell cot or bell cote >> A roofed structure on the roof of a church that holds the church bell(s). (associated with Christian faiths)
Bell tower >> A tall structure – independent or attached to a building – used to hold one or more bells. Also called a campanile. (associated with multiple faiths)
Bell turret >> A minor tower, usually capped with a spire or pinnacle, holding one or more bells. (associated with multiple faiths)
Bell-cast roof >> A pitched roof that curves outward at its lower edges like a bell. (associated with multiple faiths)
Bema (Bimah) >> Raised platform in a church or synagogue, sometimes separated from the rest of the place of worship by a railing. Bemas are standard fixtures in synagogues, from which portions of the Torah are read. (associated with Judeo-Christian faiths)
Bench-end >> The terminal timber facing of a church pew, frequently decorated with poppy heads and/or blind tracery. (associated with Christian faiths)
Beth ha-medrash >> Minor synagogue attached to a major synagogue, usually used for prayer or study. (associated with Judaism)
Blind arcade >> A series of continuous arches applied along a wall surface. Also called a blank arcade. (associated with multiple faiths)
Board and batten >> A covering for timber-frame buildings – wide vertical boards with thin vertical battens covering the gaps/joints between the larger boards. (associated with multiple faiths)
Box-pew >> A pew that is framed in, or encased with, relatively high-walled paneling. Doors are located on the sides to allow access to the pews. Popular during the era when pews were purchased or rented (pre-1850). (associated with Christian faiths)
Broach >> A half-pyramidal portion located above the corners of a square tower that enable a transition to an octagonal spire. (associated with multiple faiths)
Broach spire >> A spire on a tower or turret that uses triangular facings (broaches) to transition between the square tower and the tapering octagonal spire. (associated with Christian faiths)
Buttress >> A supporting architectural feature that projects from or is built against the exterior wall of a building to absorb the outward thrust of interior roof vaulting. In Canada, buttresses are largely ornamental. (associated with Christian faiths)
Cami >> Turkish term for a Friday Mosque, as opposed to the smaller mescit. (associated with Islam)
Campanile >> An Italian-style (usually free-standing) bell tower. (associated with Christian faiths)
Capital >> Top or crowning part of a column, pier or pilaster – usually carved/ornamented. (associated with multiple faiths)
Castellation >> A jagged, notched, serrated or indented parapet, first used on fortifications, later used on church façades as ornament. (associated with multiple faiths)
Cathedra >> A formal and elaborate chair or throne, usually found in an Anglican or Catholic church, which is reserved for the bishop or senior clergy. (associated with Christian faiths)
Cathedral >> The principal church of the See or Diocese, containing the cathedra. (associated with Christian faiths)
Chaitya >> An apsidal Buddhist prayer hall that houses a stupa. (associated with Buddhism)
Chaitya arch >> A Hindu architectural motif depicting miniature arches, likely derived from the cross-section of a vaulted Buddhist Chaitya Hall. (associated with Hinduism)
Chancel >> Liturgical eastern part of a church, containing the sanctuary, used by those officiating in the services; often defined by a screen. (associated with Christian faiths)
Chancel-aisle >> Aisle parallel to a chancel, often continuing behind the high-altar as an ambulatory, connecting with the chancel-aisle on the other side. (associated with Christian faiths)
Chancel-arch >> Arch at the liturgical east of the nave, separating the nave from the chancel. (associated with Christian faiths)
Chancel-rail >> Balustrade or low wall separating the chancel from the nave, sometimes doubling as an altar rail. (associated with Christian faiths)
Chancel-screen >> Screen separating the chancel from the body of the church. (associated with Christian faiths)
Chapel >> A side altar or small area within a larger church or a small building or room built exclusively for religious use. A chapel can belong either to an individual or institution, or it can be part of a parish church. (associated with multiple faiths)
Char-bagh >> A garden divided into four areas by four water channels that meet in the centre. (associated with Islam)
Chatri >> A Hindu domed pavilion consisting of a horizontal element carried on four collonettes. (associated with Hinduism)
Chattra >> A stone umbrella on top of a stupa, consisting of a stone disk atop a pole. It symbolizes dignity. (associated with Buddhism)
Chevet >> Apsidal liturgical east end of a large church, including the ambulatory, apse and any radiating chapels. (associated with Christian faiths)
Chigi >> A pair of crossed timbers found at the edge of the ridge of a roof on a Shinto shrine (also referred to as forked finials). (associated with Shinto)
Choir >> Part of the chancel, often separated by an ornamental screen, designated for singing. (associated with Christian faiths)
Choir loft >> Balcony in the choir of a church or the upper part of a choir screen. (associated with Christian faiths)
Choir stall >> Raised seats (usually hinged/folding) in a series of fixed stalls in a choir. (associated with Christian faiths)
Chuppah >> Literally means canopy, usually under which a Jewish marriage ceremony takes place. It symbolises the home the couple will build together. (associated with Judaism)
Church >> An edifice for public Christian worship. (associated with Christian faiths)
Clapboard >> Overlapping horizontal boards used to cover a timber-frame building. (associated with multiple faiths)
Clasping buttress >> Massive buttress, square on plan, at the corner of a building, usually of the Romanesque or First Pointed period. (associated with Christian faiths)
Clerestory windows >> Windows in the upper portion of a wall, especially in the nave of a church. (associated with multiple faiths)
Clocher >> Bell tower, or a room near the top of a tower, where the bells are hung. (associated with Christian faiths)
Cloister >> A four-sided courtyard surrounded by a colonnade or arcade and covered walkway. Originated in monastic architecture, but later became common in medieval colleges and universities. (associated with Christian faiths)
Close >> A courtyard surrounding a cathedral, often enclosed by a fence or low wall. (associated with Christian faiths)
Colonnette >> A small, thin column. (associated with multiple faiths)
Colossal order >> Columns rising from the ground through multiple storeys. (associated with multiple faiths)
Communion rail >> A railing that separates the chancel from the sanctuary. (associated with Christian faiths)
Communion table >> A table used to hold the bread and wine for the celebration of communion. (associated with Christian faiths)
Confessio >> Where the body of a Martyr or Confessor is kept, or the crypt or shrine under an altar, in which such relics are placed. (associated with Christian faiths)
Confessional >> A stall in a church where confessions are heard. (associated with Christian faiths)
Corbel table >> A raised band of small arches supported by corbels near the top of a wall. (associated with multiple faiths)
Counter apse >> Apse opposite another apse, such as in double-ended churches. (associated with Christian faiths)
Crocket >> Gothic ornament – generally a bud, flower, leaf or bunch of foliage – placed in a repeated pattern on the external edges of gables, hood moulds, pinnacles, spires, etc. (associated with Christian faiths)
Cross aisle >> Clear passage between rows of pews. (associated with Christian faiths)
Cross church >> Cruciform church with transepts. (associated with Christian faiths)
Crossing >> The central bay in a cruciform church where the nave and transepts intersect. (associated with Christian faiths)
Crossing tower >> A large tower located at the crossing of a church that often ventilates and admits light into the building. (associated with Christian faiths)
Crown spire >> A spire carried on a flying buttress-like framework, resembling a crown. (associated with Christian faiths)
Cruciform >> Cross-shaped, such as a church with transepts. (associated with Christian faiths)
Crypt >> The chamber, often below a church, where chapels and tombs are located; also where relics were commonly housed and displayed. (associated with Christian faiths)
Cupola >> A tower-like structure on the roof of a building, usually terminating in a dome, often located over the central or main crossing in a place of worship. (associated with Christian faiths)
Dado/Dados >> An ornamental facing on the lower portion of an internal wall (e.g., wainscoting or dado arcade). (associated with multiple faiths)
Diagonal buttress >> A buttress set at the corner of a building, forming a 135 degree angle with the walls. (associated with Christian faiths)
Dome >> A curved roof structure that extends over an area with a circular base, creating an equal thrust in all directions. (associated with multiple faiths)
Dormer >> A framed, roofed, vertical projection from a pitched roof, usually housing a window or louvered opening. (associated with multiple faiths)
Double church >> Two-storey church with a church on both storeys, or a church with two separate naves connected at a centre point. (associated with Christian faiths)
Double cloister >> Ambulatory divided in two by a range of columns or piers. (associated with Christian faiths)
Double-decker >> A two-level pulpit. The lower level is used by the precentor to lead the congregation in hymns while the top level is used by the clergy to deliver the service. (associated with Christian faiths)
Ecclesiology >> The study of theology in the Christian church. The term gained an architectural importance with the formation in 1839 of a High Anglican group of undergraduate students at Cambridge University who, in their devotion to the study of medieval Anglican churches, sought architectural and religious reform. They recommended high-church theology and Gothic architecture, particularly promoting the use of authority in design through the study of medieval architectural precedence. Their publications were spread throughout the Anglican world, disseminating their architectural ideas and rules for “correct” Anglican church building. (associated with Anglican)
Echal >> The enclosure (often made of wood) where the Ark holding the Torah scrolls are kept in a synagogue. (associated with Judaism)
Epistle side >> South side of a church or altar. (associated with Christian faiths)
Esnoga >> Another name for a synagogue. (associated with Judaism)
Exonarthex >> An exterior narthex outside the main façade of a church, usually behind an arcade or colonnade. (associated with Christian faiths)
Façade >> The main exterior face of a building, usually containing an entrance. (associated with multiple faiths)
Fenestella >> Small opening in an altar or shrine providing a view of relics within. Also a recess in the south wall of a chancel holding the piscine and credence-table. Also an opening for a bell in a bell-cote. (associated with Christian faiths)
Fereter >> Shrine containing relics. (associated with Christian faiths)
Feretory >> Place in a church containing the fereter. (associated with Christian faiths)
Finial >> An ornamental boss, crop or knob (usually foliated) at the top of a bench-end, canopy, gable, pinnacle or spire, acting as a terminal. (non-denominational)
Flèche >> A spirelet (small and slender spire) on the ridge of the roof; often placed at the crossing. (associated with Christian faiths)
Flying buttress >> A buttress that arches or flies out from high on an exterior wall to create a segmental arch that then meets an independent pier, which receives the outward thrust of the roof and wall. (associated with Christian faiths)
Font >> Baptismal basin with consecrated water used for the baptism. (associated with Christian faiths)
Gable >> The triangular piece of wall enclosing the end of a pitched roof. It may be ornamented with scroll work, curves, stepped or left plain. (associated with multiple faiths)
Gallery >> An extra floor for seating located over the narthex or the aisles in a church. (associated with Christian faiths)
Gargoyle >> Projecting spout used to carry water from the gutter – often carved in the shape of grotesque figures and animals. (associated with Christian faiths and secular)
Gopuram >> A monumental gateway tower to a Hindu temple. (associated with Hinduism)
Gospel side >> North side of a church or altar. (associated with Christian faiths)
Greek Cross >> A cross-shaped church plan where the arms of the cross are all of equal length. (associated with Christian faiths)
Gurdwara >> Literally means a “historic location” – a Sikh holy place. Also a Sikh place of worship. (associated with Sikhism)
Hagioscope >> An opening cut obliquely in a wall allowing a visual link between the high altar and the aisles or side chapels. (associated with Christian faiths)
Hall church >> A church with aisles but without a clerestory, the interior of which is of approximately uniform height throughout (i.e., the naves and aisles are the same height). (associated with Christian faiths)
Haud (Hauz) >> A pool or tank, often in the centre of the courtyard of a mosque. (associated with Islam)
Hazira >> A tomb contained within an enclosure; it often includes a mosque. (associated with Islam)
Helm roof >> Pitched roofs where four roof faces rest between gables and converge to a point at the top, often found on square church towers. (associated with Christian faiths)
Hertfordshire spike >> A form of short spire or flèche with a punctuated parapet concealing its base. (associated with Christian faiths)
Horseshoe arch >> A distinctly Muslim arch where the semicircular shape narrows toward the base, creating a horseshoe appearance. (associated with Islam)
Hunkar Mahfil >> A royal gallery in an Ottoman mosque. (associated with Islam)
Icon >> A Byzantine-style painting in oil on wood, canvas, paper or a wall (fresco) representing Christ, the Virgin Mary or other saints and scenes from the Bible. (associated with Christian faiths)
Iconostasis >> In Greek and Russian orthodox churches, this is the screen – usually adorned with icons – that divides the sanctuary from the main body of the church. (associated with Christian Orthodox)
Idgah >> An open-air prayer area, used primarily during festivals. (associated with Islam)
Imamzadeh >> A venerated shrine or tomb of a holy man. (associated with Islam)
Jarokha >> A projecting, overhanging covered balcony, often used for ceremonial appearances. (non-denominational)
Kalasha >> A pitcher-shaped finial that crowns a (Hindu) temple, representing abundance. (associated with Hinduism)
Kando >> Main sanctuary of a Japanese Buddhist temple. (associated with Buddhism)
Kneeler >> A padded bench used for kneeling in church. (associated with Christian faiths)
Kuliyye >> Large complexes around mosques, which might include madrassas, libraries, khanqas, bath houses and a kitchen for the poor. (associated with Islam)
Lady chapel >> A chapel in large church for the veneration of the Virgin Mary, located off the chancel or one of the transepts. Sometimes, it is a completely separate but linked building. (associated with Christian faiths)
Lancet >> Narrow, pointed window of Gothic origin, found mainly in church architecture. (associated with Christian faiths)
Latin Cross >> An aisle-less church plan with two transepts. The chancel and nave are the same width. (associated with Christian faiths)
Lectern >> The raised book stand from which the service is read. (associated with Christian faiths)
Lucarne >> A dormer or dormer vent located on the steep angled roof of a spire. (associated with Christian faiths)
Lych gate >> A covered gate at the entrance to a churchyard. (associated with multiple faiths)
Ma'adhana >> Site for the call to prayer, frequently identified with the minaret. (associated with Islam)
Madrasa >> A school for the teaching of Islam – usually a mosque – including lecture halls and residential accommodations for students. (associated with Islam)
Maidan >> A large open space, or square, for ceremonial functions. (non-denominational)
Mandir >> A Hindu temple. (associated with Hinduism)
Manse >> The dwelling of an ecclesiastical minister, especially one for a Presbyterian minister. (associated with Christian faiths)
Mashhad >> Shrine or commemorative mosque. (associated with Islam)
Mashrabiya >> Wooden lattice work creating transparent screens that are placed over openings in a building, such a windows and balconies. (associated with Islam)
Masjid (Mosque) >> Building used for Muslim prayer – the principal unit of Islamic architecture. Standard features include: the minbar or pulpit, which was used by Muhammad to give sermons; the mihrab or prayer niche, which was first introduced by the Umayyad caliph al-Walid in the 8th century; ablutions facilities; a central pool or fountain; and the minaret. (associated with Islam)
Mathara >> Place of ritual ablution (cleansing). (associated with Islam)
Mazar >> Mausoleum or shrine. (associated with Islam)
Mechitzah >> A wood, metal or cloth partition used to divide the men and women in a synagogue. (associated with Judaism)
Meeting house >> A house of worship – primarily for the Society of Friends (Quakers) and the Mormons. (associated with Christian faiths)
Mescit >> A small mosque without a minbar, where daily prayers are held, but not a Friday sermon. (associated with Islam)
Mihrab >> Niche or marker, usually found in a mosque, used to signify the direction of Mecca. The mihrab is a focus for architectural decoration and is often embellished (e.g., with stucco, polychrome glazed tiles, carved woodwork, glass mosaic or marble inlay). The designs are usually epigraphic and often geometric or vegetal, but never with figurative imagery. (associated with Islam)
Minaret >> Tower-like structures with one or more balconies, usually associated with mosques. (associated with Islam)
Minbar >> Type of pulpit usually found in mosques from which prayers, speeches and religious guidance are given. The minbar is situated to the right of the mihrab and consists of a raised platform reached by a set of steps. There is often a door at the entrance to the steps and a dome or canopy above the platform. (associated with Islam)
Misericord >> Hinged seat of a choir stall with a shelf fitted to the underside to provide some level of comfort for those standing during long periods of prayer. (associated with Christian faiths)
Monastery >> A building or building complex that houses a religious order or others seeking religious seclusion. (associated with Christian faiths)
Moon gate >> A circular opening in a wall in traditional Chinese architecture. Moon gates have many different spiritual meanings for every piece of tile on the gate and on the shape of it. (non-denominational)
Mortuary chapel >> Building where corpses are temporarily accommodated; or a chapel over a burial place or sepulchre. (associated with Christian faiths)
Musalla >> A temporary place where prayer is performed by a congregation of people. (associated with Islam)
Narthex >> The vestibule or entry hall of a church through which one reaches the nave, aisles and main public space of the church. (associated with Christian faiths)
Nave >> The central space on the interior of a church, between the aisles. The area of a church intended for the public. (associated with Christian faiths)
Needle-spire >> A very thin, tall spire rising from behind a parapet on a tower. (associated with Christian faiths)
Onion dome >> A pointed, bulbous dome (resembling an onion), often found in Eastern Orthodox and Russian Orthodox church architecture. (associated with multiple faiths)
Pagoda >> A multi-storey Buddhist tower erected as a monument or shrine. (associated with Buddhism)
Pancharam >> A small shrine located on the roof/cornice/lintels of a Hindu temple. (associated with Hinduism)
Parapet >> A low wall at the edge of a balcony or roof. (associated with multiple faiths)
Parapet spire >> A spire set behind a parapet. (associated with Christian faiths)
Pendentive >> Spandrel (triangular shape with the wide-spread side facing up and the tapered point facing down) that allows a circular dome to be placed over a square space. (associated with multiple faiths)
Pew >> Large benches, assembled in rows, in the nave of a church, facing the sanctuary and on which the congregation is seated during the religious service. (associated with Christian faiths)
Pier buttress >> A pier that receives the thrust of a flyer. (associated with Christian faiths)
Pinnacle >> A small pyramid- or cone-shaped element terminating a buttress, often ornamented with crockets, was originally used to load the buttress, in Canada they are primarily ornamental. (associated with Christian faiths)
Piscina >> Stone basin with a drainage system for carrying away the water used in rinsing vessels used during Mass and for ceremonial ablutions (cleansing). It was usually set in a niche in the south wall of a chancel in a church. (associated with Christian faiths)
Porch >> A covered entrance. (associated with multiple faiths)
Prayer desk >> A kneeler with a small shelf for books. In churches, there are often two prayer desks in the chancel: one for the clergy and another for the lay reader. (associated with Christian faiths)
Presbytery >> Raised area of church where the high altar is located, used exclusively by those delivering the service. The term is also used to describe a priest’s house. (associated with Christian faiths)
Priest’s door >> Separate entrance to the chancel, usually on the south side. (associated with Christian faiths)
Prothesis >> Opening on the north side of the bema or apse from which the bread and wine are taken for the sacrament of the Eucharist. Also used to describe a table where the Eucharist preparation is done. (associated with Christian faiths)
Pulpit >> The raised lectern from which the clergy addresses the congregation. (associated with Christian faiths)
Pyx or Pyxis >> Box, shrine or tabernacle to hold the host of wine in a church. (associated with Christian faiths)
Qibla >> Direction of Mecca that determines the direction of prayer. The qibla is the prime factor in the orientation of mosques and is usually marked by a mihrab. (associated with Islam)
Qubba >> Often used to refer to a domed mausoleum or shrine containing the grave of a saint or an important personage. (associated with Islam)
Quoins >> Dressed stones at the external angles of a building/church. (associated with multiple faiths)
Radiating chapels >> Projecting chapels that radiate out from the apse in a semicircular arc around an ambulatory. (associated with Christian faiths)
Rectory >> Residence of the rector or parson of a church. (associated with Christian faiths)
Reliquary >> A container, often richly ornamented, holding the remains of a saint so they can be displayed to the faithful. (associated with multiple faiths)
Reredos >> Ornamental, painted or carved screen placed behind an altar in a church. May be freestanding or part of the retable. (associated with Christian faiths)
Retable >> Screen rising up behind an altar, often richly decorated and carved, including the reredos. (associated with Christian faiths)
Retrochoir >> Area of a large church behind the choir space or behind the high altar. (associated with Christian faiths)
Rood >> Cross or crucifix set above the entrance to the chancel (chancel arch) of a church. May also be located atop the rood screen or rood loft, or on the rood-beam. (associated with Christian faiths)
Rood spire >> Spire over a crossing in a church. (associated with Christian faiths)
Rood-altar >> Nave altar located below a rood, or an altar physically attached to a rood screen, facing the nave. (associated with Christian faiths)
Rood-arch >> An arch located in the centre of a rood-screen. May also refer to chancel arch (arch located between the chancel and nave), if associated with a rood. (associated with Christian faiths)
Rood-beam >> Spans from wall to wall and supports the rood screen. (associated with Christian faiths)
Rood-loft >> A narrow gallery above the rood screen – used by singers and musicians, as well as for display purposes. (associated with Christian faiths)
Rood-screen >> A stone or wooden screen that separates the choir of the church (where the clergy sits) from the nave (where the congregation sits). (associated with Christian faiths)
Rood-tower >> Tower over a crossing and above the rood of a church. (associated with Christian faiths)
Rose window >> A large, circular window (or collection of windows) with a circular composition, typically on a façade or at the back of the chancel in a church. (associated with Christian faiths)
Rustication >> The deliberate use of rough-cut stone to create rustic appearance. Masonry is separated by deep recessed joints. (associated with multiple faiths)
Sacrarium >> Part of a chancel or choir of a church in the area of the high altar. Also referred to as the sanctuary and is often outlined by altar rails. (associated with Christian faiths)
Sacristy >> Also called a sacristry or vestry, this is the room in which the clergy store their vestments. (associated with Christian faiths)
Sahn >> Courtyard of a mosque. (associated with Islam)
Sanctuary >> An especially sacred or holy place within a place of worship. In a church, it is the chancel. (associated with multiple faiths)
Saqaqa >> Water tank for ritual ablutions (cleansing). (associated with Islam)
Sardivan >> Fountain in the core of a mosque courtyard. (associated with Islam)
Sedile/Sedilia >> A seat on the south side of a chancel for the use of celebrants. The plural is sedilia. (associated with Christian faiths)
Semahane >> Literally means “dance hall.” This is a room used for dervishes to dance. Typically an octagonal, domed room often attached to a mosque. (associated with Islam)
Sepulchre >> Tomb, burial place, building or vault used as a grave or burial chamber. Also a receptacle for relics on an altar. (associated with Christian faiths)
Seref (Serefe) >> The balcony on a minaret from which the call to prayer is made. Most minarets only have one balcony, although some have up to three. (associated with Islam)
Shikhara >> Literally meaning “mountain peak,” a shikhara is also used to describe the rising tower of a Hindu, Buddhist or Jain temple. (associated with multiple faiths)
Shrine >> A container for holding relics, or the building in which the relics are stored. Also a site hallowed by a venerated object or occurrence. (associated with multiple faiths)
Slip pew >> A shallow, enclosed pew with a single seat. (associated with Christian faiths)
Spike spire >> Short spire, also called a flèche or spirelet. (associated with Christian faiths)
Spire >> A peaked roof on a church tower. (associated with Christian faiths)
Splay-foot spire >> Spire with a base that opens out at a flat pitch, creating an eaves over the tower. (associated with Christian faiths)
Squinch >> Small arch in the corner of a building that converts a square space to an octagonal area that may then be covered with a dome. (associated with multiple faiths)
Stave church >> A Scandanavian wooden church with few windows and a steep roof. (associated with Christian faiths)
Steeple >> Collective term that includes a church tower and its associated spire. (associated with Christian faiths)
Stupa >> A solid, earthen memorial mound that enshrines a relic of the Buddha, or an honoured Buddhist teacher. (associated with Buddhism)
Torana >> An elaborately carved ceremonial gateway in Buddhist and Hindu architecture. (associated with Buddhism and Hinduism)
Tracery >> Supporting frames (often elaborate) for church windows with ornamental forms. May be fashioned from stone or wood; stylistically associated with Gothic architecture. (associated with Christian faiths)
Transept >> The space of a cruciform church that extends out from the nave at right angles. (associated with Christian faiths)
Transept-aisle >> An aisle on the east, west or both sides of a transept. (associated with Christian faiths)
Transept-chapel >> The chapel on the eastern section of a transept, usually set in a transept aisle, but occasionally projecting from it in an apsidal arrangement. (associated with Christian faiths)
Triforium >> An arcaded passage above the nave arcade and below the clerestory. (associated with Christian faiths)
Turret >> A small slender tower that projects vertically from a wall, usually at the angle of a building. (associated with multiple faiths)
Tympanum >> Space enclosed by a gable or semicircular arch over a doorway. (associated with multiple faiths)
Undercroft >> The basement space located under the chancel, nave and transepts. (associated with Christian faiths)
Vestry >> Also called a sacristry or sacristy. The room in which the clergy store their vestments. (associated with Christian faiths)
Vihara >> Monastic residential hall for Buddhist monks. (associated with Buddhism)
Zilij >> North African term for glazed tiles, usually applied to tile mosaics used for dados in houses and mosques. (associated with Islam)


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