| LC control no. | sh2012002256 |
|---|---|
| Topical heading | Bemas (Architecture) |
| Variant(s) | Ambos (Architecture) Bemata (Architecture) Bimah (Architecture) |
| See also | Architecture--Details Apses (Architecture) |
| Found in | Work cat.: 2012021563: Loosley, E. Architecture and liturgy of the bema in fourth- to-sixth-century Syrian churches, 2012: CIP t.p. (bema) galley (the horseshoe- shaped nave platform known as the bema; concept of the bema as a raised platform for the purpose of reading scripture to the faithful appears to have been adopted by early Christians soon after it was included as an accepted element of synagogue architecture and this is illustrated by the presence of bemata in both the synagogue and house-church in Dura-Europos) A&AT (bemas; refers to the apse or chancel of a basilica, usually in the context of ancient or Early Christian basilicas or meeting places, synagogues, or Eastern Orthodox churches. In modern times it most commonly refers to an elevated platform in a synagogue on which the Torah reading stand is placed) Britannica online, May 29, 2012 (bema: raised platform; in Early Christian basilicas it functioned as a stage for the seating of clergy, first in the chancel and later in the apse; also appears in synagogues; Rabbinical authorities disagree about its placement and it has no fixed position) Curl, J.S. Encycl. architectural terms, 1992 (bema: a transverse space in a church, usually slightly raised above the floor of the nave and aisles, between them and the apse or apses; prototype of the transept; it means the sanctuary or chancel of a church. In a synagogue it is the raised platform from which the Torah is read) Dict. arch. & construction, 2006 (bema: 1. a transverse space in a church a few steps above the floor of the nave and aisles, and separating them from the apse; 2. in a synagogue a raised pulpit from which the Torah is read) McGraw-Hill art (bema: in Greek antiquity, a platform for public speaking; in church architecture it is usually the space beyond the nave and aisles reserved for the higher clergy and, in Eastern churches, containing the synthronus. The bema of Early Christian churches was a raised stage used for the clergy and is assumed to form the nucleus of the transept of later times. In modern usage the term is sometimes applied to the pulpit and, in synagogues, to the altar itself) Merriam Webster, May 29, 2012 (bema: 1. the usually raised part of an Eastern church containing the altar; 2. bimah) Oxford art online, May 29, 2012 (under ambo: raised platform for reading and preaching; in Syrian and Mesopotamian churches of the 4th--7th centuries, a platform in the centre of the nave functioned as an ambo, related to the bimah of the Jewish synagogue and to the bema of Syrian liturgical texts; under bimah: raised pulpit in a synagogue from which the Torah is read; ref. from bema) Oxford companion Christian art arch., 1996 (bema: a dais for clergy in the apse of an Early Christian church, corresponding to the sanctuary or chancel; in Eastern churches it is the space beyond the iconostasis, and in large churches is in three parts, each with an apse) OED, May 29, 2012 (bema: 1. Ecclesiastical Hist. The altar part or sanctuary in the ancient church; the chancel; 2. Ancient Greek Hist. The platform or tribune from which an Athenian orator addressed the assembly) |
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