Apse

In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin absis: "arch, vault" from Greek ἀψίς apsis "arch"; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an exedra. In Byzantine, Romanesque, and Gothic Christian church (including cathedral and abbey) architecture, the term is applied to a semi-circular or polygonal termination of the main building at the liturgical east end (where the altar is), regardless of the shape of the roof, which may be flat, sloping, domed, or hemispherical. Smaller apses may also be in other locations, especially shrines.[1]

This article is about the architectural feature. For the astronomical term, see apsis. For the rock band, see Apse (band). For the acronym APS, see APS (disambiguation).

Typical early Christian Byzantine apse with a hemispherical semi-dome in the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe
Typical floor plan of a cathedral. The apse is shown in beige.

Definition

An apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault. Commonly, the apse of a church, cathedral or basilica is the semicircular or polygonal termination to the choir or sanctuary, or sometimes at the end of an aisle. In relation to church architecture it is generally the name given to where the altar is placed or where the clergy are seated.[2] An apse is occasionally found in a synagogue, e.g. Maoz Haim Synagogue.

The apse is separated from the main part of the church by the transept.[3]

Smaller apses are sometimes built in locations other than the east end, especially for reliquaries or shrines of saints.

History

The domed apse became a standard part of the church plan in the early Christian era.[4]

In the Eastern Orthodox Church tradition, the south apse is known as diaconicon and the north apse as prothesis. Various ecclesiastical features of which the apse may form part are drawn together here:

Chancel
Main article: Chancel

The chancel (or sanctuary), directly to the east beyond the choir contains the High Altar, where there is one (compare communion table). This area is reserved for the clergy, and was therefore formerly called the "presbytery," from the Greek presbuteros meaning "elder", or in older and Catholic usage, "priest".[5]

Chevet-apse chapels
"Chevet" redirects here. For the parish in England, see Chevet, West Yorkshire.
See also: Apse chapel

Hemi-cyclic choirs, first developed in the East, came to use in France in 470.[6] By the onset of the 13th century, they had been augmented with radiating apse chapels outside the choir aisle, the entire structure of Apse, Choir and radiating chapels coming to be known as the chevet (French, "headpiece").[7]

  • Triple apse of Basilica di Santa Giulia, northern Italy
  • East end of the abbey church of Saint-Ouen, showing the chevet, Rouen, Seine-Maritime, France
  • A chevet apse vault
  • A simple apse set into the east end of St Chad's parish church, at Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire, England
  • The decorated apse of the Cathedral of Monreale, Sicily
  • The apse of St. Martin church in Busskirch, community Jona, Switzerland
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See also

References
  1. "Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception: Floor Plan". NationalShrine.com. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  2. T. Poole (1907). "Apse". Catholic Encyclopedia. New Advent. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
  3. Jane Vadnal (January 1998). "transept". Glossary of Medieval Art and Architecture. University of Pittsburgh. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  4. "Apse". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 10 July 2012.
  5. "Where in the New Testament are Priests Mentioned". Catholic Answers. Catholic Answers. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  6. Moss, Henry; The Birth of the Middle Ages 395-814; Clarendon, 1935
  7. "Chevet", Encyclopædia Britannica
  • Joseph Nechvatal, "Immersive Excess in the Apse of Lascaux", Technonoetic Arts 3, no. 3, 2005.
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