Man and Church
The Iconostasis, and What goes Where
A look at the function and theology of the iconostasis, and why the icons are arranged the way they are.
Perhaps one of the most iconic – no pun intended – features of Orthodox churches is the iconostasis. This wall of icons (that is the literal meaning of the word in Greek) separates the altar from the nave.
There is a long history to the development of the iconostasis that will not be covered here. Likewise, some Orthodox Churches do not employ the large, multi-tiered iconostasis. But for those churches that do, there is an established tradition for how the iconostasis is organized. This is what we will be briefly covering here.
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