Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In a Greek church, the outer narthex or vestibule, in case there were two, as in the church of St. Sophia in Constantinople, the inner narthex being called the esonarthex.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun architecture , (Christianity) The space anterior to the narthex of a church, sometimes roofed-over as with a porch, but more often an enclosed courtyard; in antiquity, the courtyard where catechumens were permitted to be close to the Eucharist, but forbidden to see it celebrated.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From exo- +‎ narthex.

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