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Octateuch (Gr., "eight-book"): the
first eight books of the Bible, the Old Testament.
ogee: pointed.
Ogival arch: a pointed, or Gothic arch.
oikos, oikoi (Gr., home) the term is used for
the stanza of hymn, such as the case in the Akathistos Hymn.
Oikumene (Gr. Literally "inhabited earth"):
the civilized world, equivalent to the borders of the Roman
Empire, the adoption of the title Ecumenical Patriarch, by the
Constantinopolitan see, expressed a controversial claim on universal
authority, that was challenged by the Papacy.
omophorion (Gr., "cape," "scarf"):
long ceremonial scarf worn by bishops, decorated by crosses.
The omophorion was worn over the phelonion, and later over the
sakkos. The crosses of patriarchal omophorions were blue (see cat 135).
opus sectile (Lat., "cut work"):
a type of inlay in marble and other materials used to decorate
floors and walls.
orans, orant (Lat., "praying"): figure
with both hands raised in the traditional Christian gesture
of prayer.
orarion: the long stole exclusively worn by
the deacon in the Orthodox Church; it drapes across the left
shoulder and extends toward the ground over chest and back.
The deacon holds the orarion while making gestures that call
the attention of the congregation to the liturgical action.
Byzantine writers analogize the movement of the orarion with
the beating of angels’ wings, hence their decoration with
the words of the seraphic hymn "holy, holy, holy."
orthros (Gr., dawn): liturgical celebration
of the first hour of the day, corresponding to Matins in the
Western rite.
Ottomans: originally a dynasty of Turkish emirates
founded in the thirteenth century by Osman I, later the empire
that replaced the Byzantine State. The Ottomans were an ascendant
force in Asia Minor and reigned over a large empire, which was
only overthrown in 1922. The earliest Greek reference to them
is written by Pachymeres in 1302, who reports that the Byzantine
army was defeated by a Turkish Chieftain named "Atman."
During the fourteenth century the Ottomans conquered a number
of Byzantine cities, establishing the first capital at Brousa
in 1326. A domino effect ensued and the Ottomans soon had a
foothold in the Balkans, shortly after 1371 the Byzantine Emperor
was a vassal to the Ottoman Sultan. Only the unforeseen attack
of Timur, who defeated Bayezid I, at the Battle of Ankara July
28, 1402 gave the Byzantines a short respite from Ottoman aggression,
as Timur set about dismantling of Ottoman power in Anatolia.
Furthermore, internal struggles between Bayezid’s heirs
between 1402–1413, allowed the Byzantines to make a limited
recovery in Thrace and Macedonia. With the death of the relatively
conciliatory Murad II, and the ascent of Mehmed II, the final
chapter of the Byzantine State began, ending with the fall of
the city on May 29, 1453.
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