pastophorium

Why this word is great

PASTOPHORIUM — [Noun] A small chapel or side chamber in a temple, housing an image of a god. From Latin pastophorium, borrowed from Greek παστοϕόριον (pastophórion), denoting enclosed chambers in sacred spaces. Unlike the "bema" (commanding the center of Christian worship) or the "diaconicon" (confined to liturgical storage), the pastophorium is peripheral, intimate—a shadowed alcove where divinity lingers unseen. It is the flicker of lamplight on a marble face in the temple of Isis, the hush of sandals on stone as a priest slips behind the curtain, the scent of myrrh pooled in a shallow dish before an unblinking idol—a reminder that gods dwell not only in grandeur, but in the quiet corners where devotion kneels.