Sacred Space between Inclusion and Exclusion: The Dynamics of Liturgical Access in the Christian East

This article explores sacred space in the Christian East as a site where order and disruption are not opposites but entwined. It examines how access to the sanctuary, though often framed as fixed and hierarchical, is in practice shaped by exceptions, reversals, and local traditions that complicate traditional boundaries. The first half of the article traces the structuring of space in early and medieval Christian texts, while the second focuses on gendered access through historical roles like deaconesses, female monastics, empresses, and laywomen. Drawing also from the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria, and the contested “punk prayer” performance of Pussy Riot, the article reflects on how sacred space both enforces and exceeds its own limits.