samedi 28 juin 2014

Information On Staten Island Church

By Elsa English


Religions, whether one believes in them or not, play very integral parts of daily living. They have been around for hundreds of centuries already, fulfilling the need of man to be able to believe in an omnipotent being who made the universe and all those that are found in it. Every religion has its sets of rules and guidelines that are aimed to guide the people to the path of the faithful. Temples are for Buddhists, mosques are for Muslims, cathedrals and Staten Island church are for Catholics and Christians alike.

They exude such breathtaking beauty that even those who are not affiliated in the said religion come to visit just to gawk at its designs. Most of these infrastructures are thousands of years old yet remarkably they retain the same majestic splendor that they had back in their heydays. If anything else, the years just added to their timeless beauty.

Most people think that a church is just that, a building where sermons or masses are heard. In reality, they serve different functions. They can be cathedrals, abbey churches, and basilicas, or they can be none of these, as with the case of the greatest Protestant churches.

Cathedrals are often used by many to name a church that is of huge proportions. They take one look at the very spacious house of worship and declare it to be a cathedral. This is actually wrong, because not all cathedrals are enormous with its huge columns and echoing walls. The term cathedral means bishops throne, which means that a cathedral is where a bishop does his duties and where most important liturgical rites are made.

Basilicas are styled after the famous Roman architecture. They often take after the shape of a cross. They have long central aisles with a nave at the center. Two more aisles extend on both sides of the said nave, which are separated by colonnades.

There are four designated major basilicas in the world. These are the four churches of Rome of the fourth century tradition, including the very well known Basilica of St. Peter. One of the many reasons why a church is raised into the status of a basilica is because it houses a relic of a saint or objects of religious veneration.

Those structures that house monks and other members of a holy order or society is termed as an abbey church, or to put it simply, an abbey. This is housed inside an exclusive complex along with a library, cloister, and other facilities that the religious might need. They were one of the most important buildings during the time.

These abbeys have often served as shelter in times of utmost peril. This is where most people run to when their lives are threatened, especially when they find themselves caught in warfare. Upon the end of the monastic era, the buildings were turned into local parish churches.

Of course, the appearance of the church does not affect its purpose. Whether big or small, humble or intricate, they are still very special places for the faithful. This is where the religious give thanks and worship the Maker they firmly believe in.




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