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192-758: Following the Protestant Reformation , the Christian church in several parts of Western Europe, such as Scotland , the Netherlands , certain Swiss Cantons and parts of Germany , adopted a presbyterian polity that did away with bishops altogether. Where ancient cathedral buildings in these lands are still in use for congregational worship, they generally retain the title and dignity of "cathedral", maintaining and developing distinct cathedral functions, but void of hierarchical supremacy. From

384-608: A Late Antique presiding magistrate ; and so the cathedra also symbolises the bishop's role in governing his diocese. The word cathedral , as the seat of a bishop, is found in most languages; however in Europe a cathedral church can be referred to as a duomo (in Italian ) or Dom (e.g. German , Dutch , etc.), from the Latin term domus ecclesiae (house of the church) or domus episcopalis (episcopal house). While

576-409: A monasterium , the word not having the restricted meaning that it afterwards acquired. In this lies the reason for the apparent anomaly that churches like York Minster and Lincoln Cathedral , which never had any monks attached to them, have inherited the name of minster or monastery. In these early communities the clergy often lived apart in their own dwellings, and were not infrequently married. In

768-745: A priest , the sacrificial bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ. The Virgin Mary is venerated in the Eastern Orthodox Church as the God-bearer and honoured in devotions . The Churches of Constantinople, Alexandria, Jerusalem, and Antioch—except for some breaks of communion such as the Photian schism or the Acacian schism — shared communion with the Church of Rome until

960-654: A sect or a denomination but simply continuing the Christian church , and, despite their varied origins, by adherence to the Byzantine rite ". Those churches are negatively defined by their rejection of papal immediate and universal supremacy . The seven ecumenical councils recognised by the Eastern Orthodox churches are: Nicaea I , Constantinople I , Ephesus , Chalcedon , Constantinople II , Constantinople III , and Nicaea II . Those churches consider

1152-562: A two-volume printed version of the Vulgata in the early 1450s. High and Low German , Italian, Dutch, Spanish, Czech and Catalan translations of the Bible were published between 1466 and 1492; in France, the Bible's abridged French versions gained popularity. Laypeople who read the Bible could challenge their priests' sermons, as it happened already in 1515. Completed by Jerome (d. 420),

1344-514: A "rhetoric of reform". Medieval examples include the Cluniac Reform in the 10th–11th centuries , and the 11th-century Gregorian Reform , both striving against lay influence over church affairs. When demanding a church reform, medieval authors mainly adopted a conservative and utopian approach, expressing their admiration for a previous "golden age" or "apostolic age" when the Church had allegedly been perfect and free of abuses. Both

1536-634: A Hussite church hierarchy enabled the Czech aristocrats and urban magistrates to assume control of the Hussite clergy from the 1470s. The radical Hussites set up their own Church known as the Union of Bohemian Brethren . They rejected the separation of clergy and laity, and condemned all forms of violence and oath taking. Marshall writes that the Lollards, Hussites and conciliarist theologians "collectively give

1728-551: A Roman magistrate presided from a raised throne in a large, richly decorated and aisled rectangular hall called a basilica ; and now bishops would do the same. The earliest of these new basilican cathedrals of which substantial remains are still visible (and maybe amongst the very earliest to be built) is below the Cathedral of Aquileia on the northern tip of the Adriatic sea. Dated from a mosaic inscription between 313 and 319,

1920-760: A bishop; both specifically, in that the bishop is elected within the cathedral and is inaugurated by being enthroned within the cathedral by acclamation of clergy and laity; and also generally, in that the bishops' essential qualifications of regular prayer, higher learning and musical worship were for many centuries, primarily accessible through cathedral functions. In this there is a distinction between those church traditions, predominantly those of Eastern Orthodox Christianity but formerly also including Celtic churches in Ireland , Scotland and Wales , whose bishops came to be made in monasteries ; and those church traditions whose bishops have tended predominantly to arise through

2112-406: A clear distinction between the supernatural and the human, Renaissance artists depicted God and the saints in a more human way. The institutional church was the reliable religious authority, through its bishops and priests, transmitting without error both apostolic tradition and the Bible, as interpreted by the decisions of ecumenical councils and by papal authority , through the mechanism of

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2304-572: A community of believers whose religious ideal—constantly aspired to if seldom attained—was peace and mutual love." The Catholic Church taught that entry into heaven required dying in a state of grace . Based on Christ's parable on the Last Judgement , the Church considered the performance of good works by the faithful, such as feeding the hungry and visiting the sick, as an important condition of salvation. Villagers and urban laypeople were frequently members of confraternities (such as

2496-630: A designation for the universality of the Christian Church, centred around Christ. Therefore, the Eastern Orthodox notion of catholicity is not centred around any singular see, unlike the Catholic Church which has one earthly centre. Due to the influence of the Catholic Church in the west, where the English language itself developed, the words "catholic" and "catholicity" are sometimes used to refer to that church specifically. However,

2688-689: A dispute about the relation between the divine and human natures of Jesus . Eventually this led to each group anathematising the other. Those that remained in communion with the other patriarchs (by accepting the Council of Chalcedon) are known today as the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria , where the adjective "Greek" refers to their ties to the Greek-speaking culture of the Byzantine Empire. Those who disagreed with

2880-521: A full rhetorical education in Greek and Latin grammar; without which it was not possible for a boy raised with a knowledge only of Late Antique vernacular speech to express himself in approved classical linguistic forms. It was expected that the normal president at both the Eucharist and Baptism would be the bishop, who would celebrate in the cathedral and in titular churches in turn. However, in practice,

3072-399: A genuine revelation could not challenge traditional religious principles. Apostolic tradition verified religious practices that some Protestant groups say had no explicit Biblical foundations, such as infant baptism . Latin was the language of public worship in most dioceses of Catholic Europe although few laypeople understood Latin. The Eucharist, the central element of liturgy ,

3264-664: A gift of faith independently of their acts. He first denounced the idea of justification through human efforts in his Disputatio contra scholasticam theologiam ('Disputation against Scholastic Theology') in September 1517. Eastern Orthodox Church This is an accepted version of this page Autocephaly recognized by some autocephalous Churches de jure : Autocephaly and canonicity recognized by Constantinople and 3 other autocephalous Churches: Spiritual independence recognized by Georgian Orthodox Church: Semi-Autonomous: The Eastern Orthodox Church , officially

3456-489: A hostel for the homeless and strangers. Just as the status of the bishop was transformed at the Peace of the Church; so too was that of the male clergy. With the bishop now resident in the episcopium the other male clergy came to be recognised as his formal familia , in mark of which male clergy now received the tonsure by shaving of their heads; this being originally a Roman badge of adoption. The early church had recognised

3648-495: A hundred years, all bishops in the Mediterranean world had cathedrals, all sat on thrones within an enclosed sanctuary space, and all had established trained choirs to enhance eucharistic worship. The driving principle underlying this change was the acceptance by bishops, more or less willingly, of an imperial invitation to adopt and maintain the duties, dignity and insignia proper to a public magistrate . Characteristically

3840-471: A minority religion, largely confined to urban areas and restricted social groupings, and subject to official hostility and occasional persecution; Christianity acquired greatly expanded numbers of potential adherents of all classes, initially still within city areas, but eventually extending out to the pagus , the city's rural hinterland. The consequence was a radical expansion in the buildings, funding and personnel of associated Church establishments throughout

4032-522: A modification of the Benedictine rule. Gisa , a native of Lorraine , who was bishop of Wells from 1061 to 1088, introduced it into England, and imposed its observance on the clergy of his cathedral church, but it was not followed for long there, or elsewhere in England. During the 10th and 11th centuries, the cathedral clergy became more definitely organised and were divided into two classes. One

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4224-454: A moral renewal in Florence . He was arrested and executed for heresy , but his meditations remained a popular reading. Historian John Bossy (as summarized by Eamon Duffy) emphasized that "medieval Christianity had been fundamentally concerned with the creation and maintenance of peace in a violent world. “Christianity” in medieval Europe denoted neither an ideology nor an institution, but

4416-549: A persisting Erasmian Reformation . Anglican theologian Alister McGrath explains the term "Reformation" as "an interpretative category—a way of mapping out a slice of history in which certain ideas, attitudes, and values were developed, explored, and applied". The historian Peter Marshall emphasizes that the "call for 'reform' within Christianity is about as old as the religion itself, and in every age there have been urgent attempts to bring it about". Charlemagne employed

4608-505: A protest (or dissent) against the edict of the Diet of Speyer (1529) , were the first individuals to be called Protestants. The edict reversed concessions made to the Lutherans with the approval of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V three years earlier . Europe experienced a period of dreadful calamities from the early 14th century . These culminated in a devastating pandemic known as

4800-432: A regular occurrence, female deacons would continue to be needed for that service; but otherwise the main factor maintaining these orders was a knock-on effect from the rule of continence applied to bishops, presbyters and deacons. When a man became ordained, and moved into the episcopium with the rest of the bishop's familia ; then there would usually also be a requirement for support to their mothers, wives and daughters; and

4992-406: A regular stipend. Plentiful donor inscriptions show that most new church building programmes; mosaics, roofs, furnishings, were financed by private donations. The costs of maintenance and lighting, however, fell on the general fund. This also applied to the churches, known as tituli , served directly by the bishop's clergy, generally also including any surviving house churches from the period before

5184-719: A religious and political challenge to the papacy and the authority of the Catholic Church . Towards the end of the Renaissance , the Reformation marked the beginning of Protestantism and in turn resulted in a major schism within Western Christianity. It is considered one of the events that signified the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the early modern period in Europe. When

5376-581: A rule, held a separate prebend or endowment, besides receiving his share of the common funds of the church. For the most part the canons also speedily became non-resident, and this led to the distinction of residentiary and non-residentiary canons, until in most churches the number of resident canons became definitely limited in number, and the non-residentiary canons, who no longer shared in the common funds, became generally known as prebendaries only, although by their non-residence they did not forfeit their position as canons, and retained their votes in chapter like

5568-525: A special emphasis on the education of laypeople. A leader of the movement the Dutch Wessel Gansfort (d. 1489) attacked abuses of indulgences. As the manufacturing of paper from rags and the printing machine with movable type were spreading in Europe, books could be bought at a reasonable price from the 15th century . Demand for religious literature was especially high. The German inventor Johannes Gutenberg (d. 1468) first published

5760-629: A special way to honour the saint on whose day they received the sacrament of baptism . It is the most solemn day of the year for all Serbs of the Orthodox faith and has played a role of vital importance in the history of the Serbian people. Slava remains a celebration of the conversion of the Serbian people, which the church blessed and proclaimed a church institution. The missionaries to the East and South Slavs had great success in part because they used

5952-462: A tank had been inserted in a room on the opposite side of the courtyard as a baptistery, with rich wall paintings above it. The large room was indeed found to have a raised pulpitum at one end, big enough for one person in turn to read, preach and preside from; but too low to have been surmounted by a throne, and too small to have contained an altar. Otherwise the large room had no decoration or distinctive features at all. In 269, soon after Dura fell to

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6144-610: A theology professor at the University of Wittenberg in Saxony. Born into a middle-class family, Luther entered an Augustinian monastery after a heavy thunderstorm dreadfully reminded him the risk of sudden death and eternal damnation, but his anxiety about his sinfulness did not abate. His studies on the works of the Late Roman theologian Augustine of Hippo (d. 430) convinced him that those whom God chose as his elect received

6336-406: A throne from which he presided in worship; and that he had trained a female choir to sing hymns of his own devising. These practices were all condemned as innovations, improperly importing the symbols of his secular Roman magistracy into church ritual; while presumptuously and blasphemously asserting that the person of the bishop in eucharistic worship is seated in the place of Christ himself. Still in

6528-480: Is also defined in the Coptic liturgy, where it is mentioned "He made it [his humanity] one with his divinity without mingling, without confusion and without alteration", and "His divinity parted not from his humanity for a single moment nor a twinkling of an eye." They do not accept the teachings of Eutyches , or Eutychianism . Both the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches formally believe themselves to be

6720-524: Is based on the Scriptures and holy tradition , which incorporates the dogmatic decrees of the seven ecumenical councils , and the teaching of the Church Fathers . The church teaches that it is the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church established by Jesus Christ in his Great Commission , and that its bishops are the successors of Christ's apostles . It maintains that it practises

6912-428: Is charged with the oversight of its schools, ought to read divinity lectures, and superintend the lections in the choir and correct slovenly readers. The chancellor is often the secretary and librarian of the chapter. In the absence of the dean and precentor, the chancellor is president of the chapter, and within the cathedral is usually assigned the easternmost stall, on the dean's side of the choir. The fourth dignitary

7104-630: Is defined as the Eastern Christians which recognise the seven ecumenical councils and usually are in communion with the Ecumenical Patriarchate , the Patriarchate of Alexandria , the Patriarchate of Antioch , and the Patriarchate of Jerusalem . The Eastern Orthodox churches "are defined positively by their adherence to the dogmatic definitions of the seven [ecumenical] councils, by the strong sense of not being

7296-511: Is expressed most fundamentally in scripture and worship, and the latter most essentially through baptism and in the Divine Liturgy . The lines of even this test can blur, however, when differences that arise are not due to doctrine, but to recognition of jurisdiction. As the Eastern Orthodox Church has spread into the west and over the world, the church as a whole has yet to sort out all the inter-jurisdictional issues that have arisen in

7488-656: Is in English Orthodoxy , while the Georgians use the title Martlmadidebeli . The term "Eastern Church" (the geographic east in the East–West Schism) has been used to distinguish it from western Christendom (the geographic West, which at first came to designate the Catholic communion, later also the various Protestant and Anglican branches). "Eastern" is used to indicate that the highest concentrations of

7680-512: Is monophysite and prefers the term " miaphysite ", to denote the "united" nature of Jesus (two natures united into one) consistent with Cyril's theology: "The term union ... signifies the concurrence in one reality of those things which are understood to be united" and "the Word who is ineffably united with it in a manner beyond all description" ( Cyril of Alexandria , On the Unity of Christ ). This

7872-582: Is not uncommon to find Christians in a single city being served by three or more cathedrals of differing denominations. The word cathedral is derived, possibly via the French cathédrale , from the Latin ecclesia cathedralis and from the Latin cathedra ('seat'), and ultimately from the Ancient Greek καθέδρα ( kathédra ), 'seat, bench', from κατά ( kata ) 'down' and ἕδρα ( hedra ) 'seat, base, chair'. The word refers to

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8064-531: Is practised by a vicariate of the Antiochian Orthodox church. In keeping with the church's teaching on universality and with the Nicene Creed, Eastern Orthodox authorities such as Raphael of Brooklyn have insisted that the full name of the church has always included the term " Catholic ", as in "Holy Orthodox Catholic Apostolic Church". The official name of the Eastern Orthodox Church

8256-454: Is the "Orthodox Catholic Church". It is the name by which the church refers to itself and which is issued in its liturgical or canonical texts. Eastern Orthodox theologians refer to the church as Catholic. This name and longer variants containing "Catholic" are also recognised and referenced in other books and publications by secular or non-Eastern Orthodox writers. The catechism of Philaret (Drozdov) of Moscow published in

8448-621: Is the primary religious denomination in Russia , Ukraine , Romania , Greece , Belarus , Serbia , Bulgaria , Georgia , Moldova , North Macedonia , Cyprus , Montenegro , one of the main religious sects in Albania , Bosnia and Herzegovina , Kosovo , Lebanon , a significant sect in Syria , Iraq and other countries in the Middle East . Roughly half of Eastern Orthodox Christians live in

8640-477: Is the treasurer ( custo , sacrisla , cheficier ) who is guardian of the fabric, and of all the furniture and ornaments of the church, and whose duty was to provide bread and wine for the Eucharist , and candles and incense . The treasurer also regulated such matters as the ringing of the bells. The treasurer's stall is opposite to that of the chancellor. In many cathedral churches are additional dignitaries, as

8832-505: The Age of Exploration , Pope Alexander VI claimed the right to distribute the newly discovered lands between Spain and Portugal, and his decision was confirmed in the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494. The Spanish and Portuguese conquests and developing trade networks contributed to the global expansion of Catholicism. The popes were generous patrons of art and architecture. Julius II ordered

9024-777: The Apostles travelled extensively throughout the Roman Empire , including Asia Minor, establishing churches in major communities , with the first churches appearing in Jerusalem and the Holy Land , then in Antioch , Ethiopia , Egypt , Rome , Alexandria , Athens , Thessalonica , Illyricum , and Byzantium , which centuries later would become prominent as the New Rome . Christianity encountered considerable resistance in

9216-621: The Archconfraternity of the Gonfalone ,) mutual-support guilds associated with a saint, or religious fraternities (such as the Third Order of Saint Francis .) The faithful made pilgrimages to saints' shrines , but the proliferation in the saints' number undermined their reputation. Church buildings were richly decorated with paintings, sculptures, and stained glass windows. While Romanesque and Gothic art made

9408-407: The Benedictine "dean" who had ten monks under his charge. The role of dean came into existence to supply the place of the provost in the internal management of the church and chapter. In England every secular cathedral church was headed by a dean who was originally elected by the chapter and confirmed in office by the bishop. The dean is president of the chapter, and within the cathedral has charge of

9600-477: The Black Death which hit Europe, killing about one third of the population. Around 1500, the population of Europe was about 60–85 million people—no more than 75 percent of the mid-14th-century demographic maximum. Due to a shortage of workforce, the landlords began to restrict the rights of their tenants which led to rural revolts that often ended with a compromise. The constant fear of unexpected death

9792-433: The Catholic Church . In Hungarian, the church is still commonly called "Eastern Greek" ( Hungarian : Görögkeleti ). This identification with Greek, however, became increasingly confusing with time. Missionaries brought Eastern Orthodoxy to many regions without ethnic Greeks, where the Greek language was not spoken. In addition, struggles between Rome and Constantinople to control parts of Southeastern Europe resulted in

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9984-511: The Catholic Church . Nevertheless, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople is recognised by them as primus inter pares ("first among equals"), a title formerly given to the patriarch of Rome. As one of the oldest surviving religious institutions in the world, the Eastern Orthodox Church has played an especially prominent role in the history and culture of Eastern and Southeastern Europe . Eastern Orthodox theology

10176-719: The Christianisation of Bulgaria in 864, the disciples of Cyril and Methodius in Bulgaria , the most important being Clement of Ohrid and Naum of Preslav , were of great importance to the Orthodox faith in the First Bulgarian Empire . In a short time they managed to prepare and instruct the future Bulgarian clergy into the biblical texts and in AD 870 the Fourth Council of Constantinople granted

10368-616: The College of Cardinals developed into the Western Schism (1378-1417) when his opponents declared his election invalid and proclaimed the French Clement VII ( r.  1378–1394 ) pope. Clement returned to Avignon, establishing a rival line of popes who were considered as antipopes by their opponents. When taking sides between the two popes, church leaders mainly accepted the local ruler's decision, which weakened

10560-481: The East–West Schism in 1054. The 1054 schism was the culmination of mounting theological, political, and cultural disputes, particularly over the authority of the pope , between those churches. Before the Council of Ephesus in AD 431, the Church of the East also shared in this communion, as did the various Oriental Orthodox Churches before the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, all separating primarily over differences in Christology . The Eastern Orthodox Church

10752-400: The English Reformation . Although the cathedrals were retained by the now independent and established Church of England , the monastic cathedral chapters were dissolved by King Henry VIII and, with the exceptions of Bath and Coventry, were refounded by him as chapters of canons with a dean as the head and other clergy as minor canons. In Germany and other parts of Europe, with the spread of

10944-441: The Eucharist , and priestly ordination as the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church . Women were not ordained priests but could live as nuns in convents after taking the three monastic vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience . The authority of the papacy was based on a well-organised system of communication and bureaucracy. The popes claimed the power of binding and loosing that Christ had reportedly granted to Peter

11136-489: The Lutheran Church , some ancient churches, like Nidaros Cathedral , Norway, and Lübeck Cathedral , Germany, became the seats of Protestant bishops, as in England. Many new churches were built which serve the regional administrative function of a cathedral. However, not all churches that function as the seat of a bishop are known as "cathedral", the custom varying from place to place, according to local tradition. Some are simply designated "church", as occurs at Budolfi Church ,

11328-410: The Nicene Creed in 325. Its Western text contained a unilateral addition which contributed to the schism between Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy . The Creed contained the dogma of Trinity about one God uniting three equal persons: Father , Son , and Holy Spirit . Church authorities acknowledged that an individual might exceptionally receive direct revelations from God but maintained that

11520-447: The Nicene Creed , and referred to in Orthodox worship, e.g. in the litany of the catechumens in the Divine Liturgy. With the mutual excommunications of the East–West Schism in 1054, the churches in Rome and Constantinople each viewed the other as having departed from the true church , leaving a smaller but still-catholic church in place. Each retained the "Catholic" part of its title, the " Roman Catholic Church" (or Catholic Church) on

11712-407: The Orthodox Catholic Church , and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church , is the second-largest Christian church , with approximately 230 million baptised members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via local synods . The church has no central doctrinal or governmental authority analogous to the pope of

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11904-435: The Papal States in Italy, the popes were deeply involved in the power struggles of the peninsula. In this respect, the Renaissance popes were not dissimilar to secular rulers. Pope Alexander VI ( r.  1492–1503 ) appointed his relatives , among them his own illegitimate sons to high offices. Pope Julius II ( r.  1503–1513 ) took up arms to recover papal territories lost during his predecessors' reign. In

12096-448: The Quinisext Council "shar[es] the ecumenical authority of Constantinople III. "By an agreement that appears to be in place in the [Eastern] Orthodox world, possibly the council held in 879 to vindicate the Patriarch Photius will at some future date be recognized as the eighth [ecumenical] council" by the Eastern Orthodox Church. Western Rite Orthodoxy exists both outside and inside Eastern Orthodoxy . Within Eastern Orthodoxy, it

12288-401: The Syriac Orthodox Church from the Byzantine Patriarchate of Antioch . Those who disagreed with the Council of Chalcedon are sometimes called " Oriental Orthodox " to distinguish them from the " Eastern Orthodox ", who accepted the Council of Chalcedon. Oriental Orthodox are also sometimes referred to as "non-Chalcedonians", or "anti-Chalcedonians". The Oriental Orthodox Church denies that it

12480-514: The divine liturgy , other liturgical texts, and the Gospels along with some other scriptural texts into local languages; with time, as these translations were copied by speakers of other dialects, the hybrid literary language Church Slavonic was created. Originally sent to convert the Slavs of Great Moravia , Cyril and Methodius were forced to compete with Frankish missionaries from the Roman diocese; their disciples were driven out of Great Moravia in AD 886 and emigrated to Bulgaria . After

12672-438: The rediscovery of the Ancient Greek philosopher Plato ( 347/348 BC ). Plato's ideas about an ultimate reality lying beyond visible reality posed a serious challenge to scholastic theologians' rigorous definitions. Textual criticism called into question the reliability of some of the fundamental texts of papal privilege: humanist scholars, like Nicholas of Cusa (d. 1464) proved that one of the basic documents of papal authority,

12864-543: The sacraments and liturgy . Western and Eastern Christians believed that the sacramental bread and wine of the Eucharist changed into the Body and Blood of Christ , though not in outward appearance. This belief, formulated as " transubstantiation ", was declared a Catholic dogma in 1215. From the 12th and 13th centuries, laypeople only received the bread during the Eucharist . The ecumenical councils' decisions were binding to all Catholics. The crucial elements of mainstream Christianity had been first summarised in

13056-410: The " Nestorian " churches resulted from the reaction of the Council of Ephesus (431), which are the earliest surviving Eastern Christian churches that keep the faith of only the first two ecumenical councils, i.e., the First Council of Nicaea (325) and the First Council of Constantinople (381) as legitimate. "Nestorian" is an outsider's term for a tradition that predated the influence of Nestorius ,

13248-517: The 16th century onwards, but especially since the 19th century, churches originating in Western Europe have undertaken vigorous programmes of missionary activity , leading to the founding of large numbers of new dioceses with associated cathedral establishments of varying forms in Asia, Africa, Australasia, Oceania and the Americas. In addition, both the Catholic Church and Orthodox churches have formed new dioceses within formerly Protestant lands for converts and migrant co-religionists. Consequently, it

13440-410: The 19th century is titled: The Longer Catechism of the Orthodox, Catholic, Eastern Church ( Russian : Пространный христианский катехизис православныя, кафолическия восточныя Церкви ). From ancient times through the first millennium, Greek was the most prevalent shared language in the demographic regions where the Byzantine Empire flourished, and Greek, being the language in which the New Testament

13632-448: The 4th century. The first cathedrals represent this expansion in material form. The location and layout of the first cathedrals varied substantially from city to city, although most, as at Aquileia, tended to be sited within the city walls but away from the urban centre; certain elements are almost always found. Basilican halls had previously been characteristic of major civic complexes and military headquarters buildings; but now became

13824-577: The 530s the Church of the Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia) was built in Constantinople under Emperor Justinian I . Beginning with subsequent Byzantine architecture , Hagia Sophia became the paradigmatic Orthodox church form and its architectural style was emulated by Ottoman mosques a thousand years later. Being the episcopal see of the ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople , it remained

14016-494: The 8th century Chrodegang , Bishop of Metz (743–766), compiled a code of rules for the clergy of the cathedral churches, which, though widely accepted in Germany and other parts of the continent, gained little acceptance in England. According to Chrodegang's rule, the cathedral clergy were to live under a common roof, occupy a common dormitory and submit to the authority of a special officer. The rule of Chrodegang was, in fact,

14208-469: The Apostle (d. c. 66), and offered indulgence —the reduction of the penance in both this world and the purgatory—to sinners from an allegedly inexhaustible treasury of merit . The popes also granted dispensations to institutions or individuals, exempting them from certain provisions of canon law (or ecclesiastic law). In 1302, Pope Boniface VIII ( r.  1294–1303 ) declared obedience to

14400-703: The Bulgarians the oldest organised autocephalous Slavic Orthodox Church, which shortly thereafter became Patriarchate. The success of the conversion of the Bulgarians facilitated the conversion of the East Slavs . A major event in this effort was the development of the Cyrillic script in Bulgaria , at the Preslav Literary School in the ninth century; this script, along with the liturgical Old Church Slavonic , also called Old Bulgarian ,

14592-493: The Catholic Church. The first known use of the phrase "the catholic Church" ( he katholike ekklesia ) occurred in a letter written about AD 110 from one Greek church to another ( Ignatius of Antioch to the Smyrnaeans ). The letter states: "Wheresoever the bishop shall appear, there let the people be, even as where Jesus may be, there is the universal [katholike] Church." Thus, almost from the beginning, Christians referred to

14784-697: The Christian Church as the "one, holy, catholic (from the Greek καθολική, 'according to the whole, universal' ) and apostolic Church". The Eastern Orthodox Church claims that it is today the continuation and preservation of that same early church. A number of other Christian churches also make a similar claim: the Roman Catholic Church , the Anglican Communion , the Assyrian Church , and the Oriental Orthodox . In

14976-428: The Christian Church is "universal", unseparated, and comprehensive, including all who share that faith. Orthodox bishop Kallistos Ware has called that "simple Christianity". That is the sense of early and patristic usage wherein the church usually refers to itself as the "Catholic Church", whose faith is the "Orthodox faith". It is also the sense within the phrase "one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church", found in

15168-630: The Church and the Fathers , contained all knowledge necessary for salvation. The Reformation in Germanic countries was instigated by Martin Luther, however historians note that many of his ideas were pre-dated by Wycliff, Huss, Erasmus , Zwingli and others, both heretic and orthodox. Pope Leo X ( r.  1513–1521 ) decided to complete the construction of the new St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. As

15360-670: The Church of the West, the Catholic Church, and the Eastern Byzantine churches, now the Orthodox. There were doctrinal issues like the filioque clause and the authority of the Roman Pope involved in the split, but these were greatly exacerbated by political factors of both Church and state, and by cultural and linguistic differences between Latins and Greeks. Regarding papal supremacy , the Eastern half grew disillusioned with

15552-415: The Eastern Orthodox Church presence remain in the eastern part of the Christian world, although it is growing worldwide. Orthodox Christians throughout the world use various ethnic or national jurisdictional titles, or more inclusively, the title "Eastern Orthodox", "Orthodox Catholic", or simply "Orthodox". What unites Orthodox Christians is the catholic faith as carried through holy tradition . That faith

15744-643: The Eastern Orthodox position. They are the Synods of Constantinople, in 1484 , 1583, 1755 , 1819, and 1872 , the Synod of Iași in 1642, and the Pan-Orthodox Synod of Jerusalem in 1672 . Another council convened in June 2016 to discuss many modern phenomena, other Christian confessions, Eastern Orthodoxy's relation with other religions and fasting disciplines. Constantinople is generally considered to be

15936-758: The Eastern Orthodox view, the Assyrians and Orientals left the Orthodox Church in the years following the Third Ecumenical Council of Ephesus (431) and the Fourth Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon (451), respectively, in their refusal to accept those councils' Christological definitions. Similarly, the churches in Rome and Constantinople separated in an event known as the East–West Schism , traditionally dated to

16128-525: The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. There are additional Christian churches in the east that are in communion with neither the Catholic Church nor the Eastern Orthodox Church, who tend to be distinguished by the category named " Oriental Orthodox ". While the Eastern Orthodox Church continues officially to call itself "Catholic", for reasons of universality , the common title of "Eastern Orthodox Church" avoids casual confusion with

16320-583: The Eucharist was to be administered sub utraque specie ('in both kinds') to the laity. The most radical Hussites, called Taborites after their new town of Tábor , held their property in common. Their millenarianism shocked the Utraquists who destroyed them in the Battle of Lipany in 1434. By this time, the remaining Catholic communities in Bohemia were almost exclusively German-speaking. The lack of

16512-543: The Holy Spirit maintains the unity and consistency of holy tradition to preserve the integrity of the faith within the church, as given in the scriptural promises. Orthodoxy asserts that its shared beliefs, and its theology, exist within holy tradition and cannot be separated from it, and that their meaning is not expressed in mere words alone; that doctrine cannot be understood unless it is prayed; and that it must also be lived in order to be prayed, that without action,

16704-604: The Latin term episcopalis sedes , meaning "episcopal seat". In the Eastern Orthodox Church , the Latin word cathedral commonly translates as katholikon ( sobor in Slavic languages), meaning 'assembly', but this title is also applied to monastic and other major churches without episcopal responsibilities. When the church at which an archbishop or " metropolitan " presides is specifically intended,

16896-646: The Levant. A number of influential schools of thought had arisen, particularly the Alexandrian and Antiochian philosophical approaches. Other groups, such as the Arians , had also managed to gain influence. However, their positions caused theological conflicts within the church, thus prompting the Emperor Constantine to call for a great ecumenical synod in order to define the church's position against

17088-557: The Lutheran cathedral of Aalborg in Denmark . In most of Europe , the earliest head of a secular church seems to have been the provost ( praepositus , probst , etc.), who was charged not only with the internal regulation of the church and oversight of the members of the chapter and control of the services, but was also the steward or seneschal of the lands and possessions of the church. The latter often mainly engaged his attention, to

17280-403: The Peace of the Church and the rural baptistery churches; but not to the chapels, called parochiae , established by rural landowners for the convenience of their tenants. The bishop, in respect of his civil status, was expected to contribute to public works of general benefit; aqueducts, bridges, watercourses. In all cities, bishops dedicated substantial sums to the support of widows, orphans and

17472-455: The Persian army, a body of clerics assembled a charge sheet against the bishop of Antioch, Paul of Samosata , in the form of an open letter. Amongst the accusations was that Paul, who had received the civil rank of ducenarius due to contacts in the imperial court, had improperly erected an enclosure, or secretum , for himself in the church of Antioch; that within this enclosure he had erected

17664-536: The Pope's centralisation of power, as well as his blatant attempts of excluding the Eastern half in regard to papal approvals. It had previously been the case that the emperor would have a say when a new Pope was elected, but towards the high Middle Ages, the Christians in Rome were slowly consolidating power and removing Byzantine influence. However, even before this exclusionary tendency from the West, well before 1054,

17856-478: The Reformation era ended is disputed among modern scholars. Prior to Martin Luther and other Protestant Reformers , there were earlier reform movements within Western Christianity. The Protestant Reformation, however, is usually considered to have started on 31 October 1517 with the publication of the Ninety-five Theses , authored by Martin Luther. Over three years later, on 3 January 1521, Luther

18048-605: The Reformation started when the Swiss priest Huldrych Zwingli (d. 1531) first preached against abuses in the Church in 1516. The end date of the Reformation is even more disputed, with 25 September 1555 (when the Peace of Augsburg was accepted), 23 May 1618, and 24 October 1648 (when the Thirty Years' War began and ended, respectively) being the most commonly mentioned terminuses. The Reformation has always been presented as one of

18240-550: The Roman Empire , mostly because its adherents refused to comply with the demands of the Roman state—often even when their lives were threatened—by offering sacrifices to the pagan gods. Despite persecution, skepticism, and initial social stigma, the Christian Church spread, particularly following the conversion of Emperor Constantine I in AD 312. By the fourth century , Christianity was present in numerous regions well beyond

18432-803: The Vulgate contained the Septuagint version of the Old Testament . The systematic study of Biblical manuscripts revealed that Jerome had sometimes misinterpreted his sources of translation. A series of Latin-Greek editions of the New Testament was completed by the Dutch humanist Erasmus (d. 1536). These new Latin translations challenged the scriptural proof texts for some Catholic dogmas. After Arianism —a Christological doctrine condemned as heresy at ecumenical councils—disappeared in

18624-404: The West (other than in parts of Italy) and so the church would have to educate its own. Just as the presbyters deputised for the bishop in ritual matters, so the deacons deputised in administrative and financial matters, especially in the raising and delivering of charity. At the head of the diaconate was the archdeacon; the bishop's main deputy in managerial affairs. Originally inferior in rank to

18816-523: The Whale , and a series of, mainly female, donor portraits. It appears that similar cathedrals of double-basilica and baptistry were soon afterwards erected in Milan , Trier and Pavia ; but that subsequently single-basilican churches became the more common cathedral model. Constantine's declaration of imperial favour towards Christianity transformed all aspects of Christian life in the Roman Empire. From being

19008-431: The absent priests' deputies were often poorly educated and underpaid. The clergy consisted of two major groups, the regular clergy and the secular clergy . Regular clerics lived under a monastic rule within the framework of a religious order ; secular clerics were responsible for pastoral care. The Church was a hierarchical organisation. The pope was elected by high-ranking clergymen, the cardinals , and assisted by

19200-489: The allegedly 4th-century Donation of Constantine was a medieval forgery. New religious movements promoted the deeper involvement of laity in religious practices. The Brethren of the Common Life dissuaded their members' priestly ordination and often placed their houses under the protection of urban authorities. They were closely associated with the devotio moderna , a new method of Catholic spirituality with

19392-487: The archpriest, the archdeacon by the sixth century had established clear pre-eminence. Subdeacons assisted the deacons, but unlike them were allowed to marry after ordination; consequently many clerics stopped the cursus honorum at this point, and it was not unusual for a subdeacon to be elected bishop; and even Pope. In practice, the first three of these orders tended to be given together, and were typically applied to boys as young as seven. These boy lectors were too young for

19584-488: The areas where they arose, before they grew significant enough to require an ecumenical council. There are seven councils authoritatively recognised as ecumenical by the Eastern Orthodox Church: There are also two other councils which are considered ecumenical by some Eastern Orthodox: In addition to these councils, there have been a number of other significant councils meant to further define

19776-437: The baptismal tank, commonly octagonal, was now fully deep enough for total immersion, and wide enough to accommodate both the candidate and an assisting male or female deacon. Baptisteries commonly adopted centralised plan forms derived from funerary chapels; and are invariably separate from the congregational basilica. No one lived in the house church at Dura; such residential facilities as the latrine and kitchen were removed in

19968-496: The bishop needed deputies for the Eucharist and also for the Divine Office of daily prayer, and this duty fell to the priests. The bishop selected a senior priest as archpriest who acted as his official deputy in all ritual matters and as head of the familia. The archpriest was also responsible for the cathedral school. After the 5th century, there were no longer state-supported secular teachers of rhetoric and grammar in

20160-644: The campaign, applied unusually aggressive marketing methods. A slogan attributed to him famously claimed that "As soon as the coin into the box rings, a soul from purgatory to heaven springs". Frederick the Wise , Prince-elector of Saxony ( r.  1486–1525 ) forbade the campaign because the Sacrosanctis suspended the sale of previous indulgences, depriving him of revenues that he had spent on his collection of relics . The campaign's vulgarity shocked many serious-minded believers, among them Martin Luther,

20352-789: The capacity of one of the larger churches in the diocese. Thus, the term cathedral is often applied colloquially to large and impressive churches that do not function as cathedrals (e.g. the Arctic Cathedral in Tromsø , Norway). Simon Jenkins ' guidebook on European cathedrals intentionally includes several churches that have never been cathedrals ( Ulm Minster and the Sagrada Família , a minor basilica in Barcelona) or that were formerly designated so ( Westminster Abbey and Basel Minster ). The history of cathedrals commenced in

20544-404: The case of monastic cathedral churches, the internal government was that of the religious order to which the chapter belonged and all the members kept perpetual residence. The alternative of this was the cathedral ruled by a secular chapter; the dignities of provost, dean, precentor, chancellor, treasurer, etc., came into being for the regulation and good order of the church and its services, while

20736-592: The cathedral churches in the south of France , the provost was the ordinary head of the cathedral chapter, but the office was not common elsewhere. As regards France, of 136 cathedral churches existing at the Revolution , 38 only, and those either on the borders of Germany or in the extreme south, had a provost as the head of the chapter. In others the provost existed as a subordinate officer. There were two provosts at Autun , and Lyon and Chartres had four each, all as subordinate officers. The normal constitution of

20928-417: The cathedral itself, and also to the clergy, called canonici attached to churches founded by the bishop within the city. From the end of the 4th century, as the mission of the church extended more into rural areas, 'baptistery churches' were founded in more distant villages, so that rural populations could receive the bishop's baptism locally; and the clergy in these churches also counted as canonici and drew

21120-728: The centre and the "cradle of Orthodox Christian civilisation ". From the mid-5th century to the early 13th century, Constantinople was the largest and wealthiest city in Europe. Eastern Christian culture reached its golden age during the high point of the Byzantine Empire and continued to flourish in Ukraine and Russia, after the fall of Constantinople . Numerous autocephalous churches were established in Europe: Greece, Georgia, Ukraine, as well as in Russia and Asia. In

21312-418: The chapter of a secular cathedral church comprised four dignitaries (there might be more), in addition to the canons. These are the dean, the precentor, the chancellor and the treasurer. These four dignitaries, occupying the four corner stalls in the choir, are called in many of the statutes the quatuor majores personae of the church. The role of dean (from decanus ) seems to have derived its designation from

21504-414: The church and of the church by God), especially in worship, yield the pair "correct belief" and "true worship". Together, these express the core of a fundamental teaching about the inseparability of belief and worship and their role in drawing the church together with Christ. All Slavic churches use the title Pravoslavie ( Cyrillic : Православие ), meaning "correctness of glorification", to denote what

21696-502: The church that serves this function is correctly called the "principal church" of the respective entity—though some have coopted the term cathedral anyway. The Catholic Church also uses the following terms. The cathedral church of a metropolitan bishop is called a metropolitan cathedral . The term cathedral actually carries no implication as to the size or ornateness of the building, although many cathedrals are impressive edifices simply because diocesan celebrations typically require

21888-463: The church. In some cases, the office of provost was abolished, but in others it was continued: the provost, who was occasionally an archdeacon as well, remaining head of the chapter. This arrangement was most commonly followed in Germany. In England the provost was almost unknown. Bishop Gisa introduced a provost as head of the chapter of Wells Cathedral , but the office was afterwards subordinated to

22080-409: The clerical payroll of Hagia Sophia be strictly limited to 60 presbyters, 100 male deacons, 90 subdeacons, 110 lectors, 25 singers, 100 doorkeepers and 40 female deacons; 525 in all. Bishops were at the head of the local church; but not explicitly within the cursus honorum , as appointment was by election from the local clergy and people. The clergy tended to favour appointment of bishops from within

22272-479: The clerics' monopoly of public ministry, and allowed all trained members of their community, men and women alike, to preach. The Western Schism reinforced a general desire for church reform. The Oxford theologian John Wycliffe (d. 1384) was one of the most radical critics. He attacked pilgrimages, the veneration of saints, and the doctrine of transubstantiation. He regarded the Church as an exclusive community of those chosen by God to salvation, and argued that

22464-436: The complex consisted of two parallel east–west aisled halls of similar size; with a third smaller north–south cross-hall connecting them, which has been interpreted as the presence hall of the episcopium or bishop's residence. The three halls create an open courtyard, in which was originally located a separate baptistery. Surviving from both large basilican halls are rich mosaic pavements showing (amongst other scenes) Jonah and

22656-524: The continuation of the true church. In the ninth and tenth centuries, Christianity made great inroads into pagan Europe, including Bulgaria (864) and later Kievan Rus' (988). This work was made possible by Cyril and Methodius of Thessaloniki , two brothers chosen by Byzantine emperor Michael III to fulfil the request of Rastislav of Moravia for teachers who could minister to the Moravians in their own language. Cyril and Methodius began translating

22848-456: The conversion of some churches to the Catholic Church, which then also used "Greek Catholic" to indicate their continued use of the Byzantine rites. Today, only a minority of Eastern Orthodox adherents use Greek as the language of worship. "Eastern", then, indicates the geographical element in the church's origin and development, while "Orthodox" indicates the faith, as well as communion with

23040-538: The conversion. But cathedral complexes always included an episcopal residence. Prominent amongst the charges that had been directed against Paul of Samosata had been his alleged over-familiarity with pious women. As was common, Paul had been married when elected bishop; and again, as was universally expected for a bishop, he had then ceased sexual contact with his wife and no longer cohabited with her. But his accusers charged that, by continuing to associate with other women (even without any indication of actual impropriety) he

23232-417: The corresponding stall on the north side, although there are exceptions to this rule, where, as at St Paul 's, the archdeacon of the cathedral city ranks second and occupies what is usually the precentor's stall. The third dignitary is the chancellor ( scholasticus , écoldtre , capiscol , magistral , etc.), who must not be confounded with the chancellor of the diocese. The chancellor of the cathedral church

23424-470: The demolition of the ruined 4th-century St. Peter's Basilica in preparation for the building of a new Renaissance basilica . The necessity of a church reform in capite et membris ('in head and limbs') was frequently discussed at the ecumenical councils from the late 13th century . However, most stakeholders—popes, prelates and kings—preferred the status quo because they did not want to lose privileges or revenues. The system of papal dispensations

23616-480: The divine offer of grace (by acquiring merit .) In contrast, Duns Scotus (d. 1308) and Gregory of Rimini (d. 1358) argued that an individual's choice could not influence God's decision; Rimini also asserted that God predestined the fate of both the saved and the damned. Justification before God and the timing of grace was also the subject of controversy. Many theologians such as Scotus, Ockham, and Gabriel Biel (d. 1495) taught that God established rules how

23808-785: The ecclesiastic leaders also functioned as local secular princes, such as the prince-bishops in Kingdom of Germany and the English County Palatine of Durham , and the Grand Masters of the Teutonic Knights in their Baltic Ordensstaat . Other prelates might be regents or the power behind the throne. Believers were expected to pay the tithe (one tenth of their income) to the Church. Pluralism—the practice of holding multiple Church offices (or benefices )—was not unusual. This led to non-residence, and

24000-420: The episcopium also commonly provided private dining halls for the hospitality expected of the bishop's enhanced social status, a private oratory or chapel for the bishop, and often a bath house. Just as the episcopal residence was integral within the complex of cathedral buildings, so too there was no distinction between episcopal, diocesan and cathedral property and endowments. In principle, all diocesan income

24192-465: The expansion, leaving some areas of doubt about what is proper church governance. Moreover, as in the ancient church persecutions, the aftermath of persecutions of Christians in communist nations has complicated some issues of governance that have yet to be completely resolved. All members of the Eastern Orthodox Church profess the same faith, regardless of race or nationality, jurisdiction or local custom, or century of birth. Holy tradition encompasses

24384-571: The faithful could gain divine grace. Other theologians such as Rimini, and Hugolino of Orvieto (d. 1374) proposed that no one could deserve divine favour without God's direct intercession. Western Christianity displayed a remarkable unity. This was the outcome of the Gregorian Reform that established papal supremacy over the Catholic Church , and achieved the legal separation of the Catholic clergy from laity . Clerical celibacy

24576-529: The findings of the Council of Chalcedon were the majority in Egypt. Today they are known as the Coptic Orthodox Church , having maintained a separate patriarchate. The Coptic Orthodox Church is currently the largest Christian church in Egypt and in the whole Middle East. There was also a similar, albeit smaller scale, split in Syria ( Patriarchate of Antioch ), which resulted in the separation of

24768-413: The fourth century onwards led to the calling of ecumenical councils . In the Orthodox Church, an ecumenical council is the supreme authority that can be invoked to resolve contested issues of the faith. As such, these councils have been held to resolve the most important theological matters that came to be disputed within the Christian Church. Many lesser disagreements were resolved through local councils in

24960-514: The grammar school, but were valued as choristers, and so were included in the Schola Cantorum or choir school. Originally under the responsibility of the deacons, the organisation of choirs was reformed by Pope Gregory the Great , who introduced the office of primicerius or head cantor for this purpose. This proved a vital reform; as without any comprehensive system of musical notation,

25152-611: The growing, often widely diverging, philosophical and theological interpretations of Christianity. He made it possible for this council to meet not only by providing a location, but by offering to pay for the transportation of all the existing bishops of the church. Most modern Christian churches regard this synod, commonly called the First Council of Nicaea or more generally the First Ecumenical Council , as of major importance. Several doctrinal disputes from

25344-455: The issues go as deep as the schisms. The depth of this meaning in the Eastern Orthodox Church is registered first in its use of the word " Orthodox " itself, a union of Greek orthos ("straight", "correct", "true", "right") and doxa ("common belief", from the ancient verb δοκέω-δοκῶ which is translated "to believe", "to think", "to consider", "to imagine", "to assume"). The dual meanings of doxa , with "glory" or "glorification" (of God by

25536-601: The issues that would soon come to the fore. A new intellectual movement known as Humanism emerged in the Late Middle Ages . The Humanists' slogan ad fontes ! ('back to the sources!') demonstrated their enthusiasm for Classical texts and textual criticism . The rise of the Ottoman Empire led to the mass immigration of Byzantine scholars to Western Europe, and many of them brought manuscripts previously unknown to western scholarship. This led to

25728-506: The late 7th century , no major disputes menaced the theological unity of the Western Church. Religious enthusiasts could organise their followers into nonconformist groups but they disbanded after their founder died. The Waldensians were a notable exception. Due to their efficient organisation, they survived not only the death of their founder Peter Waldo (d. c. 1205), but also a series of anti-heretic crusades . They rejected

25920-584: The lie to any suggestion that torpor and complacency were the hallmarks of religious life in the century before Martin Luther." Historians customarily refer to Wycliffe and Hus as "Forerunners of the Reformation". The two reformers' emphasis on the Bible is often regarded as an early example of one of the basic principles of the Reformation—the idea sola scriptura ('by the Scriptures alone'), although prominent scholastic theologians were also convinced that Scripture, interpreted reasonably and in accord with

26112-455: The more prominent dictionary sense given for general use is still the one shared by other languages, implying breadth and universality, reflecting comprehensive scope. In a Christian context, the Christian Church, as identified with the original church founded by Christ and his apostles, is said to be catholic (or universal) in regard to its union with Christ in faith. Just as Christ is indivisible, so are union with him and faith in him, whereby

26304-520: The most crucial episodes of the early modern period, or even regarded as the event separating the modern era from the Middle Ages . The term Protestant, though initially purely political in nature, later acquired a broader sense, referring to a member of any Western church that subscribed to the main Reformation (or anti-Catholic ) principles . Six princes of the Holy Roman Empire and rulers of fourteen Imperial Free Cities , who issued

26496-411: The neglect of his domestic and ecclesiastical duties, and complaints were soon raised that the provost was too much mixed in worldly affairs, and was too frequently absent from his spiritual duties. This led, in many cases, to the institution of a new officer called the "dean", who had charge of that portion of the provost's duties that related to the internal discipline of the chapter and the services of

26688-532: The non-residence of the canons, rather than their perpetual residence, became the rule, and led to their duties being performed by a body of "vicars", who officiated for them at the services of the church. Prior to the Reformation all cathedrals of Western Europe were of the Roman Catholic Church . In England, much of the structure of the monastic and cathedral system was reconstituted during

26880-455: The one hand, and the " Orthodox Catholic Church" on the other, each of which was defined in terms of inter-communion with either Rome or Constantinople. While the Eastern Orthodox Church recognises what it shares in common with other churches, including the Catholic Church, it sees catholicity in terms of complete union in communion and faith, with the Church throughout all time, and the sharing remains incomplete when not shared fully. Paul and

27072-421: The only way that sacred music could be maintained and passed on was through professional choirs of sound musical training undertaking cathedral worship – and such skills are not guaranteed to be present in high-ranking ecclesiastics. These orders had been of considerable importance in earlier centuries; but tended to be sidelined in cathedrals from the 4th century onwards. So long as adult baptism continued as

27264-445: The orders of bishop, presbyter (priest) and deacon, but a range of minor orders had since grown up in addition; and all were tonsured. These orders now tended to be understood as clerical 'ranks', equivalent to those in the military, such that the male clergy are now often referred to as a "clerical militia". And as in the Roman military or civil service, promotion was expected to follow the principle of cursus honorum , rising through

27456-428: The orders of widows and virgins respectively continued largely for this purpose. Notwithstanding wide differences over time in institutional structures and wider historical contexts; the key functions established for the first cathedrals have tended to remain as distinctive cathedral functions down the centuries; a regular cycle of choral prayer; providing a forum for civic leadership; a commitment to higher learning; and

27648-594: The origin of which might lie in certain sections of the School of Antioch or via Nestorius' teachers Theodore of Mopsuestia or Diodore of Tarsus . The modern incarnation of the " Nestorian Church " is commonly referred to as "the Assyrian Church" or fully as the Assyrian Church of the East . The church in Egypt ( Patriarchate of Alexandria ) split into two groups following the Council of Chalcedon (451), over

27840-407: The original Christian faith, as passed down by holy tradition. Its patriarchates , descending from the pentarchy , and other autocephalous and autonomous churches, reflect a variety of hierarchical organisation . It recognises seven major sacraments , of which the Eucharist is the principal one, celebrated liturgically in synaxis . The church teaches that through consecration invoked by

28032-401: The other dignities and the provost became simply the steward of certain of the prebendal lands. The provost of the collegiate church of Beverley Minster was the most notable instance of such an officer in England, but at Beverley he was an external officer with authority in the government of the church, no stall in the choir and no vote in chapter. In Germany and Scandinavia , and in a few of

28224-441: The others. Protestant Reformation Electors of Saxony Holy Roman Emperors Building Literature Theater Liturgies Hymnals Monuments Calendrical commemoration The Reformation , also known as the Protestant Reformation and the European Reformation , was a major theological movement or period or series of events in Western Christianity in 16th-century Northwestern Europe that posed

28416-602: The papacy as a precondition for salvation . A year later, French troops arrested him, and in 1309, the seat of the papacy was transferred from the chaotic Rome to Avignon . During the period of the Avignon Papacy , the popes assumed control of the appointment of all senior Catholic clerics. The appointees had to pay fees and other contributions to the Roman Curia. The idea that Rome was the legitimate center of Catholicism never ceased, with Pope Gregory XI ( r.  1370–1378 ) returning to Rome. However, conflict between his successor Urban VII ( r.  1378–1389 ) and

28608-408: The people's native language rather than Greek , the predominant language of the Byzantine Empire, or Latin , as the Roman priests did. Perhaps the greatest legacy of their efforts is the Russian Orthodox Church, which is the largest of the Orthodox churches. In the 11th century, what was recognised as the Great Schism took place between Rome and Constantinople , which led to separation between

28800-422: The performance of the services, taking specified portions of them by statute on the principal festivals. The dean sits in the chief stall in the choir, which is usually at the west end of the south side. Next to the dean (as a rule) is the precentor ( primicerius , cantor , etc.), whose special duty is that of regulating the musical portion of the services. The precentor presides in the dean's absence, and occupies

28992-399: The poor. Such donations had been a strong feature of the church in earlier centuries, but tended then to be specifically directed to the Christian needy. Now the charitable compass became general. Bishops were especially expected to take responsibility for raising ransom funds, where local persons had fallen captive. In addition, it was expected that each diocese would support a xenodochium ,

29184-434: The popes owed obedience to the ecumenical councils . This idea known as conciliarism was condemned by Pope Pius II ( r.  1458–1467 ) in a papal bull , but ecclesiastic and secular leaders often referred to it during their conflicts with the papacy. Relationships between the papacy and powerful Catholic rulers were regulated in special agreements known as concordats , limiting papal authority. As princes of

29376-587: The post Eastern Bloc countries, mostly in Russia. The communities in the former Byzantine regions of North Africa , the Eastern Mediterranean are among the oldest Orthodox communities from the Middle East , which are decreasing due to forced migration driven by increased religious persecution . Eastern Orthodox communities outside Western Asia , Asia Minor , Caucasia and Eastern Europe , including those in North America , Western Europe , and Australia , have been formed through diaspora , conversions , and missionary activity. The Eastern Orthodox Church

29568-416: The praelector, subdean, vice-chancellor, succentor-canonicorum, and others, whose roles came into existence to supply the places of the other absent dignitaries, for non-residence was the fatal blot of the secular churches, and in this they contrasted very badly with the monastic churches, where all the members were in continuous residence. Besides the dignitaries there were the ordinary canons, each of whom, as

29760-407: The prayer is idle, empty, and in vain, and therefore the theology of demons. The Eastern Orthodox Church considers itself to be both orthodox and catholic. The doctrine of the Catholicity of the Church , as derived from the Nicene Creed , is essential to Eastern Orthodox ecclesiology . The term Catholicity of the Church ( Greek Καθολικότης τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ) is used in its original sense, as

29952-406: The presence and prominence of the bishop's or archbishop's chair or throne, raised above both clergy and laity, and originally located facing the congregation from behind the high altar . In the ancient world, the chair, on a raised dais, was the distinctive mark of a teacher or rhetor and thus symbolises the bishop's role as teacher. A raised throne within a basilican hall was also definitive for

30144-458: The professional staff of the Roman Curia . Secular clerics were organised into territorial units known as dioceses , each ruled by a bishop or archbishop . Each diocese was divided into parishes headed by parish priests who administered most sacraments to the faithful. These were sacred rites thought to transfer divine grace to humankind. The Council of Florence declared baptism , confirmation , marriage , extreme unction , penance ,

30336-408: The promotion and dissemination of music. The history of the body of clergy attached to the cathedral church is obscure, and in each case local considerations affected its development, however the main features were more or less common to all. Originally the bishop and cathedral clergy formed a kind of religious community, which, while not in the true sense a monastery , was nevertheless often called

30528-493: The ranks of cathedral clergy. In the Catholic or Roman Catholic tradition, the term cathedral correctly applies only to a church that houses the seat of the bishop of a diocese. The abbey church of a territorial abbey serves the same function (that is, houses the seat of the abbot), but does not acquire the title. In any other jurisdiction canonically equivalent to a diocese but not canonically erected as such (prelature, vicariate, ordinariate, prefecture, apostolic administration),

30720-463: The ranks of cathedral presbyters; but local lay choice often tended rather to outsiders, either a spectacular holy man, hermit or ascetic; or otherwise a senior civil servant or diplomat, who might have favourable contacts to exploit at court. But most bishops came from the curial class, that is those holding the hereditary rank of decurion with the obligation to serve on the city council, as only persons of this class and above would be likely to have

30912-412: The ranks, with the expectation that ideally, a minimum period would be served in each. The female orders of virgin, widow and (female) deacon remained explicitly outside the bishop's familia; and so they did not receive the tonsure and nor did they progress through the cursus honorum . But all orders of cathedral clergy, male and female, increased dramatically in numbers. Around 540 Justinian ordered that

31104-409: The resistance of autonomous institutions such as cathedral chapters . Neither could they exercise authority over non-resident clerics who had received their benefice from the papacy. On the eve of the Reformation, the Fifth Council of the Lateran was the last occasion when efforts to introduce a far-reaching reform from above could have achieved but it was dissolved in 1517 without making decisions on

31296-405: The sale of certificates of indulgences had been a well-established method of papal fund raising, he announced new indulgences in the papal bull Sacrosanctis in 1515. On the advice of the banker Jakob Fugger (d. 1525), he appointed the pluralist prelate Albert of Brandenburg (d. 1545) to supervise the sale campaign in Germany. The Dominican friar Johann Tetzel (d. 1519), a leading figure in

31488-645: The standard structure for accommodating large Christian congregations. From now on, the term basilica denotes any substantial church building. These new basilicas were wholly different in scale from earlier Christian assembly halls, as they were also different in form from any Roman non-Christian temple or religious structure. The halls were longitudinal, aisled, and flooded with light from large clerestory windows. Floors and walls were richly decorated with mosaic and inlay – usually in abstract or floral patterns. The two original double basilicas at Aquileia had both been about 37m by 17m in size, but within 30 years one hall

31680-430: The starting and ending date of the Reformation have always been debated. The most commonly used starting date is 31 October 1517—the day when the German theologian Martin Luther (d. 1546) allegedly nailed up a copy of his disputation paper on indulgences and papal power known as the Ninety-five Theses to the door of the castle church in Wittenberg in Electoral Saxony . Calvinist historians often propose that

31872-441: The state could seize the corrupt clerics' endowments. Known as Lollards , Wycliffe's followers rejected clerical celibacy and the grant of indulgences. The Parliament of England passed a law against heretics , but Lollard communities survived the purges. Wycliffe's theology had a marked impact on the Prague academic Jan Hus (d. 1415). He delivered popular sermons against the clerics' wealth and temporal powers, for which he

32064-426: The status of civil magistrates, bishops were now also committed to substantial expenditure to maintain their new style and status; and also to fulfil the associated duties, for instance in employing qualified legal assessors to support them when sitting as civil judges. All ordained clerics attached to the cathedral were paid through stipends from the general fund. This applied both to the clergy working directly within

32256-480: The supranational character of the Catholic Church. In 1409, cardinals from both sides elected a new pope at the Council of Pisa but his two rivals refused to resign. More prudent preparations paved the way for the Council of Constance . Here, one of the three popes resigned, his two rivals were deposed, and the newly elected Martin V ( r.  1417–1431 ) was acknowledged as the legitimate pope throughout Catholic Europe. The Council of Constance declared that

32448-411: The term kathedrikós naós ( lit.   ' cathedral temple ' ) is used. The episcopal throne embodies the principle that only a bishop makes a cathedral, and this still applies even in those churches that no longer have bishops, but retain cathedral dignity and functions in ancient churches over which bishops formerly presided. But the throne can also embody the principle that a cathedral makes

32640-413: The terms are not synonymous (a duomo is a collegiate church , similar to the English " Minster ") many cathedral churches are also collegiate churches, so that duomo , and Dom , have become the common names for a cathedral in those countries. It is also common in parts of the Iberian Peninsula to use Sé (in Portuguese ), and Seu (in Catalan , with its Spanish form Seo ), all of them from

32832-522: The third century, the phrase "ascending the platform", ad pulpitum venire , becomes the standard term for Christian ordination . During the siege of Dura Europos in 256, a complete Christian house church, or domus ecclesiae was entombed in a defensive bank, surviving when excavated, in places to wall-top height. The Dura church had been converted out of a large urban courtyard house of standard form, in which two rooms had been knocked together to make an assembly hall, capable of holding 60-75 standing; while

33024-417: The understandings and means by which that unity of faith is transmitted across boundaries of time, geography, and culture. It is a continuity that exists only inasmuch as it lives within Christians themselves. It is not static, nor an observation of rules, but rather a sharing of observations that spring both from within and also in keeping with others, even others who lived lives long past. The church proclaims

33216-441: The vernacular. The initial movement in Germany diversified, and nearby other reformers such as Huldrych Zwingli and John Calvin with different theologies arose. In general, the Reformers argued that salvation in Christianity was a completed status based on faith in Jesus alone and not a process that could involve good works , as in the Catholic view. Protestantism also introduced new ecclesiology . The Counter-Reformation

33408-568: The western end into which catechumens would withdraw during the central act of the Eucharistic liturgy. The baptistery in the Dura church was about 1m square and 1m deep; baptismal candidates could stand in it, but could not be immersed. In the new cathedrals, as had been the case before, only bishops baptised; and ceremonies were held not more than twice a year to allow for suitable periods of instruction. So baptisteries needed to be greatly increased in size, with associated accommodation to ensure privacy in undressing, anointing and redressing; and

33600-425: The world's largest cathedral for nearly a thousand years, until Seville Cathedral was completed in 1520. Hagia Sophia has been described as "holding a unique position in the Christian world ", and architectural and cultural icon of Byzantine and Eastern Orthodox civilisation , and it is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture and is said to have "changed the history of architecture". There are

33792-493: The year 1054, although it was more a gradual process than a sudden break. To all these churches, the claim to catholicity (universality, oneness with the ancient Church) is important for multiple doctrinal reasons that have more bearing internally in each church than in their relation to the others, now separated in faith. The meaning of holding to a faith that is true is the primary reason why anyone's statement of which church split off from which other has any significance at all;

33984-410: The year 313, when the emperor Constantine the Great personally adopted Christianity and initiated the Peace of the Church . Indeed, in strict terminology, there could not have been "cathedrals" before that date, as before the 4th century there were no Christian "cathedrae"; bishops were never seated when leading congregational worship, but instead presided standing on a raised platform or pulpitum . In

34176-429: Was excommunicated by Pope Leo X . On 25 May 1521, at the Diet of Worms , Luther was condemned by the Holy Roman Empire , which officially banned citizens from defending or propagating Luther's ideas. Luther survived after being declared an outlaw due to the protection of Elector Frederick the Wise . The spread of Gutenberg's printing press provided the means for the rapid dissemination of religious materials in

34368-473: Was a principal obstacle to the implementation of reform measures, as the Holy See regularly granted immunities to those who did not want to execute them. Within regular clergy, the so-called " congregations of strict observance" spread. These were monastic communities that returned to the strict interpretation of their order's rule. Reformist bishops tried to discipline their clergy through regular canonical visitations but their attempts mainly failed due to

34560-544: Was also celebrated in Latin. Catholics regarded the Vulgate as the Bible's authentic Latin translation. Commentators applied several methods of interpretations to resolve contradictions between Bible texts. In the universities, scholastic theology held sway. Legitimate debates among scholastic theologians were not uncommon. Predestination —God's decision about an individual's fate in afterlife—was frequently discussed. Ockhamist theologians taught that God destined to salvation those about whom foreknew that they would accept

34752-410: Was also growing, and witch-hunts intensified. From the end of the 15th century , a new, sexually transmitted infection spread in Europe. This was syphilis that destroyed its victims' looks with ulcers and scabs before killing them. Along with the French invasion of Italy , the syphilis gave the background to the success of the charismatic preacher Girolamo Savonarola (d. 1498) who called for

34944-500: Was creating an unacceptable potential for scandal. To avoid similar such occasions arising, it was necessary for the new cathedrals to create male-only living quarters for the bishop and his entire establishment; and since, in churches in the West, all presbyters and deacons were also expected to live apart from their wives after ordination, these living quarters, the episcopium , were necessarily substantial in extent. In addition to eating and sleeping quarters for ordained boys and men,

35136-444: Was declared official in Bulgaria in 893. The work of Cyril and Methodius and their disciples had a major impact on the Serbs as well. They accepted Christianity collectively along familial and tribal lines, a gradual process that occurred between the seventh and ninth centuries. In commemoration of their baptisms, each Serbian family or tribe began to celebrate an exclusively Serbian custom called Slava (patron saint) in

35328-408: Was mirrored by popular artistic motifs, such as the allegory of danse macabre ('dance of death'). The fear also contributed to the growing popularity of Masses for the dead . Already detectable among early Christians , these ceremonies indicated a widespread belief in purgatory —a transitory state for souls that needed purification before entering heaven . Fear of malevolent magical practice

35520-444: Was never paid to the church. In addition, many individual landowners supported private chapels and oratories on their own property; and endowed independent charitable institutions, and eventually monasteries and nunneries too. Augustine of Hippo estimated his personal income as being 20 times that of his father, a minor civil servant; and Augustine was by no means the wealthiest bishop in North Africa. But in accepting from Constantine

35712-503: Was paid into a common fund, and divided into four fixed shares for each main area of expenditure; the Bishop himself; the cathedral clergy; the fabric and lighting of cathedral and city churches; and charitable donations. Many diocese already held substantial endowments, but income increased enormously with the Peace of the Church; partly due to imperial subsidies in kind, but mainly from private bequests and regular private benefactions (often called 'first fruits'); although at this date, tithe

35904-430: Was quadrupled to 73m by 31m. This expanded basilica now demonstrated three additional features that became characteristic of early cathedrals: an enclosure at the eastern end of the church surrounding the altar; a synthronos east of the altar facing west, and consisting of a raised dais with a centrally place bishop's throne and benches either side for the clergy of his familia ; and a partitioned-off narthex at

36096-487: Was reinforced through the prohibition of clerical marriage ; ecclesiastical courts were granted exclusive jurisdiction over clerics, and also over matrimonial causes. Priests were ordained by bishops in accordance with the principle of apostolic succession —a claim to the uninterrupted transmission of their consecrating power from Christ's Apostles through generations of bishops. Bishops, abbots , abbesses , and other prelates might possess remarkable wealth. Some of

36288-485: Was summoned to the Council of Constance. Although the German king Sigismund of Luxemburg ( r.  1410–1437 ) had granted him safe conduct, Hus was sentenced to death for heresy and burned at the stake on 6 July 1415. His execution led to a nationwide religious movement in Bohemia , and the papacy called for a series of crusades against Hus's followers. The moderate Hussites , mainly Czech aristocrats and academics, were known as Utraquists for they taught that

36480-484: Was that of a monastic establishment of some recognised order of monks, often the Benedictines, while the other class was that of a college of clergy, bound by no vows except those of their ordination, but governed by a code of statutes or canons: hence the name of " canon ". In this way arose the distinction between the monastic and secular cathedral churches. Outside Great Britain, monastic cathedrals are known only at Monreale in Sicily and Downpatrick in Ireland . In

36672-555: Was the Catholic reform efforts initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation and its causes. In the 16th-century context, the term mainly covers four major movements: Lutheranism , Calvinism , the Radical Reformation , and the Catholic Reformation . Historian John Bossy criticized the term Reformation for "wrongly implying that bad religion was giving way to good," but also because it has "little application to actual social behaviour and little or no sensitivity to thought, feeling or culture." Some historians have also suggested

36864-421: Was written, was the primary liturgical language of the church. For this reason, the eastern churches were sometimes identified as "Greek" (in contrast to the "Roman" or "Latin" church , which used a Latin translation of the Bible), even before the Great Schism of 1054. After 1054, "Greek Orthodox" or "Greek Catholic" marked a church as being in communion with Constantinople, much as "Catholic" did for communion with

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