CHURCH, a word derived from the Greek kyriakos, dedicated to the Lord, the Scottish kirk and German kirche being forms of the same word. In its widest sense the Church denotes the whole community of Christians, N and was thus used by the ew Testament writers. In more restricted significations it denotes a particular section of the Christian community differing in doctrinal matters from the remainder, as the Catholic Church, the Protestant durch, or to designate the recognized leading church of a nation or com munity as the Greek, Lutheran, Gallican, An glican, Presbyterian, etc., Church. In another sense it signifies the building in which Chris tians assemble for the worship of God, and, re ferring the reader to the separate articles on the sects into which the community is divided, this article is confined to a few remarks, his torical and descriptive, on church as denoting the edifice appropriated to Christian worship. When in the time of Constantine the persecuted Christians emerged from their meeting-places in upper rooms and in the Roman catacombs by favor of the Imperial edict, no buildings could be found fitter for their purposes than the basilicas or royal public halls of Rome. The basilica (q.v.) was generally in the form of a parallelogram, with a semi-circular apse at one end, which was raised, being approached by a semi-circular range of steps. In the centre of this apse was the raised seat of the qumstor or other presidingstrate; on each side, upon the steps, were placesfor the assessors, or those engaged on the business being trans acted. In front of the apse was placed an altar, where sacrifice was performed before un dertaking public business of any importance. The area of the building was divided by two rows of columns, the central division or nave being by far the broadest; over the two Sthaller divisions or aisles a gallery was often raised. In the small dark and Pagan temple there was neither room nor light enough to conduct Chris tian worship, but in such a building as above described, the whole congregation of the faith ful could meet and take part in the act' of worship. The bishop naturally took the place of the qumstor, the priests that of the assessors. The altar (q.v.) on which the pious Pagan poured his libations at the commencement of important business served equally well for the celebration of Christian rites. (See Ausas).
When in course of time the 'separation be tween laity and clergy became complete, the apse was railed off and appropriated to the use of the clergy, then the raised part on which the altar stood was separated by pillars called calcelli, and riot allowed to be profaned by the multitude. Another change was the introduc tion of a choir, or enclosed space in the centre of the nave, round three sides of which the faithful congregated to hear the gospel read from two pulpits built into its inclosure on either side, or to hear the services read or sung by the minor clergy, who occupied its precincts. As time went on other modifica tions were introduced; oh the erection of new buildings, the symbolic form of the cross was generally adopted as the most suitable for a Christian building; the arms of the cross (the transept) were railed off by rows of columns as the main building had been; at the point of intersection of the transept with the nave a tower was raised, which was at times sur mounted by a small spire; frequently two towers were placed at the angles of the en trance end of the edifice. Over the greater part of Europe the style which came to be adopted for ecclesiastical buildings was the pointed Gothic, as lending itself more readily to a more majestic and ornamental treatment than the graceful Greek with its columned portico and rounded tower. Circu lar churches, which were popular at an early date, have found little imitation. The struc tures which are among the most notable in point of size or historic interest are alluded to in the article on CATHEDRALS. The ordinary churches are generally long rectangular build ings, without transepts, and the tower is placed so as to form the principal entrance, or at one of the angles of that end of the church, Dur ing the latter half of the 19th century a taste for a superior style of building to that hitherto prevalent arose among all Christian bodies and resulted in the erection of many fine church edifices throughout the world. (See ARCHI TECTURE). Consult Brandon, Churches) (London 1848); Braudot, 'Eglises de bourgs et villages> (Paris 1867); Everett, Churches of America" (Boston 1884); Norton, Building in the Middle (New York 1880).