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Definition of "iconostasis" [iconostasis]

  • The screen decorated with icons that divides the sanctuary from the nave of an Eastern Orthodox church. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "iconostasis" in a sentence
  • "And he is, in terms of practicalities, also correct in saying that the altar is hidden behind a wall of icons we call the iconostasis."
  • "At the very top of the iconostasis is a large cross"
  • "The Mass itself is said in ancient Slavonic, the altar is separated from the body of the church by a high partition called the iconostasis, upon which the pictures of Christ and His Mother, as well as various saints, are placed, and the vestments of the Mass are quite different."