Saint Paul’s, the Antwerp Dominican church, a revelation
Floor plan and legend
| A. | Sanctuary with SaintThis is a title that the Church bestows on a deceased person who has lived a particularly righteous and faithful life. In the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Church, saints may be venerated (not worshipped). Several saints are also martyrs. Paul’s high altarThe altar is the central piece of furniture used in the Eucharist. Originally, an altar used to be a sacrificial table. This fits in with the theological view that Jesus sacrificed himself, through his death on the cross, to redeem mankind, as symbolically depicted in the painting “The Adoration of the Lamb” by the Van Eyck brothers. In modern times the altar is often described as “the table of the Lord”. Here the altar refers to the table at which Jesus and his disciples were seated at the institution of the Eucharist during the Last Supper. Just as Jesus and his disciples did then, the priest and the faithful gather around this table with bread and wine. |
| B. | ChoirIn a church with a cruciform floor plan, the part of the church that lies on the side of the nave opposite to the transept. The main altar is in the choir. with choir stallsA series of seats, usually in wood, along the long sides of the choir. These seats are reserved for those who pray and sing the choir prayers. |
| C. | Tower |
| D. | Treasury |
| E. | Hall |
| F. | SacristyThe room where the priest(s), the prayer leader(s) and the altar server(s) and/or acolyte(s) prepare and change clothes for Mass. |
| G. | Stairs to the dormitory |
| H. | Weekly chapel |
| I. | Holy SacramentIn Christianity, this is a sacred act in which God comes to man. Sacraments mark important moments in human life. In the Catholic Church, there are seven sacraments: baptism, confession, Eucharist, confirmation, anointing of the sick, marriage and ordination. altar |
| J. | Holy Cross altar (chapel A small church that is not a parish church. It may be part of a larger entity such as a hospital, school, or an alms-house, or it may stand alone. An enclosed part of a church with its own altar. against the southern transeptThe transept forms, as it were, the crossbeam of the cruciform floor plan. The transept consists of two semi transepts, each of which protrudes from the nave on the left and right.) |
| K. | Our Lady’s chapel |
| L. | CrossingThe central point of a church with a cruciform floor plan. The crossing is the intersection between the longitudinal axis [the choir and the nave] and the transverse axis [the transept]. altar |
| M. | Pulpit |
| N. | Main organ and singers tribune |
| O. | Cloisters |
| P. | Stations of the cross |
| Q. | Counter |
| R. | Corridor to Veemarkt |
| S. | Calvary garden |
