| abbot (Latin, "father") | the superior of an abbey or monastery for men; the female equivalent in a convent of nuns is called an "abbess"
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| a cappella | choral singing without instrumental accompaniment
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| ambulatory | a covered walkway, outdoors or indoors (see Figures 9.8, 13.4)
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| apse | the semicircular recess at the east end of a Roman basilica or a Christian church (see Figure 9.8)
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| benediction | the invocation of a blessing; in art, indicated by the raised right hand with fore and middle fingers extended
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| canon law | the ecclesiastical law that governs the Christian Church
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| cantor | the official in Judaism who sings or chants the liturgy; the official in medieval Christianity in charge of music at a cathedral, later a choir leader and soloist for the responsorial singing
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| catacomb | a subterranean complex consisting of burial chambers and galleries with recesses for tombs
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| chaitya | a sacred space, often applied to arcaded assembly halls that enclose a stupa
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| chatra | an umbrellalike shape that signifies the sacred tree under which the Buddha reached nirvana
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| clerestory (also "clerstory") | the upper part of the nave, whose walls contain openings for light (see Figure 9.8)
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| diptych | a two-leaved hinged tablet; a two-paneled altarpiece
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| dogma | a prescribed body of doctrines concerning faith or morals, formally stated and authoritatively proclaimed by the Church
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| ecumenical | worldwide in extent; representing the whole body of churches
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| gallery | the area between the clerestory and the nave arcade, usually adorned with mosaics in Early Christian churches (see Figure 9.8)
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| Greek cross | a cross in which all four arms are of equal length
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| icon (Greek, "likeness") | the image of a saint or other religious figure
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| iconography | the study, identification, and interpretation of subject matter in art; also the visual imagery that conveys specific concepts and ideas
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| Latin cross | a cross in which the vertical member is longer than the horizontal member it intersects
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| liturgy | the prescribed rituals or body of rites for public worship
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| mandala | a diagrammatic map of the universe used as a visual aid to meditation and as a ground plan for Hindu and Buddhist temple shrines
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| mantra | a sacred formula of invocation or incantation common to Hinduism and Buddhism
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| melismatic | with many notes of music to one syllable
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| mudra (Sanskrit, "sign") | a symbolic gesture commonly used in Buddhist art
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| narthex | a porch or vestibule at the main entrance of a church (see Figure 9.8)
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| nave | the central aisle of a church between the altar and the apse, usually demarcated from the side aisles by columns or piers (see Figure 9.8)
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| neume | a mark or symbol indicating the direction of the voice in the early notation of Gregorian chant
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| orans | a gesture involving the raising of the arms in an attitude of prayer
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| pagoda | an East Asian shrine in the shape of a tower, usually with roofs curving upward at the division of each of several stories
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| pendentive | a concave piece of masonry that makes the transition between the angle of two walls and the base of the dome above (see Figure 9.15)
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| putto (Italian, "child," plural putti) | a nude, male child, usually winged; related to the classical Cupid (see chapter 6) and to Greco-Roman images of the angelic psyche or soul
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| regular clergy (Latin, regula, meaning "rule") | those who have taken vows to obey the rules of a monastic order; as opposed to secular clergy (see below)
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| secular clergy (Latin, seculum, meaning "in the world") | those ordained to serve the Christian Church in the world
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| stupa | a hemispherical mound that serves as a Buddhist shrine
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| syllabic | with one note of music per syllable
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| torana | a gateway that marks one of the four cardinal points in the stone fence surrounding a stupa
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| transept | the part of a basilican-plan church that runs perpendicular to the nave (see Figure 9.8)
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| zither | a five- or seven-stringed instrument that is usually plucked with a plectrum and the fingertips; the favorite instrument of ancient China
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