This article is about an architectural feature; for the astronomical term see apsis. In Celestial mechanics, an apsis, plural apsides (ˈæpsɨdɪːz is the point of greatest or least distance of the Elliptical orbit of an object from For the rock band, see Apse (band). Apse is an American rock band signed to Spanish label Acuarela Discos and the UK label ATP Recordings. Or you may mean the acronym APS. ApS is an abbreviation for "Anpartsselskab" the Danish term for a limited liability company.

In architecture, the apse (Latin absis "arch, vault"; sometimes written apsis; plural apses) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault. The term architecture (from Greek αρχιτεκτονικήarchitektoniki) can be used to mean a process a profession or documentation Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. A Vault (French voute Italian volta German Gewölbe Polish sklepienie, Spanish In Romanesque, Byzantine and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral and church architecture, the term is applied to the semi-circular or polygonal section of the sanctuary at the liturgical east end beyond the altar. Regional characteristics of Romanesque architecture|Romanesque art Romanesque architecture is the term that is used to describe the architecture of Middle Ages Europe which Byzantine architecture is the Architecture of the Byzantine Empire. See also Gothic art Gothic architecture is a style of Architecture which flourished during the high and late medieval period. An abbey (from Latin abbatia derived from Syriac abba "father" is a Christian Monastery or This article is about the history and organisation of the cathedral The term architecture (from Greek αρχιτεκτονικήarchitektoniki) can be used to mean a process a profession or documentation An altar is any structure upon which Sacrifices or other offerings are made for religious purposes or some other sacred place where ceremonies take place Geometrically speaking, an apse is either a half-cone or half-dome.

Definition

The epithet "apsidal" may be applied to the exedra of classical architecture, a feature of the secular Roman basilica, which provided some prototypes for Early Christian churches. In Architecture, an exedra is a semicircular recess often crowned by a half- Dome, which is usually set into a building's facade The term Classical architecture has a specific Archaeological meaning relating to the architecture of Classical Greece The Latin word basilica (derived from Greek, Basiliké Stoà, Royal Stoa) was originally used to describe a Roman The apse in the Roman basilica was often raised (as the sanctuary generally still is) as a hieratic feature that set apart the magistrates who deliberated within it.

A simple apse set into the east end of an English parish church, at Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire. Poulton-le-Fylde (commonly shortened by locals to just Poulton) is a town within the Wyre borough of Lancashire, England.

The decorated apses of the Cathedral of Monreale, Sicily. Monreale ( Sicilian: Murriali) is a town and Comune in the Province of Palermo, in Sicily, Italy, Sicily ( Italian and Sicilian: Sicilia) is an autonomous region of Italy.

Fresco within the apse of an Orthodox church.

The apse as a semicircular projection (which may be polygonal on the exterior, or reveal the radiating projections of chapels) may be roofed with a half-dome or with radiating vaulting. A chapel is a holy place or area of Worship for Christians, which may be attached to an institution such as a large church, a College, a A Vault (French voute Italian volta German Gewölbe Polish sklepienie, Spanish A simple apse may be merely embedded within the wall of the east end. Eastern orthodox churches may have a triple apse, which is usually a mark of Byzantine influence when it is seen in Western churches. Byzantine architecture is the Architecture of the Byzantine Empire.

The triple apse of an Orthodox church.

East end of the abbey church of Saint-Ouen, showing the chevet), Rouen, Seine-Maritime. Seine-Maritime is a French department in Normandy. Before 1955 it was known as Seine-Inférieure.

Smaller subsidiary apses may be found around the choir or even at the ends of transepts. Full descriptions of the elements of a Gothic floorplan are found at the entry Cathedral diagram. An exedra or apse may be reduced in scale to form a niche within the thickness of walling; a niche does not reveal its presence by projecting on the exterior. The niche in classical architecture is an Exedra or an Apse that has been reduced in size retaining the half-dome heading usual for an apse Where an apse contains an altar or throne it can be architecturally referred to as a tribune. Tribune is an ambiguous often misused architectural term which can have several meanings

The interior of the apse is traditionally a focus of iconography, bearing the richest concentration of mosaics, or painting and sculpture, towards which all other decoration may tend. Iconography is the branch of Art history which studies the identification description and the interpretation of the content of images Art History Mosaics of the 4th century BC are found in the Macedonian palace-city of Aegae, and they enriched the floors of Hellenistic

Parts of the apse

In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, the south apse is known as diaconicon and the north apse — as prothesis. The Diaconicon ( Greek: Διακονικόν diakonikon; Slavonic: diakonik) is in the Eastern Orthodox and Greek-Catholic Various ecclesiastical features of which the apse may form part are drawn together here:

Presbytery

In the presbytery or sanctuary directly to the east beyond the choir is the High Altar, where there is one (compare communion table). This area is reserved for the clergy. The word derives from the Greek presbuteros meaning "elder". Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly An elder (in Greek, πρεσβυτερος; see Presbyter) in Christianity is a person valued for his Wisdom who accordingly holds a particular

Choir or Quire

According to the Concise Oxford Dictionary, the word `choir` in an architectural context means the part of a church 'between the altar and the nave', used by the church choir. Concise Oxford English Dictionary (until 2002 officially entitled The Concise Oxford Dictionary, and widely known by the abbreviation COD In Romanesque and Gothic Christian Abbey, Cathedral Basilica and church Architecture, the nave is the

Chancel

Main article: Chancel

The word "chancel" derives from the French usage of chancel from a Late Latin word cancelli meaning "lattice" (Online Etymology Dictionary). "Chancel" is an architectural term for the space around the Altar at the Liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building Vulgar Latin (in Latin sermo vulgaris, "folk speech" is a Blanket term covering the popular Dialects and Sociolects of the Latin The grating in question separated the chancel from the nave, thus "chancel" refers to the part of a church near the main altar used by the priests and open to the choir. In Romanesque and Gothic Christian Abbey, Cathedral Basilica and church Architecture, the nave is the

Chevet

In the beginning of the 13th century in France, the apses were built as radiating chapels outside the choir aisle, henceforth known as the chevet (French, "headpiece"), when the resulting structure was too complicated to be merely an "apse". Famous northern French examples of chevets are in the Gothic cathedrals of Amiens, Beauvais and Reims. The Cathedral of Our Lady of Amiens (French Cathédrale Notre-Dame d'Amiens) or simply Amiens Cathedral, is the tallest complete Cathedral in Notre-Dame de Reims ( Our Lady of Rheims) is the Cathedral of Reims, where the kings of France were once crowned Such radiating chapels are found in England in Norwich and Canterbury cathedrals, but the fully-developed feature is essentially French, though the Francophile connoisseur Henry III introduced it into Westminster Abbey. History Roman The Romans had their regional capital at Venta Icenorum on the river to the south which is near modern-day Caistor St Edmund Canterbury ( ˈkæntəbɹ̩i is a City in eastern Kent in the South East region of England. Henry III (1 October 1207 &ndash 16 November 1272 was the son and successor of John "Lackland" as King of England, reigning for fifty-six years from 1216 The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, which is almost always referred to by its original name of Westminster Abbey, is a large mainly Gothic church

Ambulatory

The word "ambulatory" refers to a curving aisle in the apse that passes behind the choir, giving access to chapels in the chevet. An aisle is in general a space for walking with rows of seats on either side or with rows of seats on one side and a wall on the other An "ambulatory" ("walking space") may refer to the arcaded passages that enclose a cloister in a monastery. A cloister (from Latin claustrum) is a part of Cathedral, Monastic and Abbey architecture This article concerns the buildings occupied by monastics. For the life inside monasteries and its historical roots see Monasticism.

See also

• Cathedral architecture
• Byzantine architecture
• Narthex
• Church architecture
• Cathedral architecture of Western Europe
• Chancel repair liability in the United Kingdom