The chancel

Beyond the nave is the chancel where the clergy sit, and also the choir unless, as in some churches, they are in a gallery at the west end.  You will often find a screen separating the chancel from the nave, and it is this screen which gives the chancel its name.  The word chancel comes from the Latin cancelli, which means a criss-cross screen like trellis-work.  It is the same word as cancelling in arithmetic, when you cancel out factors with a slanting line.  When there is a large crucifix on top of the screen, it is called a rood screen, the word rood (spelt r-o-o-d) being an old English word for Cross.  You will generally see a figure of Our Lady and St John on either side of the crucifix.  When the crucifix is hung from the roof, it is known as a hanging rood.