abbess

head of a nunnery; superior; hegumene

acrostic

word formed from the first letters of the first words of successive lines in a poem

name of a famous poetic hymn to the Virgin Mary

amphitheater

area or racetrack surrounded by tiers of seating on a circular or elliptical plan

ampulla(ae)

vial or flask made of clay or lead, used to hold a substance (eulogia) gathered at a holy site

Resurrection, often depicted as Christ pulling Adam and Eve from their coffins; Easter image of the Orthodox Church

apocrypha

texts not accepted as canonical

apotactite

virgin; religious woman

apotropeia

protective or amuletic objects or symbols

apse

vaulted semicircular room, located at east end of a church

arena

see amphitheater; area for fights or races in Roman and Byzantine cities

Arian, Arianism

heretical brand of Christianity which undermines the divinity of Christ

ascetic

person who adopts a self-depriving or harsh way of life

Augusta

empress; a title conferred on imperial women

royalty, power, majesty

bay

a unit or compartment of an architectural space, defined by vaulting or wall elements

bezel

the top face of a ring

catechumens

those who are preparing for baptism

Common Era, equivalent to A.D. (Anno Domini)

cenobitic

style of monastic life in which individuals live together in a group

Chalke

name of gate at the main entrance into the imperial palace in Constantinople

tunic; a basic shift or undergarment

a cloak fastened by a fibula; standard element of court costume

ciborium

free-standing canopy or cover over a sacred place or altar

ornamental stripe applied to a tunic

cloisonné

metalworking technique in which wires (cloisons) of metal are soldered to a base, forming compartments which hold the colors in enamels

crypt

space under the main floor of a church, usually for burial or to house saints’ relics

dalmatic

tunic

deaconess

ecclesiastical title given to women in the church

prayer, entreaty

figural composition in which the Virgin Mary and Saint John the Baptist are shown supplicating Christ

joining of right hands in marriage

diptych

two hinged panels or leaves; lists of the names of the living and dead

nun in charge of church services and of singing nuns and their training

rhetorical description of a work of art, often set as a poem

encomium

literary work praising a person; panegyric

entablature

architectural members carried on piers or columns, often supporting the superstructure or gallery of a church; architrave, frieze, and cornice above supporting columns or piers

ephoros; ephoreia

guardian of a monastery; guardianship

eremitic

pertaining to solitary life or life as a hermit

eschatological

dealing with last things: death, judgment, heaven, and hell

token, blessing; substance believed to have amuletic powers

eunuch

castrated male

piety

an offering made in fulfillment of a vow

fibula

pin or brooch

fresco

technique of painting on wet plaster which when dry is long-lasting; used in decorating walls of churches

frontispiece

initial page or pages of a manuscript

gallery

upper level of a church, above the side-aisles and open to the nave

gynaeceum; gynaikonitis

women’s quarters of a house or palace

galleries or place in a church reserved for women

hagiography

writing about saints’ lives

abbess

hieratic

stiff, formal, frontal, as in a portrait or group portrait; as in an icon

long mantle

hippodrome

an arena for horse racing and popular entertainment

holy man; saint

set of rules of a monastery

icon (from eikon(es))

image; picture or portable panel with sacred use and connotations

iconoclast

destroyer of images; opposed to images

iconoclasm

movement of the eighth and ninth centuries that denied the holiness of images

iconodule

servant of images; in favor of images; iconophile

intrado(s)

inner surface or an arch or doorway

katholikon

principal church of a monastic complex

nun in charge of dining at a monastery

founder

generosity in the form of gifts or favors

worship

liturgy; liturgical

any repeated performance or observance; a rite, usually within the church

holy place, a site visited by pilgrims associated with a sacred event or saint’s remains

loros

a jeweled scarf worn by imperial figures

a wide, jeweled ceremonial collar or necklace

veil or shawl worn over the head; typical costume of the Virgin Mary

martyrium

building at a place where a person or event bore witness to God’s grace

medallion

portrait used for painted or mosaic decoration having a round frame

medium

material of which something is made, as in gold, glass or wood

books or readings pertaining to saints commemorated according to the monthly calendar

collection of notices of saints’ lives (vitae) arranged by month according to their feast days in the church calendar

Metaphrastes

name of a compiler and regularizer of saints’ lives in the late tenth century

monastery (male or female community)

community of nuns or monks living in a walled enclosure and segregated from the rest of society

Monophysitism

heretical brand of Christianity which claimed that the divinity of Christ outweighed his humanity

mosaic

costly technique of setting individual colored cubes, or tesserae, of stone or glass into a plaster surface to form decorative images on the walls of churches

nave or central space of a church; main worship space, under the dome

narthex

porch or vestibule before the entrance to a church

nave

see naos

Nestorianism

heresy in which the unity of Christ’s person was undermined and which implied that there were actually two sons, the divine Son of God and the human son of Mary

niello

a shiny black, bituminous substance used, for example, to fill engraved letters of inscriptions on silver liturgical objects

financial manager of a monastery; steward

Orthodox(y)

Christianity as defined by correct beliefs, as determined at the seven ecumenical councils of the church

obverse

front or main surface of a coin

cloak

most holy; usually refers to the Virgin Mary

panegyric

encomium; work praising someone or something

Pantocrator

all-powerful; creator of all

parecclesion

funerary chapel adjacent to a church

free speech or communication with God

virgin(s)

paten

flat dish used to hold the eucharistic bread on the altar

Patriarch

head of the church at one of the principal sees of Eastern Christianity, Rome, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem and Constantinople

pendilia, or prependulia

pendant ornaments on an imperial crown

fecundity

love of mankind, generosity

a friend of virgins

chamber in the imperial palace with red stone (porphyry) walls where the empress gave birth to children

porphyrogennetos; porphyrogenneta(ai); also porphyrogenitus (a)

a child born in the Porphyra of the imperial palace

hard, reddish-purple stone quarried in Egypt, reserved for imperial use

prophylactory

protective device

act of reverence, veneration

in art, a small, naked child with wings, associated with symbolic or allegorical subjects

register

horizontal row of decoration

relief

carving on a block of stone that stands out from the ground

reverse

back surface of a coin

rotunda

round building, usually with spherical domed roof

roundel

image in carved, painted, or mosaic decoration with a round frame

title given to the second in authority after the emperor; commander-in-chief

senate

group of officials or dignitaries carrying out mainly ceremonial roles

senmurv

Sassanian mythical beast, combined bird and lion, often appearing as a design on textiles

snood

hair net

gold coin weighing 1/72 of a pound; nomisma

a type of imperial crown

military governor or general

abbess; hegumene; head of a nunnery

liturgy or celebration honoring an event or person, usually a saint

church calendar with readings for fixed feast days; collection of hagiographical texts

ornamental patch sewn onto a cloak indicative of rank; badge of office

oblong frame with “handles” carrying an inscription, often appearing above the head of an individual in a portrait, as on a consular diptych or a sarcophagus

humility

tessera(ae)

individual cubes of stone, glass, or terracotta (or glass with a layer of silver or gold) used in mosaic technique

theophany

a divine appearance, as in a manifestation of God; an epiphany

Theotokos

“God-bearer”; refers to the Virgin Mary, or Mother of God

a shield-shaped motif found on the front of an empress’s ceremonial garb

the place(s); a conceit referring to a particular type of event or pattern of life found repeatedly in poems, saints’ lives or other highly constructed texts

Triumph of Orthodoxy

final defeat of iconoclasm in 843, celebrated on the first Sunday in Lent

regulatory document or foundation charter of a monastery, of two types, founders and liturgical

the right to one marriage and no more

life, lives; referring to hagiographic texts, saints’ lives

an inn or hospice for travelers (strangers) or for the sick