List of largest church buildings - wikipedia List of largest church buildings It has been suggested that List of tallest church buildings be merged into this article. ( Discuss ) Proposed since July 2017. St. Peter 's Basilica, the largest church in the world. This article lists the largest church buildings in the world as measured by various criteria. Contents 1 Scope 2 Measurements 3 By height 4 By length 5 See also 6 References Scope The term church is open to interpretation and debate. In this article, it means any building that was built for the primary purpose of Christian worship. The list does include at least one building -- the Hagia Sophia -- that was originally a church but later became a mosque and is now a museum. Measurements Whilst claims are made about the relative size of churches many of these claims are not easily substantiated. `` Largest '' is at best a vague term, which is often not qualified by claimants. Accepted measures of largeness could include area, volume, length, width, height, and / or capacity, although the last is far more subjective. It is important to note therefore that churches may claim to be `` the largest '' based on only one of these measurements ; and thus that there may be several churches that have equal claim to be `` the largest church ''. Since there is no official body governing these claims, there is no generally accepted criterion for being `` the largest church ''. The list below attempts to rank churches by different ( more - or-less ) objective criteria, and thus may generate different orders depending on the measure used. Churches for which claims are made but dimensions can not be found are not included on the below lists. For length, width and height, there is usually a definitive statistic for each church, which can easily be compared. However, for area and volume, the situation is often more complex. It is often possible to find multiple values quoted for the area / volume of a church in references. Many values appear to be estimates or approximations ( especially for volume ), or may have been calculated by multiplying lengths, widths and heights. In the latter case, the exact dimensions used ( internal vs. external, etc. ) may give very different figures. Therefore, although area and volume are the most common ' largeness ' measures, they are also apt to be the least reliable. This should be borne in mind when comparing church sizes. Area ( m2 ) Gross volume ( m3 ) Name Built City Country Denomination 15,160 ( interior ) 21,095 ( exterior ) 5,000,000 St. Peter 's Basilica 1506 -- 1626 Vatican City Vatican City Catholic ( Roman Rite ) Area can be verified on a plan printed as 205 % size in 1 : 1000 scale to match a 41.47 m dome internal diameter 12,000 1,200,000 Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida 1955 -- 80 Aparecida Brazil Catholic ( Roman Rite ) Church dimensions 173 × 168 m yielding a maximum area of 29,000 m2 11,700 ( interior ) 440,000 Milan Cathedral 1386 -- 1965 Milan Italy Catholic ( Ambrosian Rite ) The largest Gothic cathedral in the world 11,520 500,000 + Seville Cathedral 1401 -- 1528 Seville Spain Catholic ( Roman Rite ) Burial site of Christopher Columbus 11,200 480,000 Cathedral of Saint John the Divine 1892 -- present New York City United States Anglican ( Episcopal Church in the U.S. ) Unfinished, lacking transepts among other components 9,717 ( interior ) Abbey of Santa Giustina 1501 -- 1606 Padua Italy Catholic ( Roman Rite ) 10,090 300,000 Basilica of Our Lady of Licheń 1994 -- 2004 Licheń Stary Poland Catholic ( Roman Rite ) 9,240 m2 or 10,090 m2 9,687 450,000 + Liverpool Cathedral 1904 -- 78 Liverpool United Kingdom Anglican ( Church of England ) 8,700 130,000 Church of the Most Holy Trinity 2004 - 07 Fátima Portugal Catholic ( Roman Rite ) Area given as 12,000 m2 8,515 Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls IV -- 1823 Rome Italy Catholic ( Roman Rite ) One nave & four aisles by 80 columns 8,318 Basilica - Cathedral of Our Lady of the Pillar 1681 -- 1872 Zaragoza Spain Catholic ( Roman Rite ) 8,300 Florence Cathedral 1296 -- 1436 Florence Italy Catholic ( Roman Rite ) Largest brick and mortar dome in the world 8,260 ( 6,029 interior ) 190,000 Ulm Minster 1377 -- 1890 Ulm Germany Lutheran World 's tallest and one of the largest brick churches 8,000 Basilica of the Sacred Heart 1905 -- 70 Koekelberg ( Brussels ) Belgium Catholic ( Roman Rite ) 8,167 Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe 1974 -- 76 Mexico City Mexico Catholic ( Roman Rite ) Circular base of 102 m in diameter 8,000 Cathedral of Our Lady 1352 -- 1521 Antwerp Belgium Catholic ( Roman Rite ) 8,000 Rio de Janeiro Cathedral 1964 - 76 Rio de Janeiro Brazil Catholic ( Roman Rite ) External diameter is 106 meters 7,989 ( interior ) 30,000 ( exterior ) Basilica of Our Lady of Peace 1985 -- 89 Yamoussoukro Ivory Coast Catholic ( Roman Rite ) The enclosed area approximately 8,000 m2 7,960 255,800 Hagia Sophia 532 -- 537 Istanbul Turkey Orthodox ( Ecumenical Patriarchate ) Was the largest church in the world for a millennium, now a museum. 7,920 258,000 San Petronio Basilica 1390 -- 1479 Bologna Italy Catholic ( Roman Rite ) World 's largest Gothic brick church 7,914 407,000 Cologne Cathedral 1248 -- 1880 Cologne Germany Catholic ( Roman Rite ) Gross volume without buttresses 7,875 St Paul 's Cathedral 1677 -- 1708 London United Kingdom Anglican ( Church of England ) 7,712 Washington National Cathedral 1907 -- 90 Washington, DC United States Anglican ( Episcopal Church in the U.S. ) 7,700 200,000 ( interior only ) Amiens Cathedral 1220 -- 70 Amiens France Catholic ( Roman Rite ) Gross volume slightly below 400,000 7,097 ( interior ) 12,069 ( exterior ) Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception 1919 -- 61 Washington, DC United States Catholic ( Roman Rite ) Completed Trinity Dome in 2017 6,968 Cathedral of La Plata 1884 - 1932 La Plata Argentina Catholic ( Roman Rite ) Largest church in Argentina 6,825 660,000 Saint Joseph 's Oratory 1904 -- 67 Montreal Canada Catholic ( Roman Rite ) Exterior dome rises 263 m above sea level ; highest point in Montreal 6,732 Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral 1573 - 1813 Mexico City Mexico Catholic ( Roman Rite ) 6,655 160,000 ( interior ) Palma Cathedral 1220 - 1346 Palma, Majorca Spain Catholic ( Roman Rite ) With the largest rosette Gothic world 6,650 Reims Cathedral 1211 -- 75 Reims France Catholic ( Roman Rite ) The longest church in France ; 149.17 m 6,044 Strasbourg Cathedral 1015 -- 1439 Strasbourg France Catholic ( Roman Rite ) World 's tallest building 1647 - 1874 6,038 Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels 1998 -- 2002 Los Angeles United States Catholic ( Roman Rite ) 6,020 43,300 De Hoeksteen, Barneveld 2007 -- 08 Barneveld Netherlands Calvinist 6,000 Padre Pio Pilgrimage Church 1991 - 2004 San Giovanni Rotondo Italy Catholic ( Roman Rite ) Vaulted church holding 6,500 seats 5,900 Bourges Cathedral 1195 - 1230 Bourges France Catholic ( Roman Rite ) 5,660 Esztergom Basilica 1822 -- 69 Esztergom Hungary Catholic ( Roman Rite ) World 's largest altarpiece painting on a single canvas 5,500 Notre Dame de Paris 1163 -- 1345 Paris France Catholic ( Roman Rite ) 5,400 Sagrada Familia 1882 -- present Barcelona Spain Catholic ( Roman Rite ) Will be the tallest church in the world when finished ( 172, 5m ) 5,300 São Paulo Cathedral 1913 - 1954 São Paulo Brazil Catholic ( Roman Rite ) Capacity for 8,000 people 5,300 Primate Cathedral of Bogotá 1807 - 23 Bogotá Colombia Catholic ( Roman Rite ) 5,240 Cathedral of Christ the Saviour 1839 -- 83 Moscow Russia Orthodox ( Moscow Patriarchate ) Rebuilt during 1995 - 2000 5,200 Chartres Cathedral 1145 - 1220 Chartres France Catholic ( Roman Rite ) Ground area 10,875 square meters 5,170 New Cathedral, Linz 1862 -- 1924 Linz Austria Catholic ( Roman Rite ) 5,017 Westminster Cathedral 1895 -- 1910 London United Kingdom Catholic ( Roman Rite ) 5,000 185,000 -- 190,000 St. Mary 's Church 1343 -- 1502 Gdańsk Poland Catholic ( Roman Rite ) One of the largest Gothic brick churches north of the Alps 5,000 137,000 Holy Trinity Cathedral 1995 -- 2004 Tbilisi Georgia Orthodox ( Patriarchate of Georgia ) Description see 4,968 Winchester Cathedral 1079 -- 1525 Winchester United Kingdom Anglican ( Church of England ) The longest Gothic Cathedral in Europe. 4,800 Dresden Cathedral 1739 - 55 Dresden Germany Catholic ( Roman Rite ) Largest church in all of Saxony 4,500 Basilica of St. Thérèse, Lisieux 1929 - 54 Lisieux France Catholic ( Roman Rite ) 4,320 Basilica de San Martin de Tours ( Taal ) 1856 -- 78 Taal, Batangas Philippines Catholic ( Roman Rite ) 4,273 Ely Cathedral, Cambridgeshire 1083 -- 1375 Ely United Kingdom Anglican ( Church of England ) Third - largest medieval Cathedral in the United Kingdom 4,188 185,000 -- 190,000 Frauenkirche 1468 -- 1525 Munich Germany Catholic ( Roman Rite ) One of the largest Gothic brick churches north of the Alps and the largest hall church 4,130 Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis ( St. Louis ) 1907 - 14 St. Louis United States Catholic ( Roman Rite ) 7,700 square meters, largest mosaic collection in the world 4,000 Saint Isaac 's Cathedral 1818 -- 58 Saint Petersburg Russia Orthodox ( Moscow Patriarchate ) 3,822 Saint Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral, Yerevan 1997 -- 2001 Yerevan Armenia Armenian Apostolic Church 3,500 170,000 Church of Saint Sava 1935 -- 89 Belgrade Serbia Orthodox ( Serbian Orthodox Church ) The largest church in Southeastern Europe. 3,170 Alexander Nevsky Cathedral 1882 -- 1912 Sofia Bulgaria Orthodox ( Patriarchate of Bulgaria ) 2,972 Westminster Abbey 960 - 18c London United Kingdom Anglican ( Church of England ) 2,800 Medak Cathedral 1914 -- 26 Medak India Anglican ( Church of South India ) 2,300 Our Lady of Dolours Syro - Malabar Catholic Basilica 1929 - 2005 Our Lady of Dolours Syro - Malabar Catholic Basilica India Catholic ( East Syrian Rite ) It has the 3rd tallest tower in Asia 2,135 64,040 Basilica of St. John the Baptist 1839 -- 55 St. John 's Canada Catholic ( Roman Rite ) The largest church in eastern Canada 2,025 Myeongdong Cathedral 1892 - 1898 Seoul Korea Catholic ( Roman Rite ) In 1898, largest building in Seoul 1,760 32,162 All Saints Cathedral, Halifax 1907 -- 10 Halifax Canada Anglican ( Church of Canada ) The largest Anglican cathedral church in Canada By height Main article : List of tallest churches in the world By length Main article : List of longest church buildings in the world See also List of highest church naves List of the largest Protestant churches List of the largest Protestant churches in the USA List of largest Orthodox cathedrals Megachurch References ^ Jump up to : `` St. Peter 's - The Nave ''. Saintpetersbasilica.org. Archived from the original on 16 July 2012. Retrieved 2012 - 09 - 05. ^ Jump up to : Herbermann, Charles, ed. ( 1913 ). `` Basilica of St. Peter ''. Catholic Encyclopedia. New York : Robert Appleton Company. ^ Jump up to : Ellis, Edward Robb ( 21 December 2004 ). The Epic of New York City : A Narrative History. Basic Books. p. 413. ASIN 0786714360. ISBN 978 - 0786714360. ( Subscription required ( help ) ). CS1 maint : ASIN uses ISBN ( link ) ^ Jump up to : `` Faith ''. The Times. 13 March 2012. Archived from the original on 30 August 2008. Retrieved 2012 - 09 - 05. Jump up ^ `` Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida ''. Structurae. Retrieved 2015 - 06 - 08. Jump up ^ `` I NUMERI DEL DUOMO DI MILANO - Duomo Patrons Italiano ''. www.duomopatrons.org. Jump up ^ http://www.ticketone.it, TICKETONE. `` Duomo di Milano ''. Duomo di Milano - Biglietti. Jump up ^ Quintero, Josephine. `` Seville Cathedral, The City of Seville main sights, Andalucia, Southern Spain ''. Andalucia.com. Retrieved 2012 - 09 - 05. Jump up ^ `` Seville Cathedral ''. seville-traveller.com. Retrieved 27 August 2014. Jump up ^ Ellis, Edward Robb Edgewood Apartments p. 413 Jump up ^ Calculated as length * width = 118.5 m * 82m = 9,717 m ^ 2, see Basilica e Abbazia di Santa Giustina Jump up ^ `` D Padova - Basilica e Abbazia di Santa Giustina ''. www.dpadova.com. ^ Jump up to : 9,240 m2 of Lichen Basilica : enclosed main floor includes transept and apse at 290 m2, enclosed tower floor at 560 m2, open tower and gallery floor at 23,000 m2 ( which excludes the porticos at 530 m2 ), total area includes all floors `` Sanktuarium Maryjne w Licheniu ''. Lichen.pl. Retrieved 2012 - 09 - 05. Jump up ^ `` Cathedral ''. Liverpool Cathedral. Retrieved 2012 - 09 - 05. Jump up ^ Carvalho, António P.O. ; Freitas, Diamantino ( 10 July 2003 ). `` The New Megachurch For The Sanctuary Of Fátima '' ( PDF ). Tenth International Congress on Sound and Vibration. Stockholm : University of Porto. Retrieved 2015 - 05 - 29. Jump up ^ `` La Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar '' ( in Spanish ). Goya.unizar.es. Retrieved 2012 - 09 - 05. Jump up ^ `` Basílica de Guadalupe Santuario ''. Virgendeguadalupe.org.mx. Retrieved 2012 - 09 - 05. Jump up ^ `` Art & Architecture : Facts and Figures ''. Dekathedraal.be. Retrieved 2015 - 05 - 29. Jump up ^ `` The world 's most extreme structures ''. The Guardian. 17 June 2004. Retrieved 2015 - 05 - 29. Jump up ^ `` Basilica of Our Lady of Peace Yamoussoukro ''. Emporis : Buildings. Retrieved 2012 - 09 - 05. Jump up ^ Woszczyk, Wieslaw ( 27 January 2014 ). `` Aural Architecture : Music, Acoustics, and Ritual '' ( PDF ). Onassis Seminar on music acoustics and ritual. Stanford University. Retrieved 2015 - 05 - 29. Jump up ^ data from http://www.bolognawelcome.com, Basilica di San Petronio plus calculations as follows : San Petronio de Bologna : The footplan of the building is a simple rectangle Area = length of the building x width of the building = 132 mx 60 m The volume, without the roofs, can be calculated as a sum of five cuboids, one single ( the central nave ) and two pairs ( the aisles and the files of chapels ). The sum each of the pairs can be calculated as one cuboid of double width. Knowing the height of the central nave and the width of the building, the measures of the sections can be calculated by measuring an orthograde photo of the facade. Volume = ( traverse section of the central nave ( width = 22 m, height = 44.27 m ) + sum of the traverse sections of the two aisles ( width = 20 m, height = 29.06 m ) + sum of the traverse sections of the two files of chapels ( width = 18 m, height = 22.38 m ) ) x length of the building ( 132 m ) ( 973.94 + 581.2 + 402.84 ) x 132 = 1,957.98 x 132 = 258,453.36 Jump up ^ `` The Cathedral 's dimensions ''. Dierk 's page. 7 January 2015. Retrieved 2015 - 05 - 29. Jump up ^ `` Architectural History ''. Washington National Cathedral. Retrieved 2015 - 05 - 29. Jump up ^ Structurae. `` Structurae - International Database and Gallery of Structures ''. En.structurae.de. Retrieved 2012 - 09 - 05. Jump up ^ `` Histsory : Architecture ''. National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Retrieved 2015 - 06 - 08. Jump up ^ `` GGiN Barneveld - Van Beijnum Architecten ''. www.vanbeijnumarch.nl. Jump up ^ http://structurae.net/structures/saint-marys-church give 155,000 only, excluding roofs and turrets, without telllng that Jump up ^ Description of Tblisi Cathedral : The overall area of the cathedral, including its large narthex, is 5,000 square meters and the volume it occupies is 137,000 cubic meters. The interior of the church measures 56 metres by 44 metres, with an interior area of 2,380 square metres. The height of the cathedral from the ground to the top of the cross is 105, 5 metres. The underground chapel occupies 35,550 cubic metres. The height is 13 metres. Jump up ^ Sergeant, Philip W. ( 1899 ). Bell 's Cathedrals : The Cathedral Church of Winchester. London : George Bell & Sons. Jump up ^ Basilica de San Martin de Tours ( Taal ) Jump up ^ `` Facts & Figures ''. Ely Cathedral. Retrieved 2015 - 05 - 29. Jump up ^ `` Volumen ( Kubatur ) der Münchener Frauenkirche ''. www.gebaut.eu. ^ Jump up to : `` Димензије и архитектонске карактеристике Храм Светог Саве гатара '' ( Dimensions and Architectural Features ) ( in Serbian ). Hram Svetog Save. Retrieved 2015 - 05 - 29. Jump up ^ `` I love early morning Sofia ''. Archived from the original on 30 March 2010. The church occupies an area of 3170 m2 and can accommodate up to 5,000 worshippers inside, which makes it the second biggest cathedral on the Balkan Peninsula after the Temple of Saint Sava in Serbia. Jump up ^ `` Welcome to Medak Diocese Church of South India ''. Csimedakdiocese.in. Retrieved 2012 - 09 - 05. Jump up ^ `` Geology of the Catholic Basilica of St. John the Baptist, St. John 's, Newfoundland '' ( PDF ). Geoscience Canada. Geological Association of Canada. 31 ( 1 ) : 1 -- 10. March 2004. Retrieved 2015 - 05 - 29. Jump up ^ `` Welcome ''. Cathedral Church of All Saints. Retrieved 2015 - 05 - 29. Religion - related lists of superlative buildings By date Oldest Churches the Americas United States Mosques Synagogues By size Largest Churches United States Mosques Longest Churches Tallest Churches Eastern Orthodox Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_largest_church_buildings&oldid=832112803 '' Categories : Lists of churches Construction records Christianity - related lists of superlatives Lists of largest buildings and structures Hidden categories : Articles incorporating a citation from the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia with Wikisource reference Pages containing links to subscription - only content CS1 maint : ASIN uses ISBN CS1 Spanish - language sources ( es ) CS1 Serbian - language sources ( sr ) Articles to be merged from July 2017 All articles to be merged Use dmy dates from October 2010 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Italiano Nederlands Português 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 23 March 2018, at 22 : 39. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: where is the largest church in the world located
Answer: Vatican City