ORATORY. A chamber or building designed for worship of a private or domestic character. From the earliest days of the Church the use of oratories is traceable; and before the regular organization of parishes they had probably a considerable place in the common, although not in the public worship. Until the middle of the third century A.R. Christians gathered for almost entirely in the main hall of some large private house. and when inde pendent church buildings became the rule, the service of prayer and even the eelebration of the mass were continued. by superior permission, in many houses. One oratory of the third and another of the fourth century have been recently discovered in Rome. The conneils of the Church then legislated against the abuse of such private oratories. Another class of oratories were the memorial chapels erected to noted persons, where mass could be celebrated at the anniversary; only prayer at other times. These were usually cir
cular or polygonal in shape, like that of the father of Saint Gregory Nazianzus. Oratories took on a different character with the opening of the Middle Ages and the distinction closely drawn between those where prayers alone could be held and those where mass could be celebrated either on certain days or at any time. The Palm], episcopal, royal, and feudal castles and palaces were not complete without their chapels or oratories. Oratories for mass were under the strict supervision of the local bishop and required Ids consecration. The Council of Trent placed them under stringent regulations, which have been enforced and developed by later popes, especially Benedict XIV. During the Middle Ages oratories were attached to monastic, cathedral, and other churches, like the famous San Venanzio at Saint John Lateran in Rome.