Just another point about the Eastern Orthodox iconostasis and "the people," a topic broached here. In fact, the complete severing of the sanctuary from the congregation has been considered a great loss. It was not universally accepted that the sanctuary be restricted in this way, which began to happen in the 14th century. About this, Eastern theologian Alexander Schmemann has written, "[T]his new attitude toward the sanctuary and toward the iconostasis as entailing a division is also false in that it obviously contradicts the Church’s liturgical tradition itself. This tradition knows only the consecration of a temple and an altar table, and does not know any consecration of a sanctuary separate from the nave. Like the altar table, the entire temple is anointed with the holy chrism; the *whole* church is thus ‘sealed’ as a sanctuary, a holy place.”