iconostasis

American  

[ahy-kuh-nos-tuh-sis] / ˌaɪ kəˈnɒs tə sɪs /

Also iconostas

noun

Eastern Church.

plural

iconostases

1. a partition or screen on which icons are placed, separating the sanctuary from the main part of the church.

---

iconostasis British  

/ aɪˈkɒnəˌstæs, ˌaɪkəʊˈnɒstəsɪs /

noun

1. Eastern Churches a screen with doors and icons set in tiers, which separates the bema (sanctuary) from the nave

---

Etymology

Origin of iconostasis

From Medieval Greek, dating back to 1825–35; icono-, stasis

Example Sentences

Constructed and painted over seven years beginning in 1698, the iconostasis represents the high watermark of the work of the icon painter Yov Kondzelevych.

From BBC • Mar. 11, 2022

The artifacts originally stood in the central gateway of the iconostasis — the ornately decorated screen that separates the sanctuary from the rest of an Orthodox church — of Saint Anastasios in Peristeronopigi village.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 16, 2021

Father Samuel delivers the liturgy from behind the iconostasis, where he stands with his back to the pews for the majority of the service.

From Washington Times • Oct. 14, 2018

That was when the monastery’s original iconostasis was destroyed, its cathedral, like so many others in Russia, turned into a warehouse.

From New York Times • Aug. 31, 2012

The Llantrisant church has that primitive division between nave and chancel which only very foolish people decline to recognise as equivalent to the Oriental iconostasis and as the origin of the Western rood-screen.

From The Great Return by Machen, Arthur