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To Know The History Of Churches Westfield NJ Is The Way To Go

By James Peterson


Depending on context, the word church has more than one meaning. The meaning used in this article is that of a building used by believers for religious activities. Even though it is often associated with Christians, church buildings can also be used by other religions for religious activities. When one is in need of getting a greater understanding about most churches Westfield NJ is the right location to check out. There are several different religious buildings in that area from which one can learn a couple of things.

The establishment of the earliest church occurred somewhere from 233-256. The Church of Saint Simeon Stylites has been determined to be one of the oldest church structures in existence today. The location of this church is Aleppo in Syria. Ancient churches have been converted to other uses today including being museums. In the same way, modern non-religious buildings have often being converted to house of worship.

The term church originated from the language of Greek. Its refers to anything related to Jesus. The word ecclesia was being used more in the English language before it was dropped for church. However, the word remained in use in Latin, Greek and other languages. That is why languages such as Italia, Portuguese, French, and Spanish, which are derived from the Latin language still use words derived from ecclesia.

Breton, Irish, Welsh among other Celtic languages as well as Turkish also started using the term ecclesia and they still do to this moment. Conversely, church was adopted in English instead of ecclesia. Churche was the initial spelling prior to its change to church. Derivatives of the word church are also in use in other languages like Scottish, Russian, and German.

The earliest Christians as expressed in the Bible did not construct churches. Instead, the books of Corinthians and Acts indicate that believers gathered in homes, synagogues, and temples. The construction of the modern churches as they are known today began in Western Europe. Believers started building cathedrals and parishes around the 11th and 14th centuries.

Medieval churches were used for other activities too besides worshiping. The community could use them for other activities they had. For example, they served as halls for banquets and meeting places. Cathedrals were at times used to hold fairs and mystery plays. In addition, during the time for harvesting, the church could be used to store and thresh grains. In Europe, construction of churches began during Renaissance before moving to the Americas.

The architecture followed in constructing churches is the shape of a cross. The architecture is comprised of small rectangular room at the from which connects to a longer rectangle in a straight shape. This long rectangle is connected to by two medium-sized rectangles about a third of the length from the front. The front rectangle makes the sanctuary while the longer rectangle makes the sitting place for the congregation.

Many different types of church buildings exist today. Major examples are basilicas and cathedrals. Church buildings that house the seat of the bishop are often referred to using the name cathedral. Cathedrals exist in churches like Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, and Oriental Orthodox.




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