What is "cathedral"

Cathedral \Ca*the"dral\, n. [LL. cathedralis (sc. ecclesia): cf. F. cath['e]drale. See Cathedra.] The principal church in a diocese, so called because in it the bishop has his official chair (Cathedra) or throne.

Cathedral \Ca*the"dral\, a. [LL. cathedralis: cf. F. cath['e]dral.]

1. Pertaining to the head church of a diocese; as, a cathedral church; cathedral service.

2. Emanating from the chair of office, as of a pope or bishop; official; authoritative.

   Now, what solemnity can be more required for the pope to make a cathedral determination of an article!
   --Jer. Taylor.

3. Resembling the aisles of a cathedral; as, cathedral walks.
   --Pope.

1580s, "church of a bishop," from phrase cathedral church (c.1300), partially translating Late Latin ecclesia cathedralis "church of a bishop's seat," from Latin cathedra "an easy chair (principally used by ladies)," also metonymically, as in cathedrae molles "luxurious women;" also "a professor's chair;" from Greek kathedra "seat, bench," from kata "down" (see cata-) + hedra "seat, base, chair, face of a geometric solid," from PIE root *sed- (1) "to sit" (see sedentary).\n

\nIt was born an adjective, and attempts to cobble further adjectivization onto it in 17c. yielded cathedraical (1670s), cathedratic (1660s), cathedratical (1660s), after which the effort seems to have been given up.

n. 1 A big church building, central place for some area. 2 The principal church of a bishop's diocese which contains an episcopal throne.

1. adj. relating to or containing or issuing from a bishop's office or throne; "a cathedral church"

2. n. any large and important church

3. the principal Christian church building of a bishop's diocese

Cathedral usually refers to:

• Cathedral, the function and history of cathedrals
• Architecture of cathedrals and great churches
• Architecture of the medieval cathedrals of England

Cathedral may also refer to:

• Cathedral (book), a illustrated book by David Macaulay
• Cathedral (band), a British heavy metal/doom metal band
• Cathedral Quartet often known as simply The Cathedrals, a southern gospel singing quartet
• Cathedral (board game), a two-player abstract strategy board game
• Cathedral (TV series), a BBC documentary miniseries first broadcast in 2005
• The Cathedral, a short story by Jacek Dukaj, and a short animated film by Tomasz Baginski based on that story
• The Cathedral (novel), a novel by the French writer Joris-Karl Huysmans
• La Cathédrale (film), a 2006 film
• Cathedral (stories), a 1983 book of short stories by Raymond Carver
• "Cathedral" (short story), a 1983 short story in that book
• Cathedral Cavern (disambiguation), the name for several natural and industrial structures
• Cathedral Caves, a series of sea caves in southern New Zealand
• Cathedral (novel), a 1981 book written by Nelson DeMille
• The Cathedral model of software development, a process closed to outside collaboration, presented in Eric Raymond's essay The Cathedral and the Bazaar
• Cathedral Provincial Park and Protected Area in British Columbia, Canada
• Mount Meager, a mountain in southwestern British Columbia, Canada
• Cathedral, Colorado
• Cathedral Mansions Apartment Buildings, historic buildings in Washington, D.C.
• Cathedral (album), a 2004 album by Castanets
• "Cathedral", a song on the Van Halen album Diver Down
• "Cathedral", a song on the 1977 Crosby Stills and Nash album CSN
• The Cathedral, a term used by the neoreactionary movement for Western media and academic establishment

Cathedral is an educational television miniseries of five episodes first broadcast in 2005 by the BBC. It describes the construction of five cathedrals in the United Kingdom: Canterbury Cathedral, Lincoln Cathedral, Winchester Cathedral, St. Giles' Cathedral, and York Minster.

The show features historical re-enactments using actors and CGI.

"Cathedral" is a short story written by American writer and poet Raymond Carver. It was the first story written after finishing What We Talk About When We Talk About Love. It is the title story of a collection published in 1983: Cathedral.

Cathedral is a 1981 novel by American author, Nelson DeMille.

Cathedral is the third major-press collection of short stories by American writer Raymond Carver, published in 1983.

Cathedral is an album by Castanets, released on October 19, 2004 through Asthmatic Kitty. Part of the album was recorded live and includes a dozen local musicians. Led by Raymond Raposa, this is the band's first foray into studio recording, which he described as 'a really protracted, uncomfortable process'. The release features guest-vocals by Brigit DeCook and Liz Janes. The material was partly recorded in a remote cabin in Northern California. Raposa had planned to publish a novel to accompany the album, which failed to surface.

Cathedral is an mixtape by American rapper Curren$y and producer Chase N. Cashe. It was released for online download on August 5, 2015.

A cathedral ( French: cathédrale from Latin: cathedra, "seat" from the Greek kathedra (καθέδρα), seat, bench, from kata "down" + hedra seat, base, chair) is a Christian church which contains the seat of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. The counterpart term for such a church in German is Dom from Latin domus ecclesiae or domus episcopalis; also Italian Duomo, Dutch Domkerk and cognates in many other European languages. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations with an episcopal hierarchy, such as the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Orthodox, and some Lutheran and Methodist churches. Church buildings embodying the functions of a cathedral first appear 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.

In respect of the church buildings in the Eastern Orthodox Church, the English word "cathedral" commonly translates katholikon (sobor in Slavic languages), meaning of "assembly"; but this title 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 kathedrikos naos (literally: "cathedral church") is used.

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 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 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.

In the Catholic tradition, 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 abbacy 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), the church which 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.

• A pro-cathedral is a parish or other church used temporarily as a cathedral, usually while the cathedral of a diocese is under construction, renovation, or repair. This designation applies only as long as the temporary use continues.
• A co-cathedral is a second cathedral in a diocese that has two sees. This situation can arise in various ways such as a merger of two former dioceses, preparation to split a diocese, or perceived need to perform cathedral functions in a second location due to the expanse of the diocesan territory.
• A proto-cathedral is the former cathedral of a transferred see.

The cathedral church of a metropolitan bishop is called the metropolitan cathedral.

The term "cathedral" actually carries no implication as to the size or ornateness of the building. Nevertheless, most cathedrals are particularly impressive edifices. Thus, the term "cathedral" is often applied colloquially to any large and impressive church, regardless of whether it functions as a cathedral, such as the Crystal Cathedral in California or the Arctic Cathedral in Tromsø, Norway. Although the builders of Crystal Cathedral never intended the building to be a true cathedral, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange purchased the building and the surrounding campus in February 2012 for use as a new cathedral church. The building is now under renovation and restoration for solemn dedication under the title "Christ Cathedral" in 2018.

Cathedral is a two-player abstract strategy board game in which two factions ("dark" and "light") vie for territorial supremacy within the bounds of a medieval city. The game is produced by Chrisbo I.P. Holdings Limited in New Zealand.

Cathedral were a doom metal band from Coventry, England. The group gained attention upon release of its debut album, Forest of Equilibrium, which is considered a classic of the genre. However, the band's sound evolved quickly and began to adopt characteristics of 1970s metal and hard rock. After releasing ten full-length albums and touring extensively for over two decades, Cathedral broke up after the release of The Last Spire in 2013.