Narthex

Photo of choir members processing into the Chapel from the narthex.

Through the portal, one enters the narthex (Latin for “porch”). The narthex of Duke Chapel is a place for visitors to pause and reflect, to prepare for the splendor of the sanctuary itself, and to remember that they are entering a place of worship. The narthex is the visitor’s first glimpse of the Gothic style of the Chapel’s interior, with its delicate ribbed vaulting and beautiful carved bosses.

Above the entrance to the nave are some organ pipes — silent, as they are now merely decorative. These are the remnants of an antiphonal section of the older Aeolian organ, whose casing helps protect the Flentrop organ. Around the other walls of the narthex are six stained-glass windows representing women of the Old Testament. Steps lead up to three pairs of oak doors with pane glass and gold-plated decoration, which open to the nave.

You can learn more these parts of the Chapel by clicking on the corresponding image: