A cathedral is a church governed by a bishop; it is the main church within a diocese, which is the region of land over which a bishop has control. The four great basilicas are the pope's personal churches and are located in and around Rome: the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, St. Peter's Basilica, the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, and the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.
All other cathedrals are parish churches. They may be very large or small, but they are all equally important to their local communities. Some have been designated World Heritage Sites because of their historic importance.
Basilicas are usually much larger than parish churches and usually contain more important relics. For example, the Basillica of San Giovanni in Laterano contains the body of Christ and several other important objects from the Holy Land. By contrast, many small French villages have only one or two churches with limited budgets, so they show only fragments of ancient art or nothing at all.
Cathedrals tend to be grand buildings with much architecture and decoration inside them. They often have large naves (openings) with huge columns supporting the roof above them. There might also be smaller side aisles and transepts (sections crossing the nave from which arms grow). The exterior of a cathedral can be completely decorated with statues, stained glass, and other forms of artwork. Sometimes the entire building is painted!
CATHEDRAL: the main Christian church structure of a bishop's diocese. Pertaining to, containing, or emanating from the office or seat of a bishop; "a cathedral church" or "the dean and chapter"; also, the official language of England until 1771 when it was replaced by English as the national language. Now used only for ceremonial purposes.
The largest churches in the world are found in Europe. The Cathedral of Christ Church (New York City) has a total area of 1.5 million square feet (140,000 m²), making it the largest religious building in the world. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Salt Lake Temple is next at 972,402 square feet (93,600 m²). The third largest church in the world is St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City which is approximately 80% larger than the second largest church. The fourth largest church is Notre Dame de Paris with about 7 million cubic feet (210,000 m3) of space.
Other large churches include Central Saint Martin's in London, England; Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, Italy; Saint Paul's Cathedral in Kolkata, India; and Ise Jingu in Japan.
The first four churches listed above are all Roman Catholic.
A church is any place of worship with a regular congregation that is led by a pastor or priest. The cathedra, the distinctive chair in which a bishop sits, inspired the name.
All over the world, cathedrals are found in only a few cities: London, Paris, Rome, Milan, Santiago de Compostela, Seville, and Jerusalem among them. These cities were once centers of Christianity, and so they contain many landmarks that serve as reminders of this fact. For example, in London there is an area called Christendom Street where many churches used to stand before the Great Fire of London burned them down. Today Christendom Street is home to a shopping mall.
In addition to these sites of Christian worship, other locations named after Jesus also exist around the world. For example, there is Ieronymo Park in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Jerónimo de Lima Avenue in Lisbon, Portugal. Both places are square blocks of land surrounded by streets named after various saints who are also considered founders of cities.
Cathedrals were important buildings in medieval Europe. They usually served as homes for books owned by the church or kept by bishops who did not have rooms in their castles for such purposes. The first cathedral was probably a small chapel where Christians could be buried.
The cathedral is substantially larger than a church and is overseen by a bishop. A congregation of clerics or priests governs a church. The bishop is normally housed on the cathedral grounds. Church and cathedral are both terms used for buildings that serve as places of worship for Christians.
Cathedrals are usually the largest churches in the vicinity of their location and they often play an important role in the history of their region. They often have many beautiful items of art inside them. A cathedral can be anything from small to large, built out of any material it is made of. It must have a roof above its altar area to be considered a cathedral.
A church is like a cathedral but cannot have a roof above its altar area. Churches can be any size; some contain only a few dozen people while others hold thousands.
Both churches and cathedrals belong to a larger group of buildings called holy places. These include monasteries, mosques, and temples. Holy places are the places where people go to pray or seek spiritual advice from religious leaders.
People love going to holy places because it gives them the opportunity to relax and spend time with friends and family outside of their daily lives. Holy places offer music, dancing, theater, and other activities to those who attend them.
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