A cathedral is the temple in which the bishop has his seat or chair . The cathedral is the main church of a diocese and the place from where the bishop is responsible for disseminating religious doctrine and providing service to the community.
The term cathedral was born as an adjective (for cathedral church ) although over time it became a noun (the cathedral). As a construction, cathedrals emerged as new buildings or as the evolution of monastic churches elevated to the category of cathedral.
History of cathedrals
Initially, in cathedrals classes were given to seminarians and students in general, who wanted to learn theology , Latin and other subjects. Over the years, the cathedrals were limited to hosting the practices of religious worship.
Generally, the building of a cathedral is large (to accommodate the largest possible number of faithful ) and usually has stained glass windows , spiers and towers .
Some examples worldwide
Saint Basil
This Russian cathedral is located on Moscow 's Red Square , and was built by order of Ivan IV Vasilyevich , a 16th-century Russian tsar - also known by the nickname Ivan the Terrible - in honor of Basil the Blessed , a man of faith that is among the most remembered " crazy for Christ" , people who faked some type of mental disorder to live off of charity and approach the community in a very particular way, through the compassion it aroused. on people their supposed disabilities.
The Holy Family
It is a Catholic church located in Barcelona , Spain , whose construction has not yet been completed. Its design presents a great wealth of Christian symbols, such as the description of the different stages of Jesus ' life, from his birth to his resurrection. Without a doubt, its eighteen towers are the main reason for its architectural attractiveness and even these have well-defined meanings: the tallest of them represents Jesus Christ , while the rest remember Mary , the apostles and the evangelists.
Las Lajas
Also known as The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Las Lajas , this Colombian cathedral was built at the beginning of the 20th century in an area where, according to local legends, the Virgin made one of her mysterious appearances. In this case, her visit to Earth gave a voice to a deaf-mute girl, and left a fresco in a rock cave , in which no remains of paint were discovered: the colors seem to have been impregnated into the stone. The landscape surrounding the cathedral is simply spectacular.
Notre Dame
This Parisian cathedral is for many the absolute exponent of Gothic architecture . It was built from the year 1163 to satisfy the wishes of Bishop Maurice de Sully ; However, he did not see his work completed, since the complete work lasted two centuries. The scale of Notre Dame Cathedral is unprecedented and its large rose windows with designs representative of various biblical symbols are one of its most appreciated features by the millions of tourists who visit it year after year.
Cathedral, name of a hill and a subway station
Cerro Catedral , on the other hand, is one of the main ski centers in the Argentine Republic . This 2,388 meter high mountain is part of the Nahuel Huapi National Park and is located almost 20 kilometers from the city of San Carlos de Bariloche .
Cathedral , finally, is the name of the subway head station of Line D , in the city of Buenos Aires . Its name comes from the proximity of the station to the Metropolitan Cathedral of Buenos Aires .