The chancel — also called the choir — is the part of a church containing the high altar, where the clergy and the singers were originally placed; it lies at the east end, opposite the nave. It is normally the richest part of the building.
Position and orientation
Traditional churches are orientated: the chancel faces east, towards the rising sun and symbolically towards Jerusalem, with the entrance and tower at the west end. In a cruciform church the transept lies between nave and chancel; the space where they meet is the crossing.
Construction features
- Chancel termination — the eastern end may be semicircular (an apse, characteristic of Romanesque work) or polygonal, with three, five or seven sides (characteristic of Gothic work).
- Raised floor — in many large churches the chancel floor sits a few steps above the nave, and the chancel itself is built slimmer and lighter.
- Large windows — the greatest concentration of stained glass is usually in the chancel, because light carries liturgical meaning there.
- Ambulatory — in larger churches a walkway runs around the chancel, with radiating chapels opening off it.
- Chancel screen — the chancel was often separated from the nave by a screen or rood loft, keeping the clergy’s offices apart from the laity.
Fittings
- Choir stalls — timber stalls along the side walls for the canons, often with misericords (hinged seats with carved brackets).
- High altar — the liturgical focus of the church.
- Sacrament house or aumbry — in Catholic churches.
Building sequence
In medieval churches the chancel was usually built first and the nave afterwards. The reason was practical: once the chancel was finished, services could be held there while the rest was still under construction. As a result the chancel of an old church is often in an earlier style than the nave — one of the first things a building historian looks for.
Related terms
- Ambulatory
- Apse
- Transept
- Rood screen
- Altar
- Crossing
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