Church_(building)

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This article is about buildings used as religious places of worship in the Christian tradition. For other uses, see Church (disambiguation).

St. Nicolaus Church, Bączal Dolny, Poland (17th century)

The word church is frequently used to describe a building used for prayer, worship, or other public religious services, usually referring specifically to those for Christian worship.

Contents 1 History 2 Early development 3 Basic elements of a church structure 3.1 Architecture 4 Basilica 5 Cathedral 6 Using alternative buildings 7 Gallery 8 See also 9 References 9.1 Notes 9.2 Sources 10 External links

History

Early development

The church of Saint Simon in Aleppo, Syria is considered to be one of the oldest surviving church buildings in the world.

The first Christians were, like Jesus, Jews resident in Israel who worshiped on occasion in the Temple in Jerusalem and weekly in local synagogues. Temple worship was a ritual involving sacrifice, occasionally including the sacrifice of animals in atonement for sin, offered to Yahweh until Jesus became the final sacrificial offering on Calvary. The New Testament includes many references to Jesus visiting the Temple, the first time as an infant with his parents.

The early history of the synagogue is obscure, but it seems to be an institution developed for public Jewish worship during the Babylonian captivity when the Jews did not have access to the Jerusalem Temple for ritual sacrifice. Instead, they developed a daily and weekly service of readings from the Torah or the prophets followed by commentary. This could be carried out in a house if the attendance was small enough, and in many towns of the Diaspora that was the case. In others, more elaborate architectural settings developed, sometimes by converting a house and sometimes by converting a previously public building. The minimum requirements seem to have been a meeting room with adequate seating, a case for the Torah scrolls, and a raised platform for the reader and preacher.

Jesus himself participated in this sort of service as a reader and commentator (see Gospel of Luke 4: 16-24) and his followers probably remained worshipers in synagogues in some cities. However, following the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70, the new Christian movement and Judaism increasingly parted ways. The Church became overwhelmingly Gentile sometime in the 2nd century.

The Syrian city of Dura-Europos on the West bank of the Euphrates was an outpost town between the Roman and Parthian empires. During a siege by Parthian troops in A.D. 257 the buildings in the outermost blocks of the city grid were partially destroyed and filled with rubble to reinforce the city wall. Thus were preserved and securely dated the earliest decorated church and a synagogue decorated with extensive wall paintings. Both had been converted from earlier private buildings.

The church at Dura Europos has a special room dedicated for baptisms with a large baptismal font.

Basic elements of a church structure

Architecture

Main article: Church architecture

A common architecture for churches is the shape of a cross (a long central rectangle, with side rectangles, and a rectangle in front for the altar space or sanctuary). These churches also often have a dome or other large vaulted space in the interior to represent or draw attention to the heavens. Other common shapes for churches include a circle, to represent eternity, or an octagon or similar star shape, to represent the church\'s bringing light to the world. Another common feature is the spire, a tall tower on the "west" end of the church or over the crossing.

See also altar, altar rails, apse, confessional, chapel, lych gate, nave, narthex, pew, pulpit, sanctuary, steeple.

Basilica

Main article: Basilica

The Latin word basilica (derived from Greek, Basiliké Stoà, Royal Stoa), was originally used to describe a Roman public building (as in Greece, mainly a tribunal), usually located in the forum of a Roman town.

After the Roman Empire became officially Christian, the term came by extension to refer to a large and important church that has been given special ceremonial rites by the Pope. Thus the word retains two senses today, one architectural and the other ecclesiastical.

Cathedral

Cathedral of Christ the Saviour (Moscow, Russia).

Main article: Cathedral architecture of Western Europe

A cathedral is a church, usually Roman Catholic, Anglican, or Eastern Orthodox, housing the seat of a bishop. The word cathedral takes its name from the word cathedra, or Bishop\'s Throne (In Latin: ecclesia cathedralis). The term is often (sometimes improperly) used to refer to any church of great size.

The church that has the function of cathedral is not of necessity a large building. It might be as small as Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford or Chur Cathedral, Switzerland. But frequently, the cathedral, along with some of the abbey churches, was the largest building in any region.

Using alternative buildings

Barnabas Community ChurchShrewsbury Venue Shrewsbury - Barnabas Community Church Shrewsbury, a former army centre now used by a church in Shrewsbury, England.

Old and disused Church buildings can be seen as an interesting proposition for developers as the architecture and location often provide for attractive homes Church conversions - Times OnlineBuying a church conversion - OurProperty.co.uk or city centre entertainment venuesPitcher and Piano - quality food and drink

On the other side of the equation, many newer Churches have decided to host meetings in public buildings such as schoolsThe Family Church Christchurch:Welcome to the Family Church Christchurch Dorset, universities Welcome to The Hope Church, Manchester... A Newfrontiers Church based in Salford, Manchester UK, Manchester Churches, Churches Manchester, Newfrontiers Church Manchester, Manchester Newfrontiers Churches, Churches in Manchester, Salford Churches, Churches Salford, Newfrontiers Church Salford, cinemas Jubilee Church Enfield, London or theatresHillsong Church London.

There is another trend to convert old buildings for worship use rather than face the construction costs and planning difficulties of a new build. Unusual venues in the UK include an old Tram power station CITY CHURCH NEWCASTLE & GATESHEAD - enjoying God...making friends...changing lives - Welcome, a former bus garage Aylsham Community Church, an old cinema and bingo hall Winchester Family Church, a former Territorial Army Drill Hall Shrewsbury Venue Shrewsbury - Barnabas Community Church Shrewsbury and a former synagogue http://www.citychurchsheffield.org.uk/jubileecentre.htm

Gallery

A gallery of selected images of church buildings illustrating diversity across era, creed, and geographical location.

St Basils Cathedral-500px.jpg St. Basil\'s Cathedral, Moscow, Russia	Gospel revival church.jpg.jpg Gospel Revival Church, Ruiru, Kenya	Hallgrímskirkja.jpeg Hallgríms church, Iceland	Sagradafamilia-overview.jpg Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain
DirkvdM orosi church.jpg The church of Orosí, Costa Rica	Church of Termunterzijl, Netherlands	Church of the gesu.jpg Church of the Gesù, Philippines	CatedralPrimadaBogota2004-7.jpg Catedral Primada, Bogotá, Colombia

See also

List of churches List of tallest church towers Mosque Places of worship Separation of church and state Synagogue Monastery Post-congregational_narrative Temple Chapel

Parish Particular Church House church Stave church Angle Church see Angle Churches in Germany Church in a pub Cowboy church Double Church

References

Notes

Sources

External links

Look up church in
Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Church from the Catholic Encyclopedia
•   "Ecclesiastical Buildings". Catholic Encyclopedia. (1913). New York: Robert Appleton Company. 
• Buildings & Funding - The association of church building projects

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