A cathedral is a large ecclesiastical building presided over by a bishop, containing the bishop’s cathedra. It is not inherent in the structure itself, and some buildings may lose or gain this status. The Catholic Church has a complex cathedral system, with increasing levels of authority and dignity. Cathedrals are often built to visually suggest the power and glory of the church and are among the largest and most visited church buildings in the world.
A cathedral is an ecclesiastical building presided over by a bishop, and thus the central ecclesiastical building of a diocese, an administrative unit of the larger church. It is found in hierarchical Christian denominations such as the Catholic and Anglican churches. The building is often, though not always, a large and imposing structure, although not all large and imposing church buildings are actually cathedrals.
The word is shortened from the term cathedral church, in which it is used as an adjective. It is a church that contains the cathedra – Latin for “chair” – of the bishop. In the ancient world the chair was a symbol of both a teacher and a magistrate, and therefore ideal for representing the power and duties of the bishop.
What makes a building a cathedral is the presence of the bishop, not something inherent in the structure itself. Therefore, a church building can gain or lose this status. Some were built as cathedrals, but some were not. Church buildings that have lost their status are called proto-cathedrals. Additionally, a church building may temporarily serve as a cathedral, in which case it is referred to as a pro-cathedral.
In the Catholic Church, the cathedral system is more complex than a single church governing each diocese. Some dioceses have co-cathedrals which share authority. In addition to the simple cathedral church, there are those with increasing levels of authority and dignity: the metropolitan church, the primatial church and the patriarchal church, each of which governs all cathedral and other churches lower in the hierarchy within their jurisdiction.
While cathedrals don’t have to be elaborate buildings, many are, as they are often built to visually suggest the power and glory of the church. These structures are, therefore, among the largest, most beautiful and most visited church buildings in the world, and typically a major landmark in the cities they occupy.
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