Decoration and arrangement of the temple

Why do believers build temples? Why do they have so many scattered throughout the Orthodox world? The answer is simple: the goal of everyone is the salvation of the soul, and its achievement is impossible without visiting the church. It is a hospital, where the soul is healed from sinful falls, and its deification. The design of the temple, its decoration allow the believer to plunge into the divine atmosphere, to become closer to the Lord. Conduct a rite of baptism, weddings, the sinner can only let go of the priest who is present in the temple. Without services, prayers, a man can not become a child of God.

Orthodox church

The Orthodox temple is a place where they serve God, where there is an opportunity to connect with him through such sacraments as baptism, the sacrament. Here believers gather to make a joint prayer, the strength of which everyone knows.

The first Christians had an illegal position, so they did not have their own temples. For prayers, believers gathered in the homes of the leaders of the communities, synagogues, and it happened that in the catacombs of Syracuse, Rome, Ephesus. It lasted for three centuries, until Konstantin the Great came to power. In 323 he became a full emperor of the Roman Empire. Christianity he made the state religion. Since then, and began the active erection of churches, and later monasteries. It was his mother - the queen Elena of Constantinople - who initiated the erection of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.

Since then, the structure of the temple, its interior decoration, architecture has undergone significant changes. In Russia it was customary to build cross-domed churches, this type is still relevant. An important detail of any temple are the domes, crowned with a cross. Already from afar, you can spot the house of God. If the domes are gilded, then under the rays of the sun they flame, symbolizing the fire that burns in the believing hearts.

Internal organization

The internal structure of the temple necessarily symbolizes the proximity to God, is endowed with a certain symbolism, decoration, serves to meet the goals of Christian worship. As the Church teaches, our entire material world is nothing but a reflection of the spiritual world invisible to the eye. The temple is the image of the presence of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, respectively, the image of the King of Heaven. The device of the Orthodox church, its architecture, symbolism enable believers to perceive the temple as the beginning of the Kingdom of Heaven, its image (invisible, distant, divine).

Like any structure, the temple must carry in itself those functions for which it is intended, to satisfy the needs and to have the following premises:

• For priests who conduct services.
• For all believers present in the church.
• For the penitents and those who are preparing to receive baptism.

From ancient times the temple is divided into three main parts:

• Altar.
• The middle part of the temple.
• The porch.

Then the temple is divided into the following parts:

• Iconostasis.
• Altar.
• Throne.
• Sacristy.
• Hilly place.
• Amvon.
• The salt.
• Ponomarka.
• The choir.
• Paperti.
• Candle boxes.
• Bell tower.
• Porch.

Altar

Considering the structure of the temple, special attention should be paid to the altar. This is the most important part of the church, intended only for priests, as well as for those persons who serve them during worship services. The altar contains the images of Paradise, the heavenly dwelling of the Lord. Denotes a mysterious side in the universe, a part of the sky. Otherwise, the altar is called "heaven on the Zeal". Everyone knows that the Lord closed the Gates after the Fall into the Heavenly Kingdom for ordinary laymen, only God's anointed ones can enter here . Having a special sacred significance, the altar always inspires reverence for believers. If a believer, who helps in a service that leads order or lights candles, comes here, he must make an earthly bow. To laymen, the entrance to the altar is forbidden for the simple reason that this place should always be pure, holy, it is here that the Holy Meal is located. It is not allowed in this place a crowd and outrage, which in its sinful nature can tolerate mere mortals. This place is for the concentration of prayer by the priest.

Iconostasis

Christians feel a sense of reverence when they enter the Orthodox church. His device and interior decoration, icons with the faces of the Saints extol the souls of believers, create an atmosphere of peace, awe of our Lord.

Already in the ancient catacomb temples the altar began to be fenced off from the rest. Then there was a saline, altar barriers were carried out in the form of lowered lattices. Much later, the iconostasis appeared, which has the king's and side gates. It serves as a dividing line that fences the middle temple and the altar. The iconostasis is arranged as follows.

In the center are placed the royal gates - specially decorated doors with two doors, located opposite the throne. Why are they so called? It is believed that through them, Jesus Christ himself proceeds to teach communion to people. To the left and to the right of the royal gates are established the northern and southern gates, which serve to enter and exit the clergy in the statutory moments of the divine service. Each of the icons located on the iconostasis has its own special place and meaning, it tells about an event from the Scripture.

Icons and murals

Considering the device and decoration of the Orthodox church, it should be noted that the icons and frescoes are very important. The Savior, the Virgin, angels, holy saints from the biblical plots are depicted on them. Icons in colors convey to us what is described in words in the Holy Scripture. Thanks to them, a prayer mood is created in the temple. Praying, we must remember that prayer does not rise to the picture, but to the image depicted on it. On the icons images are depicted in the form in which they condescended to the people, as their chosen ones saw. So, the Trinity is depicted in the form seen by her righteous Abraham. Jesus is depicted in that human form in which he lived among us. It is customary to depict the holy spirit in the form of a dove, as it appeared during the baptism of Christ in the Jordan River, or in the form of a fire seen by the apostles on the day of Pentecost.

The newly written icon is necessarily consecrated in the temple, sprinkled with holy water. Then it becomes sacred and has the ability to act with the grace of the Holy Spirit.

The nimbus around the head means that the person pictured on the icon has the grace of God, is holy.

The middle part of the temple

The internal structure of the Orthodox church necessarily contains the middle part, sometimes it is called the nave. In this part of the temple there is a pulpit, a saline, an iconostasis and a choir.

It is this part that is actually called the temple. Since ancient times, this part is called a refectory, because here they eat the Eucharist. The middle temple symbolizes earthly existence, the sensual human world, but justified, burned and already consecrated. If the altar symbolizes the Upper Sky, then the middle temple is a particle of the renewed human world. Two of these parts must interact, under the direction of Heaven, the disturbed order will be restored on Earth.

Poket

The porch that enters the structure of the Christian church is its vestibule. In the sources of faith, penitents or those who were preparing for Holy Baptism stopped in it. In the porch most often have a church box for the sale of prosphora, candles, icons, crosses, for registration of weddings and baptisms. In the vestibule can stand those who received penance from the confessor, and all people who for some reason consider themselves at the moment unworthy to enter the temple.

External device

The architecture of Orthodox churches is always recognizable, and although its types are different, the external structure of the temple has its main parts.

- Absida - ledge for the altar, attached to the temple, usually has a semicircular shape.

- Drum - the upper part, which ends with a cross.

- Light drum - a drum with cut openings.

- The head - the dome crowning the temple with a drum and a cross.

- Zakomara - Russian architecture. Semicircular completion of part of the wall.

- Bulb - head of the church bulbous.

- The porch is a porch elevated above the ground (closed or open type).

- Pilaster - a flat decorative ledge on the wall surface.

- Portal - the entrance.

- Refectory - annex from the west of the building, serves as a place for preaching, meetings.

- The tent - has several facets, covers towers, a temple or a bell tower. Distributed in the architecture of the XVII century.

- Fronton - completes the facade of the building.

- An apple is a dome ball on which a cross is mounted.

- Tier - decrease in height of the entire building.

Types of temples

Orthodox churches have a different form, they can be:

• In the form of a cross (a symbol of crucifixion).
• In the form of a circle (the personification of eternity).
• In the form of a quadrangle (the sign of the Earth).
• In the form of an octagon (the guiding star of Bethlehem).

Each church is dedicated to some holy, important Christian event. The day of their memory becomes the patronal temple holiday. If the chapels with the altar are several, then everyone is called separately. The chapel is a small structure that resembles a temple, but does not have an altar.

At the time of the Baptism of Rus the device of the Christian church of Byzantium had a cross-domed type. It united all the traditions of the Eastern temple architecture. Rus adopted from Byzantium not only Orthodoxy, but also samples of architecture. Keeping traditions, while Russian churches have a lot of original and original.

The device of the Buddhist temple

Many believers are interested in how the temples of the Buddha are arranged. Let's give a brief information. In Buddhist temples , everything is also established according to strict rules. All Buddhists honor the "Three Treasures" and it is in the temple that they seek refuge for themselves - from the Buddha, his teachings and from the community. The right place is where all the "Three Treasures" are collected, they must be reliably protected from any influence, from outsiders. The temple is a closed territory, protected from all sides. Powerful gate - the main requirement in the construction of the temple. Buddhists do not distinguish a monastery or a temple - for them this is one and the same concept.

Each Buddhist temple has a Buddha image, whether it's embroidered, painted or sculpture. This image should be placed in the "golden hall", face to the east. The main figure is huge, all the rest depict scenes from the life of a saint. The temple has other images - these are all beings revered by Buddhists. The altar in the temple is decorated with figures of famous monks, they are located just below the Buddha.

Visiting the Buddhist temple

Those who want to visit the Buddhist temple, must necessarily adhere to certain requirements. Legs, shoulders must cover the opaque clothing. Like other religions, Buddhism believes that non-observance of decency in clothes is disrespect to faith.

The feet of Buddhists are considered the dirtiest part of the body, because they are in contact with the earth. Therefore, when entering the temple, you must remove your shoes. It is believed that so the feet become purer.

It is necessary to know the rule according to which the believers sit. In no case should the legs point towards the Buddha or any saint, so Buddhists prefer to keep neutrality - to sit in the lotus position. You can just bend your legs to yourself.