Thresholds of the Sacred

From the walls and curtains of first-century Judaism to the tramezzo of Renaissance Italy, screens of various shapes and sizes have been used to separate the sacred from the secular. Drawn from papers presented at a recent Dumbarton Oaks Byzantine Studies symposium, this collection of essays considers the development and meaning of the iconostasis, the screen used in churches to separate the sanctuary from the nave. The contributors approach the history of the icon screen from a variety of disciplines, including art history, theology, and architecture. They examine the icon screen and its representational art in a variety of times and places, from fourth-century Egyptian churches to the late medieval Gothic screen. Some authors argue that the iconostasis was a conduit rather than a barrier, whereas others emphasize its role as a division between the congregation and clergy.