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100-618: The cathedral was erected between 1131 and 1240 in the Norman architectural style, the island of Sicily having been conquered by the Normans in 1091. According to tradition, the building was erected after a vow made to the Holy Saviour by the King of Sicily, Roger II , after he escaped from a storm to land on the city's beach. The building has a fortress-like character and, seen from a distance, it dominates

200-488: A metonymic name for monastery in languages such as German. Cloistered clergy refers to monastic orders that strictly separate themselves from the affairs of the external world. The early medieval cloister had several antecedents: the peristyle court of the Greco-Roman domus , the atrium and its expanded version that served as forecourt to early Christian basilicas , and certain semi-galleried courts attached to

300-409: 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

400-467: A Frankish nobleman's villa rustica , in a tradition unbroken from late Roman times. Another early cloister, in the abbey of Saint-Riquier (790–799), took a triangular shape, with chapels at the corners, in conscious representation of the Trinity . A square cloister sited against the flank of the abbey church was built at Inden (816) and the abbey of St. Wandrille at Fontenelle (823–833). At Fulda ,

500-541: 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,

600-580: 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 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

700-512: 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,

800-534: 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

900-489: 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

1000-592: A late Antique sarcophagus, a medieval one, and the notable sepulchre of the Bishop Castelli of the 18th century. The 12th-century baptismal font, carved from a single block of stone, is decorated with four small sculpted lions. The church also houses a canvas of the Madonna from Antonello Gagini 's workshop (16th century) and a painted wooden cross by Guglielmo da Pesaro (1468). The organ is a large two-manual instrument with detached console and plain pipework, sitting above

1100-471: 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

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1200-511: 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

1300-507: A panelled wooden case. The nave's ceiling has a painted decoration with busts, fanciful animals and other motifs, probably the work of Arabic craftsmen. Starting in 1985, the Palermo artist Michele Canzoneri was commissioned and has installed 72 modern, abstract, stained-glass windows based on episodes from the Old and New Testaments. These have aroused some controversy for their style. Excavations in

1400-410: A planned theological programme. The mosaic decoration extends into the presbyterium, with the side walls showing figures of prophets and saints. On the right wall, adjacent to the royal throne, are royal figures, while on the left side, adjacent the bishop's throne, are priestly figures. Each figure is accompanied by an inscription, in Greek or Latin, describing the character portrayed. The decoration of

1500-432: 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

1600-406: 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

1700-581: 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

1800-574: A square plan surrounded by flame-shaped merlons , the latter symbolizing the Papal authority and the mitre ; the other has an octagonal plan and Ghibelline merlons, symbolizing the royal and temporal power . The 15th-century portico has three arches, the two outer being pointed, supported by four columns and vaulting ribs . Under the portico is the Porta Regum (Kings' Door), with a finely decorated marble portal flanked by wall paintings. The interior of

1900-462: 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

2000-406: 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

2100-464: Is a church that contains the cathedra ( Latin for 'seat') of a bishop , thus serving as the central church of a diocese , conference , or episcopate . Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations with an episcopal hierarchy, such as the Catholic , Eastern Orthodox , Anglican , and some Lutheran churches. Church buildings embodying

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2200-500: 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 the ranks of cathedral clergy. In the Catholic or Roman Catholic tradition,

2300-599: Is a forerunner of the Gothic style which was to develop in the region of Paris within a few years. The church has three apses , an arrangement also seen in Sicily at Monreale Cathedral . The two lower side apses have the upper tiers of the exterior decorated by blind arcading of small crossed arches and sculpted corbels , also seen used extensively at Monreale. The corbels date from 1215 to 1223 and portray masks, heads of animals, and human figures in contorted positions. The corbels of

2400-534: 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, 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

2500-428: 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

2600-759: Is more important in the hierarchy than the church because it is from the cathedral that the bishop governs the area under his or her administrative authority. 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

2700-489: Is not different from that of Spanish and some French cloisters; the composite capitals of the coupled columns are Norman and other more generically Romanesque in their motifs. This cloister is the model for the successive Norman cloisters of Sicily, in particular that of the Monreale . It was probably planned that the entire church be decorated in mosaic , but this was completed only in the presbyterium area. Mosaic still covers

2800-413: Is preceded by a large terraced parvis , which was originally a cemetery. According to tradition, it was created with earth brought from Jerusalem , which was believed to have qualities that caused the rapid mummification of corpses. The façade is characterized by two large Norman towers with mullioned windows, each surmounted by a small spire added in the 15th century. Each spire is different: one has

2900-472: 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

3000-407: 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

3100-462: 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

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3200-575: The Gospel of John , in which can be read, in Greek and Latin: "I am the light of the world, who follows me will not wander in the darkness but will have the light of life" ( John , 8:12 ). In the upper tier of the apsidal wall is depicted the Blessed Virgin Mary, her hands raised in obsecration, flanked by four archangels . In the second and third tiers, on either side of the central window, are figures of apostles and evangelists , placed according to

3300-465: 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 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

3400-546: 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 ,

3500-448: 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

3600-489: 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,

3700-601: 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 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

3800-552: The Convent of Saints Sergius and Bacchus , at Umm-is-Surab (AD 489), and the colonnaded forecourt of the convent of Id-Dêr, but nothing similar appeared in the semi-eremitic Irish monasteries' clustered roundhouses nor in the earliest Benedictine collective communities of the West. In the time of Charlemagne ( r.  768–814 ) the requirements of a separate monastic community within an extended and scattered manorial estate led to

3900-547: 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

4000-403: 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

4100-450: 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

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4200-404: 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

4300-570: 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

4400-480: 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 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

4500-486: The apse and about half of the side walls. Roger II brought masters in the technique of mosaic from Constantinople . They adapted their traditional Byzantine decorative art to an architectural structure that was of northern European origin. The dominant figure of the decorative scheme is the bust of Christ Pantokrator , portrayed on the semi-dome of the apse with a hand raised in Benediction . In his left hand he carries

4600-487: 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

4700-437: 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

4800-489: 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

4900-475: The building. The transept is higher than both the nave and aisles. While parts of the building are barrel-vaulted and parts have an open timber roof, the presbytery has a ribbed vault of stone. Beyond the crossing, the church is unusual in combining a style that is essentially Romanesque in its massive simple forms with the Gothic pointed arch . This feature is also seen in Monreale Cathedral . It

5000-766: 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

5100-404: 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

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5200-436: The cathedral area have brought to light parts of a 6th-century polychrome mosaic. They depict a dove drinking, parts of two other birds, two small trees, and a lily-shaped flower, enclosed in a frame with ogival and lozenge motifs. This mosaic belonged probably to a pre-existing Byzantine basilica. This area of Cefalù was frequented at least up to the 8th century, when it was an episcopal see . Cathedral A cathedral

5300-586: 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

5400-412: The cathedral is on the Latin cross plan, divided into a nave and two aisles by arcades of antique columns: fourteen in pink granite and two in cipolin . The bases and capitals are from the 2nd century AD. Two large capitals supporting the triumphal arch of the nave were probably made by a Sicilian workshop in the mid-12th century. The roof of the nave was lowered, as can be seen from the exterior of

5500-417: 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

5600-429: The central apse are more recent. The central apse originally had three large ocular windows, which were later closed to give space for the mosaic, and a larger central window of ogival shape. Two other pairs of circular windows are located at the transept's ends. The cathedral has a cloister that can be entered from within the church. The arcade has pointed arches, each of which rests on slender, paired columns. The form

5700-418: 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

5800-423: The church suffered a period of decline. In 1215 Frederick II of Hohenstaufen moved the two sarcophagi to the Cathedral of Palermo . Construction of the cathedral was resumed soon after, the façade being completed in 1240. The cathedral was consecrated in 1267 by Rodolphe de Chevriêres , Bishop of Albano . In 1472 a portico , by Ambrogio da Como , was added between the two towers of the facade. The cathedral

5900-502: 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

6000-458: 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

6100-409: 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

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6200-771: 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 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

6300-436: 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

6400-538: 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

6500-417: 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

6600-611: The cross-vaulted ceiling depicts four cherubim and four seraphim . The chief figures, that of Christ Pantokrator and the Virgin Mary, are clothed in blue, given luminosity by a background of gold tiles. The work is of the highest order, displaying elegance in the draping of the figures' robes and in the sensitivity of their faces and gestures. It is considered the finest Byzantine mosaic in Italy and comparable to other fine Late Byzantine work from Constantinople. The Byzantine mosaic decoration

6700-413: The development of a "monastery within a monastery" in the form of the locked cloister, an architectural solution allowing the monks to perform their sacred tasks apart from the distractions of laymen and servants. Horn offers as early examples Abbot Gundeland's "Altenmünster" of Lorsch abbey (765–774), as revealed in the excavations by Frederich Behn. Lorsch was adapted without substantial alteration from

6800-420: 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

6900-529: The flanks of early Syrian churches. Walter Horn suggests that the earliest coenobitic communities, which were established in Egypt by Saint Pachomius c.  AD 320 , did not result in cloister construction, as there were no lay serfs attached to the community of monks, and thus no need for separation within the walled community. Horn finds the earliest prototypical cloisters in some exceptional late fifth-century monastic churches in southern Syria, such as

7000-520: The functions of a cathedral first appeared in Italy , Gaul , Spain , and North Africa in the 4th century, but cathedrals did not become universal within the Western Catholic Church until the 12th century, by which time they had developed architectural forms , institutional structures, and legal identities distinct from parish churches , monastic churches, and episcopal residences. The cathedral

7100-503: 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,

7200-411: 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

7300-517: 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

7400-421: 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

7500-493: 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

7600-428: 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

7700-401: 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

7800-472: The others. Cloister A cloister (from Latin claustrum , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a warm southern flank, usually indicates that it is (or once was) part of a monastic foundation, "forming a continuous and solid architectural barrier... that effectively separates

7900-422: 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

8000-399: 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 ,

8100-416: 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

8200-408: 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

8300-463: 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

8400-412: 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

8500-460: The skyline of the surrounding medieval town. It made a powerful statement of the Norman presence. The cathedral was built in a long-populated area, as attested by the presence of a Roman road and a Paleo-Christian mosaic. Construction began in 1131, the apse mosaics were begun in 1145, and the sarcophagi that Roger II provided for his tomb and that of his wife were put in place the same year. After 1172

8600-645: 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

8700-426: 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

8800-415: 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),

8900-522: 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

9000-448: The throne can also embody the principle that a cathedral makes 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

9100-562: The title and dignity of "cathedral", maintaining and developing distinct cathedral functions, but void of hierarchical supremacy. From 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

9200-668: 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

9300-413: The world of the monks from that of the serfs and workmen, whose lives and works went forward outside and around the cloister." Cloistered (or claustral) life is also another name for the monastic life of a monk or nun . The English term enclosure is used in contemporary Catholic church law translations to mean cloistered, and some form of the Latin parent word "claustrum" is frequently used as

9400-457: 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

9500-462: Was completed before 1170. The lower part and the side walls of the presbyterium were not completed until the 17th century. They covered preceding paintings of which scarce traces remain today. Of the original painted decoration, a figure of Urban V from the late 14th century, on a column on the left aisle; and a "Madonna enthroned" from the 15th century, in the left arm of the transept, remain. The basilica houses several funerary monuments, including

9600-500: 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,

9700-499: 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

9800-552: 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

9900-430: 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

10000-588: 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

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