| Term | Definition |
|---|
| catacomb | subterranean network of rock-cut galleries and chambers designed as cemeteries |
| tempera | a technique of painting using pigments mixed with egg yolk, glue or casein |
| rotunda | the circular area under a dome; also a domed round building |
| synagogue | a Jewish house of worship, often having facilities for religious instruction |
| Old Testament | the first of the two main divisions of the Christian Bible, comprising the Law, the Prophets, and the Hagiographa |
| illuminated manuscript | luxurious, handmade book with painted illustrations and decorations |
| piers | vertical, freestanding masonry supports |
| iconoclasm | the destruction of images |
| pendentive | concave, triangular section of a hemisphere, four of which provide the transition from a square area to the circular base of a covering dome |
| Crucifixion | the death of Jesus upon the Cross |
| Annunciation | the announcement by the angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary of her conception of Christ |
| anastasis | a representation, in Byzantine art, of Christ harrowing hell |
| nimbus | a halo or aureole appearing around the heaad of a holy figure to signify divinity |
| cruciform | cross shaped |
| iconography | refers to the content, or subject, of an artowkr, and to the study of content in art |
| diptych | a 2 paneled painting or altarpiece |
| lunette | a semicircular area in a wall over a door, niche, or window; a painting or relif with a semicircular frame |
| orant | a figure with both arms raised in the ancient gesture of prayer |
| New Testament | the collection of the books of the Bible that were produced by the early Christian church, comprising the Gospels, Acts of the Apostles, the Epistles, and the Revelation of St. John the Divine |
| vellum | calfskin prepared as a surface for writing or painting |
| icon | a panel with a painting of sacred persons that are objects of veneration (respect/worship) |
| squinches | architectural devices used as a transition from a square to a polygonal or circular base for a dome |
| pantokrator | Christ as rule and judge of heaven and earth |
| mosaics | patterns or pictures made by embedding small pieces of stone or glass in cement on surfaces such as walls and floors |
| mandorla | an almond-shaped nimbus surrounding the figure of Christ of other sacred figure |
| Gospels | the 4 New Testament books that relate to the life and teachings of Jesus |
| eucharist | the partaking of bread and wine, which Christians hold to be either Christ himself, or symbolic of him |
| theotokos | the virgin mary |
| tessarae | tiny stones or pieces of glass cut to the desired shape and size to form a mosaic |
| transfiguration | the transformation of jesus from human to son of god often shown in art by a cruciform surrounded by light |
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