A templon (from
Greek τέμπλον meaning "temple", plural ''templa'') is a feature of
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
churches consisting of a barrier separating the
nave from the
sanctuary near the
altar
An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paganism ...
.
The solid templon first appeared in Christian churches around the 5th century and is still found in many
Eastern Christian churches. Initially it was a low barrier probably not much different from the
altar rails
The altar rail (also known as a communion rail or chancel rail) is a low barrier, sometimes ornate and usually made of stone, wood or metal in some combination, delimiting the chancel or the sanctuary and altar in a church, from the nave and oth ...
of many Western churches. It eventually evolved into the modern
iconostasis, still found in Orthodox churches today.
It is usually composed of carved wood or marble colonnettes supporting an
architrave
In classical architecture, an architrave (; from it, architrave "chief beam", also called an epistyle; from Greek ἐπίστυλον ''epistylon'' "door frame") is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of columns.
The term can als ...
(a beam resting on top of columns). Three doors, a large central one and two smaller flanking ones, lead into the
sanctuary. The templon did not originally obscure the view of the altar, but as time passed,
icons
An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most c ...
were hung from the beams, curtains were placed in between the colonnettes, and the templon became more opaque. In modern Orthodox churches, it is common for the openings of the templa to be constructed specifically to contain icons.
Origins
The templon most likely has an independent origin from that of
Latin chancel barriers. Classical stage architecture is one possible source. At certain times during Byzantine history,
theater heavily influenced painting and sculpture. Architects then, influenced by stage backdrops dating back to
Sophocles
Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or c ...
, consciously imitated the classical ''proskenion'' (Latin
proscenium
A proscenium ( grc-gre, προσκήνιον, ) is the metaphorical vertical plane of space in a theatre, usually surrounded on the top and sides by a physical proscenium arch (whether or not truly "arched") and on the bottom by the stage floor ...
; the backdrop of a classical Greek stage), copying the multiple columns punctuated by a large door in the middle and two smaller doors to each side. The statues on top of the backdrop would thus be analogous to the icons of the saints looking down.
[ Strzygowski, Josef. "A Sarcophagus of the Sidamara Type ... and the Influence of Stage Architecture upon the Art of Antioch." ''The Journal of Hellenic Studies'', Vol. 27 (1907). 99–122.] The similarities, however, are probably only visual. Although classical drama was performed in
Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire, during the 5th and 6th century when the first templa appear, when Christian
liturgy was first being developed, the plays and their architecture had lost their importance and could not have influenced Christian ritual.
A much more plausible theory is that the templon models, in both form and content, the decorative wall of the
Torah screen
The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...
in
Jewish synagogues of the 2nd and 3rd centuries. These, too, had three main divisions: a central door leading to the altar, smaller flanking passages, and a distribution of parts similar to a templon. The Torah screen was probably not the direct prototype of the templon; it probably derives from the imitation of the Torah screen in the altar of a typical
Syrian
pagan temple.
[Swift, Emerson Howland. ''Hagia Sophia''. Columbia University Press, New York, 1940.]
A direct comparison can also be made to the layout of the great
Temple of Jerusalem. The most sacred and innermost portion, known as the
Holy of Holies, was where the
Ark of the Covenant
The Ark of the Covenant,; Ge'ez: also known as the Ark of the Testimony or the Ark of God, is an alleged artifact believed to be the most sacred relic of the Israelites, which is described as a wooden chest, covered in pure gold, with an el ...
was kept. This room was separated from the larger part of the main building's interior by a large curtain, the "
veil of the temple". Only the
High Priest was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies, and only once a year on
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur (; he, יוֹם כִּפּוּר, , , ) is the holiest day in Judaism and Samaritanism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, the first month of the Hebrew calendar. Primarily centered on atonement and repentance, the day's ...
. The third part was the entrance court. This architectural tradition for the two main parts can be seen carried forward in Christian churches and is still most demonstratively present in Eastern Orthodox churches where the iconostatsis divides the altar, the Holy of Holies containing the consecrated Eucharist – the manifestation of the New Covenant, from the larger portion of the church accessible to the faithful. In Orthodox Christian tradition, with the exception of churches at women's
monasteries
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which m ...
, only men with good cause may enter the altar portion behind the iconostasis.
Barriers called templons in Greek were also used on occasions when the
Roman Emperors appeared in public, to segregate the Imperial retinue from the crowd.
Etymology
''Templon'' is a
loan word
A loanword (also loan word or loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language. This is in contrast to cognates, which are words in two or more languages that are similar because the ...
in Greek, from the
Latin ''templum'', "
temple"; how and why it came to have its present meaning is unclear. The most obvious explanation is that the form of the templon resembles a pagan
temple. The steps up to the
apse
In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...
(semicircle where the altar is located) are analogous to the
stereobate
In classical Greek architecture, a stylobate ( el, στυλοβάτης) is the top step of the crepidoma, the stepped platform upon which colonnades of temple columns are placed (it is the floor of the temple). The platform was built on a level ...
and
stylobate of the temple (the floor of a temple). The colonnettes arranged in the π shape resemble the
columns
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...
that surround all four sides of a temple, the
architrave
In classical architecture, an architrave (; from it, architrave "chief beam", also called an epistyle; from Greek ἐπίστυλον ''epistylon'' "door frame") is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of columns.
The term can als ...
looks like the architrave on a temple, and the carved disks on the architrave are analogous to the
metopes on the
entablature.
However, it has also been suggested that the name templon derives not from the pagan temples but from the Christian idea of the shrine where God was worshipped, or more specifically the
Temple in Jerusalem.
In almost all modern European languages, the word ''templon'' is a direct and late borrowing of the Greek architectural term, and it is rarely found outside the academic usage; besides the Greek ''templon'', another direct descendant of the Latin ''templum'', having the same architectural meaning, is the
Romanian
Romanian may refer to:
*anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania
** Romanians, an ethnic group
**Romanian language, a Romance language
***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language
**Romanian cuisine, traditiona ...
word ''tâmplă'', "iconostasis".
Early templa
The chancel barriers are also known in archaeology as chancel screens. Archaeological evidence for an early templon comes from the
Cathedral of St. John at Stoudios in Constantinople, a
basilica
In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name t ...
dedicated to
John the Baptist, built around 463. The chancel barrier surrounded the altar in a π shape, with one large door facing the nave and two smaller doors on the other sides. Twelve piers held chancel slabs of about 1.6 meters in length. The height of the slabs is not known. The chancel barrier was not merely a low
parapet
A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Wh ...
(a short wall); remains of colonnettes have been found, suggesting that the barrier carried an architrave on top of the columns.
[Matthews, Thomas F. ''The Early Churches of Constantinople: Architecture and Liturgy''. Pennsylvania State University Press, PA, 1971, ]
Many fragments of a marble templon have been discovered on the
Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
Though there is some architectural and archaeological evidence of early templa, the first and most detailed description of a templon comes from a poem by
Paul the Silentiary
Paul the Silentiary, also known as Paulus Silentiarius ( el, , died AD 575–580), was a Greek Byzantine poet and courtier to the emperor Justinian at Constantinople.
Life
What little we know of Paul's life comes largely from the contemporary ...
, describing
Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. It was composed near the end of
Justinian I’s reign and was probably recited on
Epiphany
Epiphany may refer to:
* Epiphany (feeling), an experience of sudden and striking insight
Religion
* Epiphany (holiday), a Christian holiday celebrating the revelation of God the Son as a human being in Jesus Christ
** Epiphany season, or Epipha ...
, January 6, 563, celebrating the reinauguration of the church after the reconstruction of the great dome.
Hagia Sophia’s templon surrounded, according to Paulus, "such space as was reserved in the eastern arch of the great church for the bloodless sacrifices".
[Lethaby, W. R. and Swainson, Harold. ''The Church of Sancta Sophia Constantinople: A Study of Byzantine Building''. Macmillan and Co., London, 1894.] That is, it stretched the length of the eastern semidome, including the apse but excluding the
exedrae (half-dome recesses in a wall). Twelve silver-covered marble columns of approximately 4.94 meters from base to capital were arranged on three sides of a rectangular ground plan around the altar. A horizontal entablature rested upon these. Three doors allowed entry to the apse, the central one larger than the other two. Though earlier scholars have proposed that all columns and all doors were in a single line parallel to the apse, modern reconstructions show the central portal facing out to the nave with the smaller doors each located on the other sides of the rectangular plan.
[Xydis, Stephen G. "The Chancel Barrier, Solea, and Ambo of Hagia Sophia." ''The Art Bulletin''. Vol. 29, No. 1 (March 1947). 1–24.]
In between the columns were slabs of marble covered in silver about 1.00 to 1.10 meters tall. On them had been carved the monograms of Justinian and
Theodora (6th century), even though Theodora had been dead for several years, as well as a many-armed
cross
A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a s ...
in the center. On the center of the architrave was a
repoussé medallion of
Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...
. On either side of Him were medallions of angels, the
Prophets, the
Apostles
An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...
, and finally the
Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...
. The carvings on the architrave were deeply tied to the liturgy. Another templon roughly contemporary to Hagia Sophia’s is that of the church to
St. John of Ephesus, rebuilt by Justinian as a domed crucifix.
[Procopius. ''Procopius. Vol. VII: Buildings''. Trans. H.B. Dewing and Glanville Downey, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1940.] There was an inscription to
St. John the Theologian over a side door, since the crypt of the saint was within the enclosed sanctuary.
St. John the Baptist was probably carved over the other door of the templon of Hagia Sophia, since he features prominently in liturgical writings of the church.
In any case, the majority of templa followed the same basic design. They were usually carved of monochrome marble, though some, like Hagia Sophia’s, were covered in precious metals and others used
polychrome marbles. The slabs were often carved with vegetal or animal patterns and the architraves with
busts of God, the Virgin, and the saints. Figurative decoration on the templon was mainly concentrated on the
architrave
In classical architecture, an architrave (; from it, architrave "chief beam", also called an epistyle; from Greek ἐπίστυλον ''epistylon'' "door frame") is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of columns.
The term can als ...
, initially with carved busts. This continued from the time of Justinian into the middle Byzantine period, as shown from a 10th-century excavation in
Sebaste in
Phrygia, which uncovered a marble templon whose epistyle is covered with busts of saints. There is evidence that icons were hung from the columns of the templon prior to
iconoclasm.
Nicephorus I
Nikephoros I or Nicephorus I ( gr, Νικηφόρος; 750 – 26 July 811) was Byzantine emperor from 802 to 811. Having served Empress Irene as '' genikos logothetēs'', he subsequently ousted her from power and took the throne himself. In ...
,
Patriarch of Constantinople from 806 to 815 describes portable icons hung from columns and the gate of the templon in his ''Antirretikoi''. Important portable and colossal icons were also placed in front of the templon, as in the 11th-century church of
Saint Panteleimon in
Nerzei.
[Kavan, Katrina. "Screen: Early Christian and Byzantine." ''The Grove Dictionary of Art Online''. Oxford University Press, Accessed 23 March 2004. .]
Evolution
The templon gradually replaced all other forms of chancel barriers in Byzantine churches in the 6th, 7th, and 8th centuries except in
Cappadocia. As late as the 10th century, a simple wooden chancel barrier separated the apse from the nave in the rock-cut churches, though by the late 11th century, the templon had become standard. This may have been because of the veneration and imitation of the Great Church Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, though the columnar form of chancel barrier does predate Hagia Sophia.
The templon began to change forms to the medieval templon with the attachment of icons and painted scenes to the architrave. Some of the best preserved of these images are from the
Saint Catherine's Monastery
Saint Catherine's Monastery ( ar, دير القدّيسة كاترين; grc-gre, Μονὴ τῆς Ἁγίας Αἰκατερίνης), officially the Sacred Autonomous Royal Monastery of Saint Katherine of the Holy and God-Trodden Mount Sinai, ...
on
Mount Sinai
Mount Sinai ( he , הר סיני ''Har Sinai''; Aramaic: ܛܘܪܐ ܕܣܝܢܝ ''Ṭūrāʾ Dsyny''), traditionally known as Jabal Musa ( ar, جَبَل مُوسَىٰ, translation: Mount Moses), is a mountain on the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. It is ...
in
Egypt. The late 12th-century templon beam shows twelve canonical feast scenes, with the
Deesis
In Byzantine art, and in later Eastern Orthodox art generally, the Deësis or Deisis (, ; el, δέησις, "prayer" or "supplication"), is a traditional iconic representation of Christ in Majesty or Christ Pantocrator: enthroned, carrying a boo ...
(Christ enthroned, flanked by Mary and St. John the Baptist) located in the middle between the Transfiguration and the Raising of
Lazarus, linking the scene of Lazarus with the
Holy Week images according to liturgical practice. Several epistyles of this form have been excavated throughout the empire, none earlier than the 12th century, indicating a change from busts on the architrave to scenic decoration. This new scenic style is representative of the increasing liturgification in Byzantine representational art after iconoclasm.
During most of the Middle Byzantine period, the space between the colonnettes was not filled with icons but with curtains.
Nicholaos Andidorum describes in his ''Protheoria'' "the shutting of the doors and the closing of the curtain over them".
["Templon." ''The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium''. Ed. Alexander P. Kazhdan, Vol. 3. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1991. 2023–4, ] The most widespread image on the medieval templon seems to have been the Deesis. Its popularity arose from not only its simplicity and elegance, suggesting the
efficacy of prayer
The efficacy of prayer has been studied since at least 1872, generally through experiments to determine whether prayer or intercessory prayer has a measurable effect on the health of the person for whom prayer is offered. A study in 2006 indicates ...
and the threat of the
Last Judgment
The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...
, but also because it could be easily adapted to the patron’s tastes with the addition of secondary scenes and characters, as in the Saint Catherine's Monastery where scenes from the life of
St Eustratios appear on either side of the Deesis on a templon beam.
Proskynetaria (large icons) also played a major part in the decoration of the medieval templon, either as monumental images placed on the piers flanking the templon or as portable images in front of the screen. Proskynetaria of both these types still exist in Cyprus, from Lagoudera, now in the Archbishop’s Palace in Nicosia, and in St Neophytos.
Sometime between the 11th and 14th centuries, icons and proskynetaria began to be placed in the intercolumnar openings on the templon. After the reconquest in 1261, carving on the medieval templon approached
sculpture in the round. From this period, the first wood-carved templa, or
iconostases
In Eastern Christianity, an iconostasis ( gr, εἰκονοστάσιον) is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a church. ''Iconostasis'' also refers to a portable icon stand that can be placed ...
, were produced. They for most part had a fixed program of icon decoration with three levels: the Local, the Deesis, and the Festival tiers. Early Russian versions were at chest height, and called "thoraxis" in Greek.
The full height iconostasis became standard in the 15th century, and probably owes more to 14th-century
Hesychast mysticism and the wood-carving genius of the
Russians than anything else. The first ceiling-high, five-leveled Russian iconostasis was designed for the
Cathedral of the Annunciation in
Moscow Kremlin by
Theophanes the Greek
Theophanes the Greek (sometimes "Feofan Grek" from the russian: Феофан Грек, Greek: Θεοφάνης; c. 1340 – c. 1410) was a Byzantine Greek artist and one of the greatest icon painters of Muscovite Russia, who influenced the 15 ...
in 1405, and soon copied by his assistant
Andrey Rublyov
Andrei Rublev ( rus, Андре́й Рублёв, p=ɐnˈdrʲej rʊˈblʲɵf , also transliterated as ''Andrey Rublyov'') was a Muscovite icon painter born in the 1360s who died between 1427 and 1430 in Moscow. He is considered to be one of the ...
in the
Cathedral of the Dormition
The Cathedral of the Dormition (russian: Успенский собор , translit = Uspensky sobor), also known as the Assumption Cathedral or Cathedral of the Assumption, is a Russian Orthodox church dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos. ...
in
Vladimir in 1408.
[Maria Cheremeteff in Leong, Albert ed.;''The Millennium: Christianity and Russia, A.D. 988–1988''; p.109-110; 1990; St Vladimir's Seminary Press;]
Churches with existing Templon
This is a list of known churches which retain their templon. Some have had icons placed inside, and others are modern reconstructions of the original Templon.
*
Torcello Cathedral
The Church of Santa Maria Assunta (''basilica di Santa Maria Assunta'') is a basilica church on the island of Torcello, Venice, northern Italy. It is a notable example of Late Paleochristian architecture, one of the most ancient religious edifi ...
,
Torcello, Italy (7th Century)
*
St. Christine of Lena,
Lena, Spain (9th Century)
*
Hosios Loukas Monastery - Church of the Theotokos,
Distomo, Greece (10th Century)
*
Holy Apostles Church,
Athens, Greece
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh List ...
(10th Century)
*St. Leontius Monastery - Katholikon,
Vodoča, North Macedonia (10th Century)
*
St. Panteleimon Church,
Ohrid, North Macedonia (10th Century)
**Templon is a modern reconstruction, filled with icons.
*
Hosios Loukas Monastery - Katholikon,
Distomo, Greece (11th Century)
**Templon has been filled with icons.
*
St. John the Forerunner Monastery - Katholikon,
Athens, Greece
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh List ...
(11th Century)
*
St. Sophia Church,
Ohrid, North Macedonia (11th Century)
**Templon is a modern reconstruction, filled with icons.
*Tranfiguration of our Savior Church, Christianopouloli, Greece (11th Century)
**Templon is a unique design, an extension of the church walls.
*
Nea Moni - Katholikon,
Chios, Greece (11th Century)
**Templon is a modern reconstruction.
*Theotokos Peribleptos Church,
Ohrid, North Macedonia (11th Century)
**Templon has been filled with icons.
*
Panagia Chalkeon,
Thessaloniki, Greece (11th Century)
**Templon has been filled with icons.
*
St. Mary in Cosmedin,
Rome, Italy (11th Century)
*
St. George Church,
Staro Nagoričane, North Macedonia (11th Century)
**Templon has been filled with icons.
*
Kaisariani Monastery - Katholikon,
Athens, Greece
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh List ...
(12th Century)
*St. Nicholas Church,
Serres, Greece
Sérres ( el, Σέρρες ) is a city in Macedonia, Greece, capital of the Serres regional unit and second largest city in the region of Central Macedonia, after Thessaloniki.
Serres is one of the administrative and economic centers of Northe ...
(12th Century)
**Templon has been filled with icons.
*Transfiguration Church,
Amfissa, Greece (12th Century)
*
St. Panteleimon Church,
Gorno Nerezi, North Macedonia
*
St. Eleftherios Church,
Athens, Greece
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh List ...
(13th Century)
**Templon is a modern reconstruction.
*Porto Panagia Church,
Pyli, Greece
Pyli ( el, Πύλη meaning "gate", before 1927: Δερβενοσάλεσι - ''Dervenosalesi'') is a village and a community in Boeotia, Greece. Its population in 2011 was 652 for the village and 745 for the community, which includes the village ...
(13th Century)
**Templon has been filled with icons.
*
St. Nicholas Orphanos Church,
Thessaloniki, Greece (14th Century)
*
Decani Monastery - Katholikon,
Dečani, Kosovo (14th Century)
*
St. Catherine Church,
Thessaloniki, Greece (14th Century)
**Templon has been filled with icons.
*
Holy Apostles Church,
Thessaloniki, Greece (14th Century)
**Templon has been filled with icons.
*
Prophet Elijah Church,
Thessaloniki, Greece (14th Century)
**Templon has been filled with icons.
*
St Mark's Basilica,
Venice, Italy
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...
(14th Century)
Gallery
Photos of existing templon within churches. Some have had icons placed between the columns.
File:Hosios Loukas Panayia 20091116-4.JPG, Hosios Loukas - Church of the Theotokos
File:Hosios Loukas Katholikon 20091116-33.JPG, Hosios Loukas - Katholikon
File:Prerrománico Santa Crsitina de Lena 4.jpg, Church of St. Christine of Lena
File:Agii Apostoli.jpg, Church of the Holy Apostles in Athens
File:Sv. Kliment i Pantelejmon Plaošnik 003.JPG, Church of St. Panteleimon in Ohrid
File:Roma Santa Maria in Cosmedin BW 1.JPG, Church of St. Mary in Cosmedin
File:St. Panteleimon's Church, Nerezi 20.JPG, Church of St. Panteleimon in Gorno Nerezi
File:Church of Saint George in Staro Nagorichino, iconostase with Mary and Saint George.jpg, Church of St. George, Staro Nagoričane
File:Panagía Gorgoepíkoös interior 2010.jpg, Church of St. Eleftherios in Athens
File:Thessaloniki-Hagia Nicolaos Orphanos- 5685x3807.jpg, Church of St. Nicholas Orphanos in Thessaloniki
File:Church of the Apostoles, Thessaloniki, interior.JPG, Church of the Holy Apostles in Thessaloniki
File:St Luke's Templon, Glasgow.jpg, Greek Orthodox Cathedral of St Luke, Glasgow
See also
*
Ambon (liturgy)
The ambon or ambo ( gr, ἄμβων, meaning "pulpit"; Slavonic: ''amvón'') in its modern usage is a projection coming out from the soleas (the walkway in front of the iconostasis) in an Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Catholic ...
*
Bema
A bema was an elevated platform used as an orator's podium in ancient Athens. The term can refer to the raised area in a sanctuary. In Jewish synagogues, where it is used for Torah reading during services, the term used is bima or bimah.
Ancien ...
*
Rood screen
*
Tribune (architecture)
Tribune is an ambiguous – and often misused – architectural term, which can have several meanings. Today, it most often refers to a dais or stage-like platform or, in a vaguer sense, any place from which a speech can be prominently made.
...
References
{{Reflist
External links
Cyprus's Centre of Cultural HeritageContains a photo of a rebuilt "modern" templon
Hosios Loukas, Phokis, Boeotia, Greece
Architectural elements
Byzantine sacred architecture
Church architecture
Eastern Christian liturgical objects