A major architectural feature of many medieval churches across Europe was the rood screen. “Rood” (from Old English, rōde) means “cross” or “crucifix,” and a rood screen is a partition, usually solid to about waist-high with open tracery above, atop which is a large cross or crucifix, that delineated the nave from the quire and Altar. The immediate visual impact of seeing a screen between the nave and the Altar will be one of familiarity to Orthodox of the Eastern Rite.
Continue reading “A Rood Awakening”