Depending on context, the word church has more than one meaning. The meaning used in this article is that of a building used by believers for religious activities. Even though it is often associated with Christians, church buildings can also be used by other religions for religious activities. When one is in need of getting a greater understanding about most churches Westfield NJ is the right location to check out. There are several different religious buildings in that area from which one can learn a couple of things.
The establishment of the earliest church occurred somewhere from 233-256. The Church of Saint Simeon Stylites has been determined to be one of the oldest church structures in existence today. The location of this church is Aleppo in Syria. Ancient churches have been converted to other uses today including being museums. In the same way, modern non-religious buildings have often being converted to house of worship.
The word church has its origins in the Greek language where it refers to anything pertaining to the Lord Jesus Christ. Initially the word ecclesia was in wide usage in the English language before it started losing its popularity. However, some languages such as the Greek and Latin languages retained this initial term. As a result, all Latin-derived languages such as Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Italia have retained the term up to this day.
Besides Latin-derived languages, the term ecclesia was also adopted in Celtic languages such as Irish, Welsh, and Breton as well as the Turkish language. On the contrary, the English language moved to the term church and dropped ecclesia. The term was initially spelled as churche before becoming church. Other languages that adopted derivatives of the term church include Russian, German, and Scottish.
According to the Bible, the earliest Christians were not involved in construction of churches. Instead, Christians gathered in temples, synagogues, and homes as indicated in the books of Acts and Corinthians. Western Europe is the location where the construction of church buildings began. The process began around the period within the 11-14 centuries.
Medieval churches served more functions apart from worshiping. Other communal activities were also performed in the buildings. Some of the activities include acting as halls for meetings and banquets. Sometimes they could be used for holding mystery plays and fairs. In addition to that, when it was harvesting period, the buildings could be used for threshing and storing grain. Renaissance saw a lot of these structures constructed in Europe before the Americas followed suit.
Churches are typically constructed in the shape of a cross in their architectures. The architecture comprises of a long rectangle, two rectangles on the sides, and a smaller rectangle at the front. The front rectangle serves as the sanctuary or alter space. The rectangle is the place where the congregation sits.
Many different types of church buildings exist today. Major examples are basilicas and cathedrals. Church buildings that house the seat of the bishop are often referred to using the name cathedral. Cathedrals exist in churches like Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, and Oriental Orthodox.
The establishment of the earliest church occurred somewhere from 233-256. The Church of Saint Simeon Stylites has been determined to be one of the oldest church structures in existence today. The location of this church is Aleppo in Syria. Ancient churches have been converted to other uses today including being museums. In the same way, modern non-religious buildings have often being converted to house of worship.
The word church has its origins in the Greek language where it refers to anything pertaining to the Lord Jesus Christ. Initially the word ecclesia was in wide usage in the English language before it started losing its popularity. However, some languages such as the Greek and Latin languages retained this initial term. As a result, all Latin-derived languages such as Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Italia have retained the term up to this day.
Besides Latin-derived languages, the term ecclesia was also adopted in Celtic languages such as Irish, Welsh, and Breton as well as the Turkish language. On the contrary, the English language moved to the term church and dropped ecclesia. The term was initially spelled as churche before becoming church. Other languages that adopted derivatives of the term church include Russian, German, and Scottish.
According to the Bible, the earliest Christians were not involved in construction of churches. Instead, Christians gathered in temples, synagogues, and homes as indicated in the books of Acts and Corinthians. Western Europe is the location where the construction of church buildings began. The process began around the period within the 11-14 centuries.
Medieval churches served more functions apart from worshiping. Other communal activities were also performed in the buildings. Some of the activities include acting as halls for meetings and banquets. Sometimes they could be used for holding mystery plays and fairs. In addition to that, when it was harvesting period, the buildings could be used for threshing and storing grain. Renaissance saw a lot of these structures constructed in Europe before the Americas followed suit.
Churches are typically constructed in the shape of a cross in their architectures. The architecture comprises of a long rectangle, two rectangles on the sides, and a smaller rectangle at the front. The front rectangle serves as the sanctuary or alter space. The rectangle is the place where the congregation sits.
Many different types of church buildings exist today. Major examples are basilicas and cathedrals. Church buildings that house the seat of the bishop are often referred to using the name cathedral. Cathedrals exist in churches like Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, and Oriental Orthodox.
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