Christianity - Places of Worship

1. Places of worship may vary for Christians depending on the denomination.

2. Christians may worship in a church, chapel, meeting house or cathedral, although Christian worship can take place anywhere.

3. Church buildings may be large or small, old or new.

4. Larger churches or cathedrals are usually designed in the shape of a cross.

5. Smaller buildings are often built in a simpler, rectangular shape.

6. Many churches have towers, with bells to call people to worship.

7. The altar is at the east and the nave, where the congregation sits, is at the west.

8. The word nave comes from the Latin word navis, meaning ship.

9. The vaulted ceilings in that part of the church reminded people of the timbers used to build the hulls of ships.

10. The altar provides the table for communion.

11. The altar has a cross and two candles on it.

12. The font, used for baptism, can be found at the western end of the nave.

13. Many churches have stained glass windows that tell stories from the Bible.

14. Christian places of worship are places for prayer and teaching the Bible.

15. They are also used to allow communities to come together for sacraments and ceremonies such as baptism, marriage and death.

16. They allow Christians to share Holy Communion together.

17. Important church furniture includes the lectern, pulpit and pews.

18. A cathedral is a Christian place of worship that has a Bishop’s Seat within it.

19. This means that the Bishop can conduct worship there.

20. There are 43 dioceses in England and each one has a cathedral.

21. Chapels usually provide meeting places for non-conformist churches.

22. They place greater emphasis on preaching, reading the Bible and singing hymns.

23. They tend to be dominated by large pulpits and an organ.

24. Baptist chapels have a font large enough to immerse adults in for baptism.

25. The exterior of a chapel usually has no towers or steeple, and inside they may have balconies and pews facing the pulpit.