The word
church derives from the Greek
ekklesia, meaning
the called-out ones. Its original meaning is to refer to the body of believers, or the body of Christ. The word
church is used to refer to a Christian place of worship by some
Christian denominations, including
Anglicans and
Catholics. Other
Christian denominations, including the
Religious Society of Friends,
Mennonites,
Christadelphians, and some
unitarians, object to the use of the word "church" to refer to a building, as they argue that this word should be reserved for the body of believers who worship there. Instead, these groups use words such as "Hall" to identify their places of worship or any building in use by them for the purpose of assembly. •
Basilica (
Roman Catholic) •
Cathedral or
minster (seat of a diocesan bishop within the
Catholic,
Orthodox and
Anglican churches) •
Chapel ("Capel" in Welsh) –
Presbyterian Church of Wales (Calvinistic Methodism), and some other denominations, especially
non-conformist denominations. English law once reserved the term "church" to the Church of England. In
Catholicism and
Anglicanism, some smaller and "private" places of worship are called
chapels. •
Church –
Iglesia ni Cristo,
Orthodox,
Catholic,
Protestant denominations •
Kirk (Scottish–cognate with church) •
Meeting House –
Religious Society of Friends •
Meeting House –
Christadelphians •
Meeting House and
Temple –
Mormons Latter-day Saints use
meeting house and
temple to denote two different types of buildings. Normal
worship services are held in
ward meeting houses (or chapels) while Mormon temples are reserved for
special ordinances. •
Temple – French Protestants Protestant denominations installed in France in the early modern era use the word
temple (as opposed to
church, supposed to be Roman Catholic); some more recently built temples are called
church. •
Orthodox temple – Orthodox Christianity (both
Eastern and
Oriental) an Orthodox temple is a place of worship with base shaped like
Greek cross. •
Kingdom Hall –
Jehovah's Witnesses may apply the term in a general way to any meeting place used for their
formal meetings for worship, but apply the term formally to those places established by and for local congregations of up to 200 adherents.
Their multi-congregation events are typically held at a meeting place termed ''Assembly Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses
(or Christian Convention Center of Jehovah's Witnesses''). ==Classical antiquity==