1. Common usage: The upper room or story in a tower in which bells are hung, and thus often the bell-tower itself, whether it is attached to or stands separate from the main building.
2. Christian: The timber frame inside a church steeple to which bells are fastened.

1. Common usage: A (generic term for) speaker's platform: usually wooden and somewhat rectangular, sometimes with a curved front and back, often with open sides approached by steps.
2. Christian (Western): Raised stage for the clergy in the apse of Early Christian Churches.
3. Christian (eastern): A space raised above the nave level of a church, which is shut off by the iconostasis and contains the altar.
4. Jewish: A platform in the synagogue on which stands the desk from which the Pentateuch and Torah is read.

1. Popular usage: Refers to any honored set of writings.
2. Jewish: refers to Hebrew Bible.
3. Christian: usually refers to Old Testament plus New Testament.
4. Christian (Roman Catholic): The Old Testament consists of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Josue, Judges, Ruth, 1-4 Kings, 1-2 Paralipompenon, 1-2 Esdras, Tobias, Judith, Esthe, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Canticle of Canticles, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Isaias, Jeremias, Lamentations, Baruch, Ezechiel, Daniel, Osee, Joel, Amos, Abdias, jonas, Micheas, Nahum, Habacuc, Sophonias, Aggeus, Zacharias, Malachias, 1-2 Machabees. The New Testament consists of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts of the Apostles, Romans, 1-2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1-2 Thessalonians, 1-2 Timothy, Titus, Phlemon, Hebrews, James, 1-2 Peter, 1-3 John, Jude, Apocalypse.
5. Christian (Protestant): The Old Testament consists of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1-2 Samuel, 1-2 Kings, 1-2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi. The New Testament consists of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts of the Apostles, Romans, 1-2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1-2 Thessalonians, 1-2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1-2 Peter, 1-3 John, Jude, Revelation.
6. Christian (Protestant): The apocrypha consists of: 1-2 Esdras, Tobit, Judith, additions of Esther, Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus (or the Wisom of Jesus Son of Sirach), Baruch, Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Holy Children, Susanna, Bel and the Dragon, the Prayer of Manasses, 1-2 Maccabees.
7. Jewish: The Torah consists of: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. Prophets consists of: Joshua, Judges, 1-2 Samuel, 1-2 Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi. Hagiographa consists of Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, 1-2 Chronicles.

C

1. A bell-tower, usually freestanding.
2. Christian: A common feature of religious compounds.

1. Common usage: A niche or other semi-enclosed area, such as in a library, where a student might sit and work or read.
2. Christian: A niche in a cloister where a monk might sit and work or read.

1. Christian: The bishop's church.
2. Christian: A church of any size that contains the cathedra.
3. Popular usage: Any large, ornate church-like structure, such as the Scottish Rite Cathedral in Indianapolis (which is used by a Masonic order rather than a bishop).
4. Popular usage: Any large building or space with transcendent use (ie. cathedral of basketball).

1. Christian: A sacramental vessel.
2. Christian: A goblet used for the wine in the liturgy of communion.

1. Christian: That part of the east end of a church in which the main altar is placed.
2. Christian: The area of a church containing the main altar, an area which is reserved for clergy and choir.
3. Christian (Roman Catholic): The screen that separated th eastern part from the main body of the church. The term more usually describes the space enclosed and is applied to the whole continuation of the nave east of the crossing.

1. Christian: A place set aside for prayer
2. Christian: A building used for worship.
3. Common usage: A building that looks like a Christian chapel but is used for secular public functions.
4. Chantry chapel (Christian, especially Roman Catholic): A chapel attached to, or inside, a church, established and reserved by endowment for the celebration of Masses for the soul of the benefactor or of such others as he/she may order.
   

1. Christian: Main secular meeting hall of a monastic community, often adjoining a cloister.
2. Christian: The building in a cathedral complex set aside for meetings of the chapter.

1. Popular usage: An animal that is part human and part beast.
2. Popular usage: An animal with the head of a lion, a goat's body and a serpent's tail. Many winged chimeras reside on Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

1. Common usage: Singing group.
2. Christian: A singing group attached to a religious institution or organization.
3. Christian: The part of a church where divine service is sung.
4. Christian: In cathedrals, the section of the church east of the transept that is sometimes raised above the level of the nave is called the choir because traditionally this is where the choir stands to sing during the service.
5. Christian: The area of a church reserved for the singing group.
6. Christian: The eastern area of a church or cathedral, normally occupied by the choir and the clergy; =chancel.

1. Christian: A building used for worship.
2. Popular usage: Any structure used for any religious or spiritual purpose.

• tent-and-tower church: Christian (Russian Orthodox): A description of a Russian style, deriving from its tiered composition, said to be derivative of timber-framed churches of northern Russia.

1. Christian: The topmost part of the church building, the upper story of a church wall, pierced by windows illuminating the central portion of the interior space.
2. Popular usage: A row of windows above the ceiling level of the first floor in any building. A clerestory is below the main eaves, but above any projecting secondary roofs.

1. Christian: Roofed or vaulted passage way surrounding an open quadrangle which connects domestic areas within a monastic building.
2. Christian: The enclosed living/working arrangements of a monastery or nunnery that excludes the outside world.

1. A row or range of columns carrying an entablature or arches.
2. A long row of columns in a line.

1. Uppermost projecting part of an entablature surmounting the frieze and often decorated with moldings and dentils on its lower face.
2. Any continuous projecting decorative molding surmounting an architectural feature.

1. Christian: A monk's hood.
2. A metal covering, shaped somewhat like a monk's hood, fixed over a chimney or other vent and revolving with the wind to improve ventilation.

1. A structure consisting of an upright with a transverse beam used esp. by the ancient Romans for execution.
2. (often capitalized) The Cross on which Jesus was crucified.
3. A Christian symbol consisting of an upright bar traversed by a horizontal one.
4. There are many standard forms: Greek, Latin, Calvary, patriarchial, Lorraine, papal, Celtic, Maltese, Saint Andrew's, tau, pommée, botonée, fleury, avelian, moline, formée, fourchée, crosslet, quadrate and potent.
5. saltire (x-shaped) cross

• Basque cross: Christian (Roman Catholic). Pagan representation of the sun using concentric circles and sunbursts, adapted to Roman Catholic usage, esp. by the Jesuits. Traditional Basque houses have doorways facing the east, typically with a Basque cross carved over the door.
• Crucifix: Christian. A cross in wood, metal, or other substance bearing a representation of the crucified Christ.
• Greek cross: Christian. A cross with four equal arms.
• lantern cross: Christian. A churchyard cross with lantern-shaped top; usually with sculptured representations on the sides of the top.

1. Christian: A chamber or vault beneath the main floor of a church, not necessarily underground, and usually containing chapel, graves and/or relics.
2. The basement area in a building, especially of a church or cathedral.

D

1. Decorative band.
2. The finishing of the lower part of an interior wall from the floor to waist height.

1. A vault of even curvature erected on a circular base.
2. A convex solid roof, usually circular or polygon in its plan, with a base that may be circular, square or polygonal.
3. Common types (categorized by the shapes of both the base and the section through the center of the dome) are: saucer, polyhedral and onion. Many domes are topped with a lantern to provide light inside.

1. Vertical wall supporting a dome or cupola; it may be circular, square or polygonal in plan. The drum gives the dome extra height and allows space for the inclusion of windows to light the interior.
2. The cylindrival blocks of stone that make up a column.

E

1. The components of a building, such as windows, walls, doors, corridors, stairs and chimneys.
2. Christian: the components of communion.

1. A semicircular or rectangular recess with raised seats.
2. More loosely, any apse or niche or the apsidal end of a room or a room opening full width into a larger, covered or uncovered space.

1. The objects used in communion
2. Christian ritual: =Communion, =Mass

F

1. Any object used to control nature (or the spirit world or an aspect of the divine) in a magical fashion.
2. An object venerated as the dwelling place of a spirit (or an aspect of the divine).
3. Examples include charms, talismans or amulets. Fetishes are common in sanctuaries.

1. Common usage: Ritual headgear in Masonic rites.
2. Muslim (historic Turkish): Crimson brim-less headcovering worn in the later Ottoman Emire and in some successor-states, outlawed in Turkey in the early 20th century by Kemal Ataturk.

1. The royal arms of France.
2. Christian: Common decorative theme in churches.

1. quatrefoil: A four-lobed stylized leaf or flower motif.

2. trefoil: A three-lobed stylized leaf or flower motif.

1. Lun Yu
2. Meng Tzu
[incomplete]

1. Middle section of the entablature of a Classical order, above the architrave and below the cornice.
2. Band of relief, molded or painted decoration, usually high on a wall.
3. The decoration of the middle division of the entablature.

G

1. The architectural style that developed in northern France and spread throughout Europe between about 1150 and 1400 CE includes pointed arches, large windows, stone tracery, stone vaulted ceilings and flying buttresses. Often used for churches, cathedrals and other public buildings. Succeeded Romanesque style.
2. In Midwestern vernacular use, Gothic applies to buildings with pointed arches and vaults, windows with pointed arch tops, large amounts of glass in the walls and an overall feeling of great height.

H

1. Christian: A halo (golden disc or portion thereof) behind the head of a person in a sacred depiction denotes a saint.
2. Common usage: A halo (golden disc or portion therof) behind the head of a person in a sacred depiction denotes a holy person.

1. Jewish: The Torah or Pentateuch and sections generally grouped as Prophets and Hagiographa. (see also Septuagint)
2. Christian: The Old Testament.

1. Muslim (Shi'ite): A center for study and prayer.
2. Muslim (Shi'ite): An area of an imambargah where devotional objects are kept.

I

1. A member in the wall, usually formed of a projecting bracket-like molding, on which the end of an arch rests.
2. The projecting stone from which an arch springs.

J

1. Muslim (esp. Gulf States): A button-through, neck-to-ankle coat worn by women.
2. Muslim (esp. Gulf States): A loose-fitting robe worn by men.

1. Common usage: The name of an Arabic-language television service.
2. Common usage: The Arabian Peninsula.
3. Common usage: The land in northern Iraq and Syria between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
4. Common usage: A province in modern Syria.

K

1. Architecture: The central locking stone at the apex (top) of an arch or rib; sometimes carved.
2. Archaic: An engraved stone containing mystical secrets; =clef de voûte.

1. A light, open pavilion usually supported by pillars.
2. A tall, round structure in an urban area used for the posting of bills and other advertising material.

L

1. Architectural element atop a cupola, usually with a light inside.
2. Turret with windows, often topping a dome.
3. A small circular or polygonal turret with windows all around, crowning a roof or dome.
4. A lamp suspended from a ceiling or other high place.
5. A portable lamp.

1. Christian: A cross with three short arms and one long arm.
2. Christian: As a church design, it developed from the plan of the Roman basilican church; accommodates lateral transepts and became the characteristic plan of the Christian church.
   

1. Common usage: A holder for the written material used by a standing speaker.
2. Christian: The Bible is read from this stand, which is usually on the opposite side of the chancel from the pulpit. Reader stands behind lectern on which reading material is placed for easy viewing.

1. Horizontal beam, made of wood or stone, spanning the top of an opening (usually a window or doorway).
2. An upper horizontal element spanning a doorway or window, supported at each end by the upright jambs.

1. Christian: Art that makes visible the unseen presence of God.
2. Christian: Art before which prayers are said.

1. A gallery open on one or more sides, sometimes pillared or with a colonnade or arcade.
2. A separate structure, usually in a garden.

M

1. Muslim: An institution of higher learning in traditional Islamic education.
2. Muslim: Any secondary school teaching the Islamic sciences.
3. Muslim (Sunni): A school for teaching shari'a.

1. In Eastern religious traditions: A marked-out area or a raised earthen platform, representing the cosmos in miniature and used as a place of purification, initiation and meditation.
2. Buddhist (Tibetan): A sacred diagram envisioned as an aid to meditation that is often created in colored sand for a specific purpose, and then destroyed.
3. Buddhist/Hindu: A complex design intended to focus attention during meditation.

1. Muslim: A screen or grille of wood in a mosque to protect and separate the imam from the crowd.
2. Muslim: An enclosed portion of a mosque where a ruler or other dignitary could pray in seclusion from the rest of the congregation.
3. Muslim (Spanish/Moorish): An elevated platform, usually with grilles.

1. A shrine or church erected on the site of a martyrdom.
2. A martyr’s tomb.
3. A site referring to an event in Christ's life or Passion.

1. Muslim: A shrine.
2. Muslim: Tomb of a shahid.

1. Jewish: A candelabrum with seven branches used in ritual.
2. Jewish: The seven-branched oil lamp used in the Tabernacle and temple.
3. Jewish: The Hanukkah menorah has eight branches plus a special shammes candle that is used to kindle the others one by one.

1. Jewish: A box hung on the doorpost of a home, containing scriptural verses
2. Jewish: A charm worn around the neck, containing scriptural verses.

1. Muslim: The apsidal niche in one interior wall of a mosque indicating the direction of Mecca, towards which the worshipper must face while performing prayer. It first appeared in mosques in the early 8th century.
2. Muslim: A recess, alcove or any indication of the direction of Mecca.

1. Muslim: The high pulpit in a mosque.
2. Muslim: The elevated structure of steps in a mosque from which the khutba is given during Friday prayers.
3. Muslim (Shi'ite): The staired platform from which the zakir delivers his majlis.

1. Christian: Originally, the name for any monastic establishment or its church, whether a monastery proper or a house of secular canons.
2. Popular usage: "Minster" often forms part of the proper names of (especially) Presbyterian congregations.

1. Buddhist: Fixed abode of a community of monks or nuns.
2. Christian: Fixed abode of a community of (normally, at least 12) monks, canons regular or nuns. Normally it consists of a church, chapter-house, cloisters, refectory, cells or common dormitory, the superior's apartments, library and work-rooms, guest quarters, and parlor for visitors. A Roman Catholic monastery is generally an abbey or a priory.

1. The decorative internal support within large Gothic windows.
2. A narrow upright stone pier used to divide the panels of glass in a window.
3. Fixed vertical members dividing a window.

1. Muslim: Quintessential form of Islamic decoration and construction using an elaborately molded corbel to created the characteristic honeycomb or stalactitle form of arch-and-vaulted structures.
2. Muslim (Spanish/Moorish): The hanging masonry effect resulting from the multiple use of suport elements.

N

1. The sanctuary or principal room of a temple, containing the statue of a deity.
2. Principal chamber of a Greek temple.
3. Christian (Eastern): Core of a Byzantine Church.

1. Christian: An arcaded transverse porch or vestibule forming the entrance space of a basilica-style church.
2. Christian: A covered antechamber at the main entrance of a church.
3. Common usage: A long, usually arcaded, porch forming an entrance into a public building.
4. Christian: The forehall of a church.

1. Christian: The collection of works in Greek that eventually came to be agreed upon as normative or "canonical" for the Christian Church in addition to the Bible inherited from Judaism. It consists of the four Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, the epistles (letters) of various disciples and the Book of Revelation. The New Testament is understood as the scriptural record of the new covenant, which God has made with his people, now taken to include the whole of mankind.
2. Christian: The second section of the Bible.
3. Christian (Roman Catholic): The New Testament consists of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts of the Apostles, Romans, 1-2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1-2 Thessalonians, 1-2 Timothy, Titus, Phlemon, Hebrews, James, 1-2 Peter, 1-3 John, Jude, Apocalypse.
4. Christian (Roman Catholic): The texts compiled by Bishop Athanasius of Alexandria in 367 CE and ratified by the Church Council of Hippo in 393 and by the Council of Carthage in 397.
5. Christian (Protestant): The New Testament consists of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts of the Apostles, Romans, 1-2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1-2 Thessalonians, 1-2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1-2 Peter, 1-3 John, Jude, Revelation.

1. A recess in a wall, often specifically designed to accommodate a statue
2. Jewish: This recess is intended to direct the worshipper's focus toward Jerusalem.
3. Muslim: A recess called mihrab indicating the direction (qibla) of Mecca, towards which the Muslim worshipper must face while performing prayer.

O

1. Christian (Roman Catholic: Basque): Refers to a specific oak tree in Guernica under which the Juntas Generals (a Basque assembly) met, at least since the 15th Century.
2. Christian (Roman Catholic: French): Refers to xxx.
3. Common usage: Symbol of permanence, steadfastness.

1. Common usage: A round window.
2. Classical usage: The central, round window (in Roman times, unglazed) at the apex of a dome.

1. Christian (Roman Catholic): The Old Testament consists of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Josue, Judges, Ruth, 1-4 Kings, 1-2 Paralipompenon, 1-2 Esdras, Tobias, Judith, Esthe, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Canticle of Canticles, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Isaias, Jeremias, Lamentations, Baruch, Ezechiel, Daniel, Osee, Joel, Amos, Abdias, jonas, Micheas, Nahum, Habacuc, Sophonias, Aggeus, Zacharias, Malachias, 1-2 Machabees.
2. Christian (Protestant): The Old Testament consists of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1-2 Samuel, 1-2 Kings, 1-2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi

1. Christian: A small private chapel, either in a church or in a house.
2. Popular usage (esp. England): A church-like space where concerts are held.

1. The siting of a building in relation to the points of a compass.
2. Christian: Churches are often built with the altar at the east and the main entrance at the west of the structure, but there are many exceptions (including St. Peter's in Rome, which is oriented west-east).
   

1. A depository for the bones of the dead.
2. Jewish: A common secondary burial site used by ancient Jews.

P

1. Christian: Mary as the Mother of God.
2. Christian (Eastern Orthodox): A breastplate icon worn by a bishop on feast-days.

1. The part of a wall above the gutter, which is sometimes decorated with battlements or other designs.
2. A low wall placed to protect any spot where there is a sudden drop, for example at the edge of a bridge, quay or house-top.

1. The open space in front of and around cathedrals or churches.
2. A room over the porch of a church.

1. An ornamental building placed amid a landscaped setting.
2. Can also be an independently expressed part of a larger building, wing or façade.

1. Christian: A fixed wooden seat in a church, usually a wooden bench with back and sides.
2. Christian: A boxed pew is one with a high wooden enclosure all around and a small door typical of Georgian style.

1. The solid masonry support (pillar or column) that supports an arch or bridge.
2. The structural support in a building, usually of solid masonry, but larger and less decorative than a column.
3. Any solid mass of masonry between openings.
4. A squat medieval and Romanesque forms of columns, often changing in section from square to circular or polygonal.
5. A compound pier (or clustered pier) is a pier comprising a number of shafts, common in Gothic architecture.

1. Any door or gate, often elaborately decorated.
2. A small door set within a larger door or gate.

1. Entrance porch; usually colonnaded with a roof supported on one side by decorative columns.
2. A roofed space, open or partly enclosed, forming the entrance and centerpiece of the façade of a temple, house or church, often with detached or attached columns and a pediment.

1. Christian: An often ornate seat in a church for the primary clergyperson, sometimes with a canopy or other throne-like detailing.
2. Christian (Episcopalian): A seat in a church reserved only for the bishop that remains unoccupied in his/her absence.

1. Christian: Clergy adress the congregation from a raised, separate partial enclosure of wood or stone in a church. It is often elaborately carved and sometimes includes an acoustic canopy above called a sounding board or tester.
2. Christian: The person who is giving the sermon stands in the pulpit, sometimes elevated above the congregation as much as 15 feet (in Colonial churches) when height was necessary so clergy could be seen/heard in the back of the church.

QR

1. Muslim: The wall of any mosque facing Mecca which has a mihrab.
2. Common usage (Muslim): The direction of prayer (i.e., toward Mecca).

1. Common usage (Asian): Color worn by a bride on her wedding day.
2. Taoist: Color of happiness.

1. Christian (esp. Roman Catholic): A fragment (usually bone, tooth, dried blood) from the body of a saint.
2. Christian: Any object associated with a saint.
3. Buddhist: A fragment (usually bone, tooth, dried blood) from the body of the Buddha or another holy person.

1. Christian: A shelf or ledge above the back of an altar.
2. Christian: An altar-piece either painted or carved, attached to the back of an altar.

1. The stone arch that supports and strengthens the vault.
2. A projecting molded band applied to a ceiling, most commonly used to emphasize and to decorate the structure of vaults.