The '''narthex''' is an entrance area to a [[church]], located at the western end of the [[nave]]. At the opposite (eastern) end of the nave is the [[altar]].
The narthex may sometime consists of two parts, an exonarthex (outer narthex) that forms the outer entrance to the building and parallel to it another part called the esonarthex (inner narthex) that opens into the nave.
==Early churches==
In time the atrium passed into disuse and reforms ended the exclusion of those who were not full members of the church. After this, the nature of the narthex changed to that of a vestibule or a porch. In some church buildings even the vestiges of the narthex disappeared, with entrance to the nave of the church occurring immediately upon entering.
== Women behind Veils ==
According to ''The Holy Catechism of Nicolas Bulgaris,'' page 79:
''The Narthex is named by Gabriel the Corinthian, the Women's place. "For where the women stand in the Temple, this is called the Narthex," certainly in the space allotted to the [[Catechumens]], where we described the Narthex itself, the women's place is fixed by Basil, illustrious to the heavens, who lays down the law for it, and was its first inventor. "He ordered veils to be hung," writes Amphilochius in the Saint's life, "among the Catechumens, having laid injunctions on the women that if any were seen during the [[Divine Liturgy]] outside the veils peering through, she should be put out of the Church, and remain excommunicate." In our times places for the women are also built over the Narthex, and so the Narthex evidently means only the vestibule of the Temple.''
An *[http://orthodoxhistory.org/2009/12/pews-or-lack-thereof-in-early-orthodox-churches/ historical study by Matthew Namee] on the use of pews in early American Orthodox churches indicates that many Orthodox Churches separated men and woman during services. Women and children were usually located in a loft or balcony over the Narthex just as Nicolas Bulgaris earlier recorded. Matthew Namee discovered that: According to parish historian C.J. Skedrosin, "men and women were separated" in the early twentieth century at the Greek Orthodox Church in Salt Lake City. In 1906, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that in the Greek Church, "As in the Jewish church the men and women are segregated, and only the women are allowed to sit down during the service." In 1908, the Washington Herald reported that at St. Sophia Greek Church, Washington DC, "In the back of the church are seated women and children." In 1921, the Oregonian newspaper reported that at Holy Trinity Greek Church, Portland, OR, "In the interior the main floor is for the men and the women and children have the gallery for their use. This is provided with seats, but on the main floor there are only a few seats for the use of aged persons or cripples.” According to Fr. Anthony Conairis, priest of Annunciation Greek Church, Minneapolis, "the church originally had folding chairs, and men and women were separated, with women sitting in the balcony. This persisted until the mid-1920s." Lastly, Matthew Namee uncovers that when St. Nicholas Greek Church was built the parish council then decreed "that women were to sit in the balcony, separate from the men." The parish website confirms:
''In a sign of the times, it is interesting to note that discussions at several parish council meetings during this era involved the place of women in the Church: Woman’s place, they decided, was in the balcony – unless it was full – in which case they would be permitted to sit on the main floor. Needless to say, the fairer sex was not amused. However, the Council stood by its decision. A few years later, a new seating arrangement evolved with women sitting to the left of the main aisle and men to the right. By the 1950’s, families began to sit together in worship.''
== Sources ==
* ''A Holy Catechism, or Explanation of the Divine and Holy Liturgy, and Examination of Canidates for Orders by way of question and answer'' of Nicolas Bulgaris, Constantinople, Patriarchal Press, 1861, reprinted 1961
* ''Pews (or lack thereof) in early Orthodox churches,'' The Society for Orthodox Christian History in the Americas, Matthew Namee, [http://orthodoxhistory.org/2009/12/pews-or-lack-thereof-in-early-orthodox-churches/]
==External links==
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narthex Wikipedia: Narthex]
*[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10704b.htm Catholic Encyclopedia: Narthex]
*[http://orthodoxhistorywww.org/2009sacred-destinations.com/12turkey/pews-oristanbul-lackst-thereofsavior-in-earlychora-orthodox-churches/ kariye.htm Pews (or lack thereof) St. Savior in early Orthodox churchesChora]
[[Category:Church architecture]]
