Church (building): Difference between revisions

Content deleted Content added

Inline

Revision as of 02:40, 27 August 2006

This article is about the term "church". Details are also provided on Christian buildings of worship". For other uses of the word, see Church (disambiguation).

Origins of the term "church"

The word "church", was originally a governmental/political term. Its use regarding any divinity started with a man called Jesus, a Jew from Nazareth, the penultimate character in the Holy Bible.

He first used the word as recorded in the Bible, in Matthew, 16:18. Before this, it was not used in any such context. Matt 16:18 "And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it."

The term used by Christ, was a political/governmental one. An "ecclesia", assembly, congregation or council of common objective. Literally it means a "convocation", see Ecclesia (ancient Athens). It is a team that works together to resolve a problem faced by the wider community or society.

A logical definition of the word "church" (in the context) is the senate/congress or team, that works to bring solutions to problems on earth, in the forms and methodologies of Christ. Hence, "my church".

The actual word "church" later used in religious contexts, most notably the Romance languages, comes from the Latin word: ecclesia (ex: Spanish iglesia), from Greek ekklesia, which had the sense of "assembly, congregation, council". These also relate to the Old English cirice, from the Greek kyriake oikia meaning "house of the lord"[1].

In the first century

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 controverted, 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, to give a rough summary, 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 worshippers 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 second century.

For the history of how services take place within a church, see worship or do a search on any particular religious denomination that you might be interested in.

Early examples of church architecture

Main article: Church architecture

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.

File:Church Gun.JPG

A wooden church on Kizhi Island, Russia.

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.

Church Building

A church building (or simply church) is commonly known as a building used in Christian worship. There are churches in all six inhabited continents, and in Antarctica. See also altar, altar rails, apse, confessional, chapel, dome, lych gate, nave, narthex, pew, pulpit, sanctuary.

Ecological churches

As there is a trend toward renewable, durable energy, churches running on solar energy are being set up. The first church running on solar energy is St Oliver Plunkett's Church in West Belfast.

Compare

External links

@@ Line 27: / Line 27: @@
 The Syrian city of [[Dura-Europos]] on the West bank of the Euphrates was an outpost town between the [[Roman Empire|Roman]] and [[Parthian empire|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]]. [[Image:Wooden Miracle Kizhi.jpg|thumb|right|250px|A wooden church on [[Kizhi]] Island, Russia.]]
+The church at Dura Europos has a special room dedicated for baptisms with a large [[baptismal font]]. [[Image:Church_Gun.JPG|thumb|right|250px|A wooden church on [[Kizhi]] Island, Russia.]]
 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 (architecture)|crossing]].