church, aggregation of Christian believers

church [probably Gr.,=divine], aggregation of Christian believers. The traditional belief has the church the community of believers, living and dead, headed by Jesus, who founded it in the apostles. This is the doctrine of the mystical body of Christ (Eph. 1.22–23). Some divisions speak of the church militant (the living), the church suffering (the dead in purgatory), and the church triumphant (the saints of heaven). The church is said to be recognizable by four marks (as in the Nicene Creed): it is one (united), holy (producing holy lives), catholic (universal, supranational), and apostolic (having continuity with the apostles). In the Orthodox Eastern Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Church of England, crucial importance is attached to the unbroken tradition, as handed down through the Holy Ghost (see apostolic succession apostolic succession, in Christian theology, the doctrine asserting that the chosen successors of the apostles enjoyed through God's grace the same authority, power, and responsibility as was conferred upon the apostles by Jesus.
..... Click the link for more information. ); with this doctrine goes the apostolic power to administer grace through the sacraments sacrament [Lat.,=something holy], an outward sign of something sacred. In Christianity, a sacrament is commonly defined as having been instituted by Jesus and consisting of a visible sign of invisible grace.
..... Click the link for more information. . Certain men of the Reformation rejected the doctrine of apostolic succession and substituted for the authority of the church the authority of Scripture alone. Protestants generally interpret the oneness of the church in a mystical sense; the true church is held to be invisibly present in all Christian denominations. The ecumenical movement in recent years has stimulated fresh study on the doctrine of the church.

church, building for Christian worship

church [Gr. kuriakon=belonging to the Lord], in architecture, a building for Christian worship. The earliest churches date from the late 3d cent.; before then Christians, because of persecutions, worshiped secretly, especially in private houses. In Rome and some other cities Christians worshiped at the martyrs' tombs in the underground cemeteries, or catacombs catacombs (kat`əkōmz), cemeteries of the early Christians and contemporary Jews, arranged in extensive subterranean vaults and
..... Click the link for more information. . The catacomb chapel influenced the furnishing of churches, particularly the crypt crypt (krĭpt) [Gr.,=hidden], vault or chamber beneath the main level of a church, used as a meeting place or burial place.
..... Click the link for more information. . The basilica basilica (bəsĭl`ĭkə), large building erected by the Romans for transacting business and disposing of legal matters.
..... Click the link for more information. form came to be standard in Western Europe, while in the East the norm became the square church of Byzantine architecture (see Byzantine art and architecture Byzantine art and architecture, works of art and structures works produced in the city of Byzantium after Constantine made it the capital of the Roman Empire (A.D.
..... Click the link for more information. ), derived from the shape of the Greek cross. The interior of the Eastern church is characterized by an image screen (iconostasis) rendering the sanctuary invisible to the lay worshipers, except that the altar altar, table or platform for the performance of religious sacrifice. In its simplest form the altar is a small pile, with a square or circular surface, made of stone or wood. Its features vary according to its purpose.
..... Click the link for more information. may be seen through the doors of the screen. In the West, modifications of the basilica were developed in Romanesque architecture Romanesque architecture and art, the artistic style that prevailed throughout Europe from the 10th to the mid-12th cent., although it persisted until considerably later in certain areas.
..... Click the link for more information. and in Gothic architecture Gothic architecture and art, structures (largely cathedrals and churches) and works of art first created in France in the 12th cent. that spread throughout Western Europe through the 15th cent., and in some locations into the 16th cent.
..... Click the link for more information. . Renaissance Renaissance (rĕnəsäns`, –zäns`) [Fr.
..... Click the link for more information. and baroque baroque (bərōk`), in art and architecture, a style developed in Europe, England, and the Americas during the 17th and early 18th
..... Click the link for more information. architecture produced innovations in ecclesiastical design. Western churches in general have an east-west orientation orientation, in architecture, the disposition of the parts of a building with reference to the points of the compass. From remote antiquity the traditional belief in the efficacy of religious ceremonials performed at dawn toward the rising sun has influenced the
..... Click the link for more information. with the altar at the eastern end. In America, Colonial architects developed an austerely beautiful type of spired church, patterned after the works of Christopher Wren Wren, Sir Christopher, 1632–1723, English architect. A mathematical prodigy, he studied at Oxford. He was professor of astronomy at Gresham College, London, from 1657 to 1661, when he became Savilian professor of astronomy at Oxford.
..... Click the link for more information. and James Gibbs Gibbs, James, 1682–1754, English architect, b. Scotland, studied in Rome under Carlo Fontana. Returning to England in 1709, he was appointed a member of the commission authorized to build 50 churches in London.
..... Click the link for more information. . Churches differ in importance according to their constitution and the position in the hierarchy of their clergy, the cathedral cathedral, church in which a bishop presides. The designation is not dependent on the size or magnificence of a church edifice, but is entirely a matter of its assignment as the church in which the bishop shall officiate.
..... Click the link for more information. being the bishop's church. See chapel chapel, subsidiary place of worship. It is either an alcove or chamber within a church, a separate building, or a room set apart for the purpose of worship in a secular building. A movable shrine containing the cappa, or cloak, of St.
..... Click the link for more information. ; abbey abbey, monastic house, especially among Benedictines and Cistercians, consisting of not less than 12 monks or nuns ruled by an abbot or abbess. Many abbeys were originally self-supporting. In the Benedictine expansion after the 8th cent.
..... Click the link for more information. ; Hagia Sophia Hagia Sophia (hä`jə sōfē`ə, hā`jēə,) [Gr.
..... Click the link for more information. ; Saint Peter's Church Saint Peter's Church, Vatican City, principal and one of the largest churches of the Christian world. The present structure was built mainly between 1506 and 1626 on the original site of the Vatican cemetery and an early shrine to St. Peter . In the 4th cent.
..... Click the link for more information. ; articles on other important churches.

church

Building for Christian worship. The earliest Western churches were based on the plan of the Roman basilica. In Constantinople, Anatolia, and Eastern Europe, the Orthodox church adopted the symmetrical Greek-cross plan, which had four wings of equal size projecting from a central, square, domed area (see Byzantine architecture). The late 11th century saw increased complexity in cathedrals, but the innovative hall church did not establish itself until the 14th century. The basilica and hall church dominated Western church design until the mid-20th century. Modernization of rituals and an innovative spirit have resulted in architectural experimentation that sometimes departs completely from traditional forms.

church

In Christian doctrine, the religious community as a whole, or an organized body of believers adhering to one sect's teachings. The word church translates the Greek ekklesia, used in the New Testament for the body of faithful and the local congregation. Christians established congregations modeled on the synagogue and a system of governance centred on the bishop. The Nicene Creed characterized the church as one (unified), holy (created by the Holy Spirit), catholic (universal), and apostolic (historically continuous with the Apostles). The schism of Eastern and Western churches (1054) and the Reformation (16th century) ended institutional unity and universality. St. Augustine stated that the real church is known only to God, and Martin Luther held that the true church had members in many Christian bodies and was independent of any organization.

church

1. a building designed for public forms of worship, esp Christian worship

2. an occasion of public worship

3. the clergy as distinguished from the laity

4. institutionalized forms of religion as a political or social force

5. the collective body of all Christians

6. a particular Christian denomination or group of Christian believers

7. the Christian religion

8. (in Britain) the practices or doctrines of the Church of England and similar denominations

Church

Charlotte. born 1986, Welsh soprano, who made her name with the album Voice of an Angel (1998) when she was 12

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church, aggregation of Christian believers

church, building for Christian worship

church

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church