Abbey Church The Chapter House, Church & Sacristy

[This is the church and collection of smaller buildings between the church and cloisters]

The Chapter House is where the monks used to meet for their annual chapter and any other important community meetings, now a superb apartment.

The Sacristy was where the vestments were kept. Monks could enter from the cloisters and leave into the church.

The church is divided into a number of sections. The main area was built in the twentieth century with the apse being the last section to be added in 1978 to commemorate the centenary of monasticism at the abbey.

The main body of the church, where the congregation sat was called the nave. Off this to the southern side was St Andrew’s Chapel, the oldest part of the church and forward of that was the Blessed Sacrament Chapel where the blessed host was kept under a shroud.

The monks’ part of the church, behind the altar was known as the choir. Between the Sacristy and Church, on an upper level was the organ loft. The picture above shows the altar, choir and apse. The Church of St Benedict’s at Fort Augustus Abbey.