Happy Friday!

At Discipleship Council this week, we were talking about the narthex, and certain happenings therein. While discussing it, I realized that perhaps it had never been explained what a narthex even is. So, I asked exactly that: if everyone knew what a narthex is for. Apparently, my explanation was good enough that a few said, “Looks like you’ve got your next letter.” 

The narthex is essentially a modified logia. A logia (lo-jee-a) is a long hallway in old churches and chapels (especially in the seminaries and monasteries) between the main entrance to the building and the doors to the church itself. It is a transition from the noise of the outside world to the heavenly reality contained within the church, particularly the celebration of liturgies. It is meant to quiet the mind and heart to lead to a deeper encounter with the Divine, so the logia is a quiet place to go from earth to heaven. It is a place of quiet, so voices are silent, and with only essential conversation that never exceeds the volume of a whisper.

The narthex serves a similar purpose: we are retreating from the world to enter the holy presence of God, and it is the space of quiet transition. However, it should serve the purpose of community and information. Unfortunately, this can turn the narthex into a lobby, and it loses its sacred silence. There is no issue using it as a gathering space in certain contexts; however, it can quickly become clutter – not just physically, but spiritually.

You’ll notice that our narthex is rather plain by design. There is not necessarily a problem with putting things in the narthex, but we must ask the question of whether they preserve or disrupt the quieting of the mind for a divine encounter. Anything in the narthex is strategically placed to that end, avoiding “turning my Father’s house into a marketplace.” 

There is no need to be anxious about strictly maintaining an absolute silence in the narthex but let us remember that it is a time and place to transition from the worldly to the divine as we prepare to enter the Presence of our God!

God Bless!
Fr. Stoley