Sanctum sanctorum: Difference between revisions

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{{About|the Latin phrase|the fictional building in the Marvel Universe|Sanctum Sanctorum (Marvel Comics)|The Damned song|Sanctum Sanctorum (song)|the Jewish use of the term|Holy of Holies|chapel in Rome|Sancta Sanctorum (Lateran, Rome)}}

[[Image:Badami cavetemple.jpg|thumb|Sanctum sanctorum in [[Badami Cave Temples]]]]

{{short description|Translation of the Hebrew term Qṓḏeš HaQŏḏāšîm (Holy of Holies)}}

The [[Latin]] phrase '''''sanctum sanctorum''''' means literally "[[Holy of Holies]]." It was originally applied in a religious context to the most sacred place within a sacred building (such as a temple). However, in common usage can also be applied to mean any reserved, private, or much-valued place. The term is used in other religions to refer to a most sacred religious shrine.

{{italic title}}

[[File:Darasuram,_Airavatesvara_Temple,_Sanctum_sanctorum_3,_India.jpg|thumb|Sanctum sanctorum of Airavatesvara Temple, India]]

The [[Latin]] phrase '''''sanctum sanctorum''''' is a translation of the Hebrew term ''קֹדֶשׁ הַקֳּדָשִׁים'' (Qṓḏeš HaQŏḏāšîm), literally meaning '''Holy of Holies''', in Latin texts, this generally refers to the [[Holy of Holies|holiest place]] of the [[Israelites|Ancient Israelites]], inside the [[Tabernacle]] and later inside the [[Temple in Jerusalem]]. However, the term also has some derivative use in application to imitations of the Tabernacle in church architecture.

The plural form ''sancta sanctorum'' is also used, arguably as a [[synecdoche]], referring to the holy relics in the sanctuary. The [[Vulgate]] translation of the Bible uses ''sancta sanctorum'' for the [[Holy of Holies]].<ref>2 Chronicles 5:7, in Latin (Vulgate): "Et intulerunt sacerdotes arcam foederis Domini in locum suum, id est, ad oraculum templi, in Sancta sanctorum subter alas cherubim". In English (King James Version): "And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord unto his place, to the oracle of the house, into the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubim".</ref> Hence, the derivative usage denotes the [[Sancta Sanctorum]] chapel in the complex of the [[Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran]], Rome.

Sanctum sanctorum can also be used to specify the innermost shrine of a [[Judaism|Jewish]] temple, or more specifically, the innermost shrine of the [[Temple of Solomon]].

Sanctum sanctorum refers to the "[[garbha griha]]" inIn [[Hinduism]], meaning the [[shrine]]innermost part insideof a [[Hindu temple|temple complex]], where the maindeity's ''[[deityMurti]]'' is installedkept, informs anthe area''[[Garbhagriha]]'', thatalso isknown inas a separatesanctum building by itself inside the complexsanctorum.

==Etymology==

The Latin word ''[[wikt:sanctum|sanctum]]'' is the neuter form of the adjective "[[sacred|holy]]," and ''sanctorum'' is its [[genitive]] plural. Thus, the term ''[[wikt:sanctum sanctorum|sanctum sanctorum]]'' literally means "the holy [place/thing] of the holy [places/things]," [[Construct state#Hebrew|replicating in Latin the Hebrew construction]] for the [[superlative]], with the intended meaning "the holiest [place/thing]."

==Use of the term in modern languages ==

{{architecture-stub}}

The Latin word ''sanctum'' may be used in [[English language|English]], following Latin, for "a holy place" or a [[sanctuary]], as in the novel ''[[Jane Eyre]]'' (1848), which refers to "the sanctum of the schoolroom."

{{religion-stub}}

[[Romance languages]] tend to use ''sancta sanctorum'', treating it as masculine and singular. E.g., the Spanish dictionary of the [[Royal Spanish Academy|Real Academia Española]] admits ''sanctasanctórum'' (without the space and with an accent) as a derivative Spanish noun denoting both the Holy of Holies in the [[Temple in Jerusalem]], any secluded and mysterious place and something that a person holds in the highest esteem.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}}

The term is still often used by Indian writers for the [[garbhagriha]] or inner shrine chamber in [[Hindu temple architecture]], after being introduced by British writers in the 19th century.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}}

==German Catholic processions==

Some regional branches of the Catholic Church, e.g., Germans, are wont to refer to the [[Blessed Sacrament]] when adored in the tabernacle or exposition or procession (e.g., on [[Corpus Christi (feast)|Corpus Christi]]) as the Holy of Holies. By custom, it is adorned with genuflection; with a double genuflection, that is a short moment of kneeling on both knees, if in exposition; in the procession, this ritual may be nonrigoristically alleviated, but at least a simple genuflection is appropriate when It is elevated by the priest for blessing or immediately after transubstantiation. Personnel in uniform — which in Germany includes student corporations — give the military salute when passing by or in the moment of elevation.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}

==The "enclosed house" of Hindu temple architecture==

The ''[[garbhagriha]]'' in [[Hindu]] temple architecture (a [[shrine]] inside a [[Hindu temple|temple complex]] where the main [[deity]] is installed in a separate building inside the complex) has also been compared to a "sanctum sanctorum" in texts on Hindu temple architecture. However, Sanskrit means "enclosed house" or "the deep interior of the house." However, some Indian English authors seem to have translated the Sanskrit term literally as "womb house."<ref>Mountains of the God — Page 49 Kuldip Singh Gulia The Architecture of Temples Most of the architectural elements are the same in all temples and each has a specific name. The sanctum sanctorum is called the garbha griha — the womb house. The garbha griha is a square cell that is.</ref>

==See also==

*{{annotated Link|In saecula saeculorum}}

==References==

{{Reflist|2}}

[[Category:Vulgate Latin words and phrases]]

[[Category:Superlatives in religion]]

[[Category:Sacral architecture]]

==External links==

{{commons}}