Churches and Cathedrals

Churches and cathedrals are desired destinations not only for the devout, but also for scholars and tourists with an interest in art, history and architecture. 'Church' is a loaded term that has both architectural and theological connotations. It can refer to a particular set of Christian beliefs, like Roman Catholicism and the Eastern Orthodox Church. At the same time, it also refers to building set aside for the performance of religious rites and offering of prayers. In fact, used outside the theological context, a church commonly denotes a building 'set aside in perpetuity for the public exercise of Divine worship'.

Churches have evolved significantly over the two millennia of Christian history. While the earliest Christian services took place in synagogues, soon with growing popularity and increasing royal patronage, churches or buildings devoted specifically for the carrying out of Christian worship, started to come into existence. The architectural style of a church can vary widely depending on the place, the time, and the specific philosophical and architectural belief espoused by its founding individual or group.

Cathedrals

A cathedral is formally a church where the bishop resides. A cathedral is a chief church of a diocese and therefore betrays a higher degree of opulence as compared to other churches. Cathedrals are repositories of not only religious beliefs, but also of local history, customs and artistic developments. They are marked by elaborate architecture: gothic, new classic and Renaissance being some of the major schools. Often, they also house museums, libraries and other sites of major academic and tourist interest, which can be accessed by interested visitors at certain hours.

Cathedrals and churches are often considered to be places for witnessing religious experience. Miracles have long been associated with certain churches, particularly ones that house significant relics of saints and martyrs, if not of the Holy Family itself. Certain Cathedrals have great historical importance as well, where defining incidents have acted themselves out. Cathedrals are thus popular destinations for pilgrims, tourists interested in history and art, as well as lovers of engineering and architecture.

Famous Churches and Cathedrals

The gothic cathedrals of France like the Notre Dame have become stuff of legends. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher or the Church of Resurrection in Jerusalem is one of the holiest of Christian sites. Equally popular is the Bom Jesus Basilica of Goa in India. There are many such houses of worship distributed all over the world, and many of them are major tourist centers attracting a steady stream of crowd. Many of them provide leaflets, souvenirs and guide books for the benefit of the tourists and to make their visits memorable.