^ftgilacesj supposed by some to bave been a kind of inn, by others a common place of resort for rest or recreation.
■DooTf . — Ghnrchea were usually ptorided with three doors, in imi- ta&m of the Temple. The prin- cipal entrance was called wvAify II.— Y
and iHfXri itpcUa or pamkueff. They were sometimes made of brass, and often richly ornamented. The date of the buUding or dedication of the church was nsually inscribed on the door. Sometimes a motto was affixed, a doctrinal sentiment, a prayer, or doxology. Later, the doors were often of bronze, ornamented with Biblical scenes, etc. In the early Bound-arch period (A.D. 70(^1000) the columns beside the doors nsually rested on the backs of crouching lions, griffins, or other real or imaginary animals, who symbolized a guardian- ship of the entrance to the church.
The doorway was often highly ornamented with clus- ters of beautifiilly-wTought columns, and with a corre- spondingly decorated arched way overhead. This arch later contained angels or saints sculptured in the stone.
PavemaU$, — From the fourth century downwards, great attention was paid to the pavement of the church. In large churches, the narthex had a pavement of plas- ter ; the nave one of wood ; and the sanctuary, or part immediately around the high altar, was adorned with a tesselated pavement of polished and parti-colored marble, constituting a rich mosaic work.
• Windaws,— The Christian churches Aram the first were well provided with windows. It is customary to refer the origin of glass to the third century ; but this is incorrect. The Phoenicians, Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans used glass long before the Christian sera. (See Glass.) In France, windows of both colored and cut glass were in use in the sixth century.
The following statement with regard to the medis- val and more modem churches and cathedrals is taken from Chambers, EncjflopcBdki^ s. v.
* ' In the larger and more complete churches, the nave, and frequently also the choir, are divided longitudin- ally by two rows of pillars into three portions, the por- tion at each side being generally somewhat narrower and less lofty than that in the centre. These side por-
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CHURCH, EVANGELICAL 838
CHURCH OF GOD
tions are called the aisles of the nave, or of the choir, as the case may be. In some churches the aisles are continued along the transepts, thus running round the whole church ; in others there are double aisles to the nave, or to both naye and choir, or even to naye, choir, and transept. Behind, or to the east of the choir, is situated the * Chapel of the Virgin,' with sometimes a number of altars ; and it is not unusual for side chap- els to be placed at different places along the aisles. These usually contain the tombs of the founder, and of other benefactors to, or dignitaries connected with, the church. The extent to which these adjuncts exist de- pends on the size and importance of Uie church, and they are scarcely ever alike in two churches, either in number, form, or position. Vestries for the use of the priests and choristers generally exist in connection with the choir. Along the sides of the choir are ranged richly-ornamented seats or stalls, usually of carved oak, surmounted with tracery, arches, and pinnacles ; and among these seats, in the case of a bishop's church, the highest and most conspicuous is the so-called oo- thedra, or seat for the bbhop, from which the cathedral takes its name. The larger English cathedral and abbey-churches have usually a chapter-house attached to them, which is of various forms, most commonly octagonal, and is often one of the richest and most beautiful portions of the whole edifice. On the Conti- nent, chapter-houses are not so common, the chapter (q. V.) being usually held in the cathedral itself, or in one of the <£apels attached to it. Cloisters (q. v) are also frequent, and not unusually the sides of those which are farthest removed frt>m the church or chap- ter-house are enclosed by other buildings connected with the establishment, such as a library, and places of residence for some of the officiab of the cathedral. It is here that, in Roman Catholic churches, the hall, dormitories, and kitchens for the monks are common- ly placed. Beneath the church there is frequently a crypt (q. v.). In some cathedral churches, the crypt is in reality a second underground church of g^at size and beauty. The baptistery (q. v.) is another adjunct to the church, though frequently forming a building altogether detached. Most of the parts of the church which we have mentioned may be traced on the an- nexed ground-plan of Durham Cathedral, but it must not be supposed that their position is alwa3rs that which is there represented. The position of the nave, choir, or chancel, aisles and transepts, are nearly inva- riable, but the other portions vary, and are scarcely alike in two churches." Modem Church edifice^ vary greatiy in form, structure, and arrangements. See Bingham, Orig. Ecclet, bk. viii; Coleman, ChrUtian Antiqukies, ch. xiii ; also Siegel, Handbuch der chrut- Uch-UrcUkkm AUerth&mer^ ii, 866, 427, and references there. On the adaptation of ancient art to modem Church architecture, and its dangers, see Close, Church Architecture ScriptiuraUy considered (Lond. 1844, 8vo) ; T. K. Amold, Bemarhe on Closers Church Architecture (London, 1844) ; and a series of articles on Church ar- chitecture in the Christiani'i Montidj/ Magazine (Lond. 1844, 1845) ; Milman, History of Latin Christiam^, vol. viii, ch. viii.