iconostasis
/ˌʌɪkəˈnɒstəsɪs
/noun (plural iconostases /ˌʌɪkəˈnɒstəsiːz/)
A screen bearing icons, separating the sanctuary of many Eastern churches from the nave.The altar is located in the center of the sanctuary, and a screen or partition called an iconostasis separates the sanctuary from the rest of the church....
- A set of doors that may have belonged to the church of St. Sophia in Novgorod formed part of the iconostasis, the high screen that divided the church sanctuary from the nave in late medieval Russia.
- The iconostasis of the Orthodox church effects what in Gothic architecture is accomplished by the Rood Screen, the separation of the nave from the sanctuary.
Origin
Mid 19th century: from modern Greek eikonostasis, from eikōn 'likeness' + stasis 'standing, stopping'.