Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-09-11
WHAT MAKES A CATHEDRAL.
Meaning of the Word and How a
Church Becomes q Cathedral.
From the Church Economist


New York has the largest Roman Cath
Ollie cathedral on the continent of America
"a vast structure requiring over twenty
years to bring it to it's present state of
architecture, and not yet completed. And
shortly we are to have in our city another
great cathedral to be erected under the
auspices of the Protestant Episcopal
Church. We hear of still another projected
In Newark and cathedrals seem to be
springIng up over the land.
Naturally the question arises-wherein
does n cathedral differ from an ordinary
church? What is a cathedral? The word
is derived from kathedra, which means a
raised seat: in this case the seat of a
bishop. For the cathedral is the church
in which the bishop has his seat or chair.
1t was in former times called Domus-
that Is. the house (Duomo, Italian; Dom.
Germany. meaning the house of the Lord.
And still earlier the name Matrix Ecclesia
was given to the cathedral. but at the
present time any church which has others
subject to it can also lay claim to this
title.
in the Roman Catholic communion no
cathedral can be established without d.
rect permission from the pope, nor can
a church, collegiate or otherwise, be con-
verted into cathedral without the same
permission. Nor can enc bishop have juris-
dictcn over more than one cathedral. OF
course, temporal power has often arisen
against papdl authority, as Wnen, Tor IN
stance. in France the revolutionary govern
ment reduced the number of dioceses from
10 to 50. in opposition to the Vatican.
However had the revolutionists asked. per-
mission might have been granted for SO
doing. inasmuch as the authorities of the
church are often willing to yield to the
demands of the times. Old sees are often
suppressed. BY the conccrdat with Napo-
leon in 1913 Rome sanctioned the nullifica-
ton of a large number of bishoprics. in
consequence of which France from that
time has contained only about eighty-fv
episcopate instead of the 1856 existing be-
fore the revolution.
Analogous changes provided for in
the Anglican communion by the theory of
the royal supremacy, though this theory
has been modified somewhat by the pro-
gress of political demands. In the Angli-
can Church the sovereign is still supreme
in all causes and over all persons, &C.
clcsiastical AS we'll as civil"
The sovereign still has the title of DE
fender of the Faith though the absolute
power thus vested is somewhat curtai!ed
by the parliament which has right to
condemn uphold the will of the ruler.
But. for the most part. parliament and
head act conformity. and both have often
wiped out old and set UP new sees. III Ire
land ten Protestant bishoprics were sup
pressed at one stroke by act of parliament,
and also several suffragan sees in England.
But with the Roman church the power Of
SupIreSsng or creating cathedral
rests with the pope alone.
When a cathedral is once established
there are certain laws laid down for its
government. The Council of Trent 1orbids
the holding of more than one cathedral
church or the holding of a cathedral along
with a parish church by the same bishop.
1t also enjOns that the ordinations of
ministers shall be publicly celebrated in
cathedrals. The bishop must be present in
his own cathedral at such ceremonies as
necesstate the services of bishop. He
Cannot name a deputy unless there Is a
coadtutor in the diocese. Neither has the
bishop absolute control of the cathedral
funds AS In all other churches. lie is
voted certain yearly stipend The ca
thedral differs in respect from other
churches beyond the fact of the bishops
chair being located there.