Cathedra

11 February 2024 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  8 minutes

Cathdra Petri_at Saint Peter's Basilica in the Vatican © Ricardo André Frantz/cc-by-sa-3.0

Cathedra Petri at Saint Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican © Ricardo André Frantz/cc-by-sa-3.0

A cathedra is the raised throne of a bishop in the early Christian basilica. When used with this meaning, it may also be called the bishop’s throne. With time, the related term cathedral became synonymous with the “seat”, or principal church, of a bishopric. The word in modern languages derives from a normal Greek word kathédra, meaning “seat”, with no special religious connotations, and the Latin cathedra, specifically a chair with arms. It is a symbol of the bishop’s teaching authority in the Catholic Church, the Orthodox Church, and the Anglican Communion churches.   read more…

Theme Week Vatican City – St. Peter’s Basilica

29 December 2018 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Architecture, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  18 minutes

Tiber, Ponte Sant'Angelo and St. Peter's Basilica © Rabax63/cc-by-sa-4.0

Tiber, Ponte Sant’Angelo and St. Peter’s Basilica © Rabax63/cc-by-sa-4.0

The Papal Basilica of St. Peter in the Vatican, or simply St. Peter’s Basilica, is an Italian Renaissance church in Vatican City, the papal enclave within the city of Rome. Designed principally by Donato Bramante, Michelangelo, Carlo Maderno and Gian Lorenzo Bernini, St. Peter’s is the most renowned work of Renaissance architecture and the largest church in the world. While it is neither the mother church of the Catholic Church nor the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome, St. Peter’s is regarded as one of the holiest Catholic shrines. It has been described as “holding a unique position in the Christian world” and as “the greatest of all churches of Christendom“.   read more…

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