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61-516: Saint James United Church is a heritage church in the city's downtown core of Montreal , Quebec , Canada . It is a Protestant church affiliated with the United Church of Canada . It is located at 463 Saint Catherine Street West between Saint Alexandre and City Councillors Streets ( McGill metro station), in the borough of Ville-Marie within Downtown Montreal . It was designated as

122-508: A National Historic Site of Canada in 1996. The Gothic Revival church was designed by Montreal architect Alexander Francis Dunlop . It is noteworthy for its false apse housing church offices and for its Casavant Frères organ . When it was built in June 1889, it was the largest Methodist church in Canada , with 2,000 seats; it was nicknamed the "Cathedral Church of Methodism." It now belongs to

183-469: A church along a pilgrimage route, often located at the tomb of a saints , or holding icons or relics to which miraculous properties are ascribed, the site of Marian apparitions , etc. During the Middle Ages, a proprietary church was a church, abbey, or cloister built on the private grounds of a feudal lord, over which he retained proprietary interests. The architecture of evangelical places of worship

244-801: A church, usually Catholic , Anglican , Oriental Orthodox or Eastern Orthodox , housing the seat of a bishop. The word cathedral takes its name from cathedra , or Bishop's Throne (In Latin : ecclesia cathedralis ). The term is sometimes (improperly) used to refer to any church of great size. A church with a cathedral function is not necessarily a large building. It might be as small as Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford , England, Porvoo Cathedral in Porvoo , Finland, Sacred Heart Cathedral in Raleigh, United States , or Chur Cathedral in Switzerland. However, frequently,

305-805: A mild, generally humid climate, influenced by the North Atlantic Current . Western Europe is a heatwave hotspot, exhibiting upward trends that are three-to-four times faster compared to the rest of the northern midlatitudes. Western European languages mostly fall within two Indo-European language families: the Romance languages , descended from the Latin of the Roman Empire ; and the Germanic languages , whose ancestor language ( Proto-Germanic ) came from southern Scandinavia . Romance languages are spoken primarily in

366-416: A place of pilgrimage. The vast majority of parish churches do not however enjoy such privileges. In addition to a parish church, each parish may maintain auxiliary organizations and their facilities such as a rectory , parish hall , parochial school , or convent , frequently located on the same campus or adjacent to the church. A pilgrimage church is a church to which pilgrimages are regularly made, or

427-412: A separate room for baptisms by immersion . Worship services take on impressive proportions in the megachurches (churches where more than 2,000 people gather every Sunday). In some of these megachurches, more than 10,000 people gather every Sunday. The term gigachurch is sometimes used. For example, Lakewood Church (United States) or Yoido Full Gospel Church (South Korea). In some countries of

488-519: Is a building used for Christian worship services and other Christian religious activities. The earliest identified Christian church is a house church founded between 233 and 256. Sometimes, the word church is used by analogy and for simplicity to refer to the buildings of other religions , such as mosques and synagogues . Church is also used to describe a body or an assembly of Christian believers , while "the Church" may be used to refer to

549-516: Is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons , which may be presided over by a dean or provost . Collegiate churches were often supported by extensive lands held by the church, or by tithe income from appropriated benefices . They commonly provide distinct spaces for congregational worship and for the choir offices of their clerical community. A conventual church (in Eastern Orthodoxy katholikon )

610-712: Is a multilingual thesaurus maintained by the Publications Office of the European Union . In this thesaurus, the countries of Europe are grouped into sub-regions. The following countries are included in the sub-group Western Europe: The Western European and Others Group is one of several unofficial Regional Groups in the United Nations that act as voting blocs and negotiation forums. Regional voting blocs were formed in 1961 to encourage voting to various UN bodies from different regional groups. The European members of

671-759: Is a system devised by the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) which divides the countries of the world into regional and subregional groups, based on the M49 coding classification . The partition is for statistical convenience and does not imply any assumption regarding political or other affiliation of countries or territories. In the UN geoscheme, the following countries are classified as Western Europe: The CIA classifies seven countries as belonging to "Western Europe": The CIA also classifies three countries as belonging to "Southwestern Europe": EuroVoc

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732-776: Is home to eight churches , with two additional churches located south of the Antarctic Convergence . Many churches worldwide are of considerable historical, national, cultural , and architectural significance, with several recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Sites . According to the Catholic Encyclopedia the Cenacle (the site of the Last Supper ) in Jerusalem was the "first Christian church". The Dura-Europos church in Syria

793-426: Is mainly characterized by its sobriety. The Latin cross is a well known Christian symbol that can usually be seen on the building of an evangelical church and that identifies the place's belonging. Some services take place in theaters, schools or multipurpose rooms, rented for Sunday only. There is usually a baptistery at the front of the church (in what is known as the chancel in historic traditions) or in

854-434: Is the main church in a Christian monastery , known variously as an abbey, a priory, a convent, a friary, or a preceptory. A parish church is a church built to meet the needs of people localised in a geographical area called a parish. The vast majority of Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran church buildings fall into this category. A parish church may also be a basilica, a cathedral, a conventual or collegiate church, or

915-559: Is the oldest surviving church building in the world. Several authors have cited the Etchmiadzin Cathedral ( Armenia 's mother church) as the oldest cathedral in the world. Western Europe Prior to the Roman conquest, a large part of Western Europe had adopted the newly developed La Tène culture . As the Roman domain expanded, a cultural and linguistic division appeared between

976-814: The East–West Schism divided Christianity into Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity . This split Europe in two, with Western Europe primarily under the Catholic Church , and Eastern Europe primarily under the Eastern Orthodox Church . Ever since the Reformation in the 16th century, Protestantism has also been a major denomination in Europe, with Eastern Protestant and Eastern Catholic denominations also emerging in Central and Eastern Europe . During

1037-765: The Great Schism between Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism , enhanced the cultural and religious distinctiveness between Eastern and Western Europe. After the conquest of the Byzantine Empire , center of the Eastern Orthodox Church, by the Muslim Ottoman Empire in the 15th century, and the gradual fragmentation of the Holy Roman Empire (which had replaced the Carolingian Empire ),

1098-757: The Mogadishu Cathedral , along with the Saint Anthony of Padua Church in Somaliland . Other countries with a limited number of churches include Bhutan and Western Sahara . In contrast, some estimates suggest that the United States has the highest number of churches in the world, with around 380,000, followed by Brazil and Italy . According to the Future for Religious Heritage, there are over 500,000 churches across Europe . Several cities are commonly known as

1159-682: The Proto-Germanic kirika word . This was probably borrowed via the Gothic from the Greek kyriake (oikia) , kyriakon doma , 'the Lord's (house)', from kyrios , 'ruler, lord'. Kyrios in turn comes from the Proto-Indo-European language root *keue meaning 'to swell'. The Greek kyriakon , 'of the Lord', was used of houses of Christian worship since c.  AD 300 , especially in

1220-528: The Renaissance was extremely exaggerated. Domes and capitals were decorated with moulding, and the former stucco sculptures were replaced by fresco paintings on the ceilings. For the first time, churches were seen as one connected work of art, and consistent artistic concepts were developed. Instead of long buildings, more central-plan buildings were created. The sprawling decoration with floral ornamentation and mythological motives lasted until about 1720 in

1281-480: The Rococo era. The Protestant parishes preferred lateral churches, in which all the visitors could be as close as possible to the pulpit and the altar . A common trait of the architecture of many churches is the shape of a cross (a long central rectangle, with side rectangles and a rectangle in front for the altar space or sanctuary). These churches also often have a dome or other large vaulted space in

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1342-737: The San Francesco d’Assisi in Palermo , the Salisbury Cathedral and Wool Church in England, and Santhome Church in Chennai , India , show the elaborate stylings characteristic of Gothic cathedrals. Some of the most well-known gothic churches remained unfinished for centuries after the style fell out of popularity. One such example is the construction of the Cologne Cathedral , which began in 1248,

1403-859: The U.S. President , Franklin D. Roosevelt , and the Premier of the Soviet Union , Joseph Stalin . Post-war Europe was divided into two major spheres: the Western Bloc , influenced by the United States , and the Eastern Bloc , influenced by the Soviet Union . With the onset of the Cold War, Europe was divided by the Iron Curtain . This term had been used during World War II by German Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels and, later, Count Lutz Schwerin von Krosigk in

1464-535: The United Church of Canada , into which the Canadian Methodists merged in 1925. Its congregation founded the first YMCA in North America on November 25, 1851 (before the present church building was built) and led an active campaign for women's suffrage early in the 20th century. A World War I memorial window (1924) by Charles William Kelsey depicting a trench scene at St. James United Church (Montreal)

1525-790: The United Kingdom . It was further revisited in 1954 at the Paris Conference , when the Western European Union was established. It was declared defunct in 2011 after the Treaty of Lisbon , and the Treaty of Brussels was terminated. When the Western European Union was dissolved, it had 10 member countries. Additionally, it had 6 associate member countries, 7 associate partner countries and 5 observer countries. The United Nations geoscheme

1586-501: The " City of Churches " due to their abundance of churches. These cities include Adelaide , Ani , Ayacucho , Kraków , Moscow , Montreal , Naples , Ohrid , Prague , Puebla , Querétaro , Rome , Salzburg , and Vilnius . Notably, Rome and New York City are home to the highest number of churches of any city in the world. Although building churches is prohibited in Saudi Arabia, which has around 1.5 million Christians,

1647-646: The 3rd and the 5th centuries. The division between these two was enhanced during late antiquity and the Middle Ages by a number of events. The Western Roman Empire collapsed , starting the Early Middle Ages . By contrast, the Eastern Roman Empire, mostly known as the Greek or Byzantine Empire , survived and even thrived for another 1000 years. The rise of the Carolingian Empire in the west, and in particular

1708-594: The CIA classification a little more liberally and including "South-Western Europe", would give the following calculation of Western Europe's population. The Hague is the seat of government The climate of Western Europe varies from Mediterranean in the coasts of Italy , Portugal and Spain to alpine in the Pyrenees and the Alps . The Mediterranean climate of the south is dry and warm. The western and northwestern parts have

1769-540: The East, although it was less common in this sense than ekklesia or basilike . The earliest archeologically identified Christian church is a house church ( domus ecclesiae ), the Dura-Europos church , founded between 233 and 256. In the second half of the third century AD, the first purpose-built halls for Christian worship ( aula ecclesiae ) began to be constructed. Although many of these were destroyed early in

1830-593: The Maldives, which has approximately 1,400 Christians, building churches is prohibited. However, only foreign Christian workers are allowed to practice their religion privately. Despite the prohibition on church construction, both countries have secret home churches . Christianity is the world's largest and most widespread religion, with over 2.3 billion followers. Churches are found across all seven continents , which are Asia , Africa , North America , South America , Antarctica , Europe , and Oceania . Antarctica

1891-516: The Romanesque church include circular arches , round or octagonal towers, and cushion capitals on pillars. In the early Romanesque era, coffering on the ceiling was fashionable, while later in the same era, groined vaults gained popularity. Interiors widened, and the motifs of sculptures took on more epic traits and themes. The Gothic style emerged around 1140 in Île-de-France and subsequently spread throughout Europe. Gothic churches lost

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1952-576: The UK include a former tram power station, a former bus garage , a former cinema and bingo hall, a former Territorial Army drill hall, and a former synagogue . HMS  Tees served as a floating church for mariners at Liverpool from 1827 until she sank in 1872. A windmill has also been converted into a church at Reigate Heath . There have been increased partnerships between church management and private real estate companies to redevelop church properties into mixed uses. While it has garnered criticism,

2013-412: The architecture and location often provide for attractive homes or city centre entertainment venues. On the other hand, many newer churches have decided to host meetings in public buildings such as schools, universities, cinemas or theatres. There is another trend to convert old buildings for worship rather than face the construction costs and planning difficulties of a new build. Unusual venues in

2074-439: The cathedral, along with some of the abbey churches, was the largest building in any region. Cathedrals tend to display a higher level of contemporary architectural style and the work of accomplished craftsmen, and occupy a status both ecclesiastical and social that an ordinary parish church rarely has. Such churches are generally among the finest buildings locally and a source of national and regional pride, and many are among

2135-558: The church itself being announced by a large neon sign . In 2005, as part of an $ 8-million restoration effort sponsored by the city of Montreal and the Quebec government, a portion of the commercial buildings were demolished, once again revealing the facade of the church as well as a new public square designed by Quebec architect Claude Cormier . Access has also been restored to the rear lawn from Sainte Catherine Street. Church (building) A church , church building , or church house

2196-506: The compact qualities of the Romanesque era, and decorations often contained symbolic and allegorical features. The first pointed arches , rib vaults , and buttresses began to appear, all possessing geometric properties that reduced the need for large, rigid walls to ensure structural stability. This also permitted the size of windows to increase, producing brighter and lighter interiors. Nave ceilings rose, and pillars and steeples heightened. Many architects used these developments to push

2257-583: The country contains the remnants of a historic church known as the Jubail Church , which dates back to the fourth century and was affiliated with the Church of the East . Discovered in 1986, the site was excavated by the Saudi Antiquities Department in 1987. As of 2008, the findings from this excavation had not been published, reflecting sensitivities regarding artifacts from non-Islamic religions. In

2318-545: The division between Roman Catholic and Protestant became more important in Europe than that with Eastern Orthodoxy. In East Asia , Western Europe was historically known as taixi in China and taisei in Japan, which literally translates as the " Far West ". The term Far West became synonymous with Western Europe in China during the Ming dynasty . The Italian Jesuit priest Matteo Ricci

2379-464: The eleventh through the fourteenth centuries, there was a wave of church construction in Western Europe . Many churches worldwide are of considerable historical , national, cultural , and architectural significance, with several recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Sites . The word church is derived from Old English cirice word, 'place of assemblage set aside for Christian worship', from

2440-569: The fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989. West Germany peacefully absorbed East Germany , in the German reunification . Comecon and the Warsaw Pact were dissolved, and in 1991, the Soviet Union ceased to exist. Several countries which had been part of the Soviet Union regained full independence. In 1948 the Treaty of Brussels was signed between Belgium , France , Luxembourg , the Netherlands and

2501-448: The four decades of the Cold War , the definition of East and West was simplified by the existence of the Eastern Bloc . A number of historians and social scientists view the Cold War definition of Western and Eastern Europe as outdated or relegating. During the final stages of World War II , the future of Europe was decided between the Allies in the 1945 Yalta Conference , between the British Prime Minister , Winston Churchill ,

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2562-581: The front altar. Often, the altar will not be oriented due east but toward the sunrise. This tradition originated in Byzantium in the fourth century and became prevalent in the West in the eighth and ninth centuries. The old Roman custom of having the altar at the west end and the entrance at the east was sometimes followed as late as the eleventh century, even in areas of northern Europe under Frankish rule, as seen in Petershausen (Constance) , Bamberg Cathedral , Augsburg Cathedral , Regensburg Cathedral , and Hildesheim Cathedral . The Latin word basilica

2623-402: The group are: In addition, Australia , Canada , Israel and New Zealand are members of the group, with the United States as observer. Using the CIA classification strictly would give the following calculation of Western Europe's population. All figures based on the projections for 2018 by the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs . Using

2684-422: The interior to represent or draw attention to the heavens. Other common shapes for churches include a circle, to represent eternity, or an octagon or similar star shape, to represent the church's bringing light to the world. Another common feature is the spire , a tall tower at the "west" end of the church or over the crossing . Another common feature of many Christian churches is the eastwards orientation of

2745-531: The last days of the war; however, its use was hugely popularised by Winston Churchill, who used it in his famous "Sinews of Peace" address on 5 March 1946 at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri : From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an iron curtain has descended across the Continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe . Warsaw , Berlin , Prague , Vienna , Budapest , Belgrade , Bucharest and Sofia ; all these famous cities and

2806-593: The limits of structural possibility, an inclination that resulted in the collapse of several towers whose designs that had unwittingly exceeded the boundaries of soundness. In Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain, it became popular to build hall churches , a style in which every vault would be built to the same height. Gothic cathedrals were lavishly designed, as in the Romanesque era, and many share Romanesque traits. However, several also exhibit unprecedented degrees of detail and complexity in decoration. The Notre-Dame de Paris and Notre-Dame de Reims in France, as well as

2867-429: The mainly Greek -speaking eastern provinces, which had formed the highly urbanised Hellenistic civilisation , and the western territories, which in contrast largely adopted the Latin language. This cultural and linguistic division was eventually reinforced by the later political east–west division of the Roman Empire . The Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire controlled the two divergent regions between

2928-404: The next century during the Diocletianic Persecution . Even larger and more elaborate churches began to appear during the reign of Emperor Constantine the Great . From the eleventh through the fourteenth centuries, a wave of cathedral building and the construction of smaller parish churches occurred across Western Europe . Besides serving as a place of worship , the cathedral or parish church

2989-416: The partnership allows congregations to increase revenue while preserving the property. With the exception of Saudi Arabia and the Maldives , all sovereign states and dependent territories worldwide have church buildings. Afghanistan has the fewest churches globally, featuring only one official church: the Our Lady of Divine Providence Chapel in Kabul . Somalia follows closely, having once housed

3050-528: The populations around them lie in what I must call the Soviet sphere, and all are subject, in one form or another, not only to Soviet influence but to a very high and in some cases increasing measure of control from Moscow. Although some countries were officially neutral , they were classified according to the nature of their political and economic systems. This division largely defines the popular perception and understanding of Western Europe and its borders with Eastern Europe . The world changed dramatically with

3111-427: The proclamation of God's Word is of particular importance, the visitor's line of sight is directed towards the pulpit . The Baroque style was first used in Italy around 1575. From there, it spread to the rest of Europe and the European colonies. The building industry increased heavily during the Baroque era. Buildings, even churches, were used to indicate wealth, authority, and influence. The use of forms known from

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3172-408: The protection of regional and minority languages are recognised political goals in Western Europe today. The Council of Europe Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the Council of Europe's European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages set up a legal framework for language rights in Europe. Western Europe is one of the richest regions of the world. Germany has

3233-430: The southern and central part of Western Europe, Germanic languages in the northern part (the British Isles and the Low Countries ), as well as a large part of Northern and Central Europe . Other Western European languages include the Celtic group (that is, Irish , Scottish Gaelic , Manx , Welsh , Cornish and Breton ) and Basque , the only currently living European language isolate . Multilingualism and

3294-456: The world which apply sharia or communism , government authorizations for worship are complex for Christians. Because of persecution of Christians , Evangelical house churches have thus developed. For example, there is the Evangelical house churches in China movement. The meetings thus take place in private houses, in secret and in "illegality". Old and disused church buildings can be seen as an interesting proposition for developers as

3355-476: The world's most renowned works of architecture. Either, a discrete space with an altar inside a larger cathedral, conventual, parish, or other church; or, a free standing small church building or room not connected to a larger church, to serve a particular hospital , school , university , prison, private household, palace , castle , or other institution. Often proprietary churches and small conventual churches are referred to by this term. A collegiate church

3416-554: The worldwide Christian religious community as a whole. In traditional Christian architecture , the plan view of a church often forms a Christian cross with the centre aisle and seating representing the vertical beam and the bema and altar forming the horizontal. Towers or domes may inspire contemplation of the heavens . Modern churches have a variety of architectural styles and layouts. Some buildings designed for other purposes have been converted to churches, while many original church buildings have been put to other uses. From

3477-424: Was dedicated to 32 members who were killed overseas and 267 others who served in the Great War. The side lights represent the cardinal virtues, Justice , Prudence , Temperance and Fortitude . In 1927, to cover upkeep costs, the church permitted a commercial building to be built in front of its Sainte Catherine Street façade. The building, adjoining the church's structure, concealed the church for over 78 years,

3538-530: Was frequently employed as a general gathering place by the communities in which they were located, hosting such events as guild meetings, banquets , mystery plays , and fairs . Church grounds and buildings were also used for the threshing and storage of grain. Between 1000 and 1200, the Romanesque style became popular across Europe . The Romanesque style is defined by large and bulky edifices typically composed of simple, compact, sparsely decorated geometric structures. Frequent features of

3599-478: Was halted in 1473, and was not resumed until 1842. In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the changes in ethics and society due to the Renaissance and the Reformation also influenced the building of churches. The common style was much like the Gothic style but simplified. The basilica was not the most popular type of church anymore, but instead, hall churches were built. Typical features are columns and classical capitals . In Protestant churches , where

3660-399: Was initially used to describe a Roman public building usually located in the forum of a Roman town. After the Roman Empire became officially Christian , the term came by extension to refer to a large and influential church that has been given special ceremonial rights by the Pope . The word thus retains two senses today, one architectural and the other ecclesiastical. A cathedral is

3721-451: Was one of the first writers in China to use the Far West as an Asian counterpart to the European concept of the Far East . In Ricci's writings, Ricci referred to himself as "Matteo of the Far West". The term was still in use in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Christianity is the largest religion in Western Europe. According to a 2018 study by the Pew Research Center , 71.0% of Western Europeans identified as Christians. In 1054,

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