Sentence:  Then everybody once more knelt, and soon the blessing was pronounced. The choir and the clergy trooped out slowly, [...], down the <WSD>nave</WSD> to the western door. [...] At a seemingly immense distance the surpliced group stopped to say the last prayer. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  The middle or body of a church, extending from the transepts to the principal entrances.