Camille,  Thanks for the definition.  I wasn't even sure it was a real word
until the recent discussion.

Now to the reason I asked.  I live in a very small, rural Vermont town.  We
have a truly lovely typical New England church built in 1842, painted
white, steeple with bell, the works.  This church has been kept in very
good condition with sensible updates throughout the years.  It is a joy to
see.  A cathedral it ain't.

I lived here and attended this church as a child and through my teen years
then I moved away, not far never more than 15 miles but far enough that I
had other churches to attend.  A few years ago we moved back to live with
my elderly Dad and I became involved with my home church once again.  In
the meantime there have been many folks from "away" have moved here, to the
extent that they now outnumber the "natives."  For whatever reason the
portion of the church that I have always refered to as the "vestibule" is
now called the "narthex."  I, for one, don't like the term and still call
it the vestibule.

So, I was interested in the definition of this, new to me, word.  Thanks,  Ruth


At 11:50 AM -0400 10/22/08, Bowman, Camille wrote:
Narthex is the entrance ... usually walled off and separate from the
sanctuary...farthest from the altar. I'm not taking time to fully research
a good plan and explanation but Wikipedia may suffice.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narthex>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narthex

That was a fabulous article, Ken. Thanx alot for sharing it!

Camille Agricola Bowman
-- 
Ruth Barton
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Dummerston, VT

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