iconostasis
[ahy-kuh-nos-tuh-sis]
- a partition or screen on which icons are placed, separating the sanctuary from the main part of the church.
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Also i·con·o·stas [ahy-kon-uh-stas] /aɪˈkɒn əˌstæs/.
Origin of iconostasis
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for iconostasis
Historical Examples
This resembles the Greek iconostasis, the screen on which the “icons” or sacred pictures are placed.
On the east is the Iconostasis, dividing the 'Holy of Holies' from the rest of the church.
Jerusalem Explored, Volume I--TextErmete Pierotti
In front of the iconostasis was an "Entombment," surrounded with young grass amid which little lamps shone.
The Shores of the AdriaticF. Hamilton Jackson
The iconostasis is of the seventeenth century; the paintings are covered with silver plates.
The Shores of the AdriaticF. Hamilton Jackson
At Easter time two processional crosses of silver and a Resurrection banner decorate the church outside the iconostasis.
The Shores of the AdriaticF. Hamilton Jackson
iconostasis
iconostas (aɪˈkɒnəˌstæs)
- Eastern Churches a screen with doors and icons set in tiers, which separates the bema (sanctuary) from the nave
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Word Origin
C19: Church Latin, from Late Greek eikonostasion shrine, literally: area where images are placed, from icono- + histanai to stand
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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