Recently visited an Episcopalian church, and saw, in front, hanging above the altar, a giant, metal crucifix. “There’s a special word for one of those,” my friend said. “And it has a special meaning – I forget what it is, though.”
Any Episcopalians out there know?
Rood.
It’s Middle English for “cross” and used specifically for the large “display” cross or crucifix that is a focal point of one’s attention in a sanctuary. (There was at one time a wall or grillework separating sanctuary from nave in many old churches, on which was posted a rood – the wall or grillework being the “roodscreen.”)