Editing Cathedral (section)

==Etymology and definition==
[[File:Lazio Roma SGiovanni2 tango7174.jpg|thumb|The [[cathedra]] of the [[Pope]] as Bishop of Rome, [[Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran]]]]
[[File:Էջմիածնի Մայր Տաճար.jpg|thumb|[[Etchmiadzin cathedral]] in [[Vagarshapat]], Armenia, believed to be the oldest cathedral in the world.]]
[[File:Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta (Nepi).jpg|thumb|The [[Nepi Cathedral|Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta]] is a [[Catholic]] cathedral in [[Nepi]], Italy]]
[[File:Catedral Metropolitana de Brasilia.jpg|thumb|The [[Cathedral of Brasilia]] in Brazil takes a modernist form]]
The word ''cathedral'' is derived from the [[French language|French]] {{lang|fr|cathédrale}}, which came from the [[Latin]] {{lang|la|ecclesia cathedralis}} and from the {{lang|la|cathedra}} ('seat'), and ultimately from the [[Ancient Greek]] {{lang|grc|καθέδρα}} ({{transliteration|grc|kathédra}}), 'seat, bench', from {{lang|grc|κατά}} ({{transliteration|grc|kata}}) 'down' and {{lang|grc|ἕδρα}} ({{transliteration|grc|hedra}}) 'seat, base, chair'.

The word refers to the presence and prominence of the bishop's or archbishop's chair or throne, raised above both clergy and laity, and originally located facing the congregation from behind the [[high altar]]. In the ancient world, the chair, on a raised dais, was the distinctive mark of a teacher or [[rhetor]] and thus symbolises the bishop's role as teacher. A raised throne within a [[basilica]]n hall was also definitive for a [[Late Antique]] presiding [[magistrate]]; and so the ''cathedra'' also symbolises the bishop's role in governing his diocese.

The word ''cathedral'', as the seat of a bishop, is found in most languages; however in Europe a cathedral church can be referred to as a {{lang|it|[[duomo]]}} (in [[Italian language|Italian]]) or {{lang|de|[[Dom (church)|Dom]]}} (e.g. [[German language|German]], [[Dutch language|Dutch]], etc.), from the [[Latin]] term {{lang|la|domus ecclesiae}} (house of the church)  or {{lang|la|domus episcopalis}} (episcopal house). While the terms are not synonymous (a ''duomo'' is a [[collegiate church]], similar to the English "[[minster (church)|minster]]") many cathedral churches are also collegiate churches, so that {{lang|it|duomo}}, and {{lang|de|Dom}}, have become the common names for a cathedral in those countries. It is also common in parts of the [[Iberian Peninsula]] to use ''Sé'' (in [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]), and ''Seu'' (in [[Catalan language|Catalan]], with its [[Spanish language|Spanish]] form ''Seo''), all of them from the Latin term {{lang|la|episcopalis sedes}}, meaning "episcopal seat".

In the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], the Latin word ''cathedral'' commonly translates as {{lang|cu|[[katholikon]]}} ({{lang|sla|sobor}} in Slavic languages), meaning 'assembly', but this title is also applied to [[monasticism|monastic]] and other major churches without episcopal responsibilities. When the church at which an [[archbishop]] or "[[Metropolitan bishop|metropolitan]]" presides is specifically intended, the term {{lang|cu|kathedrikós naós}} ({{literal translation|cathedral temple|lnk=y}}) is used.

The episcopal throne embodies the principle that only a bishop makes a cathedral, and this still applies even in those churches that no longer have bishops, but retain cathedral dignity and functions in ancient churches over which bishops formerly presided. But the throne can also embody the principle that a cathedral makes a bishop; both specifically, in that the bishop is elected within the cathedral and is inaugurated by being enthroned within the cathedral by acclamation of clergy and laity; and also generally, in that the bishops' essential qualifications of regular prayer, higher learning and musical worship were for many centuries, primarily accessible through cathedral functions. In this there is a distinction between those church traditions, predominantly those of [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox Christianity]] but formerly also including [[Celtic Christianity|Celtic]] churches in [[Ireland]], [[Scotland]] and [[Wales]], whose bishops came to be made in [[monasteries]]; and those church traditions whose bishops have tended predominantly to arise through the ranks of cathedral clergy.<ref>Sterk, Andrea; "Renouncing the World yet leading the Church"; Harvard University Press; 2004; p8</ref>

In the Catholic or Roman Catholic tradition, the term ''cathedral'' correctly applies only to a church that houses the seat of the bishop of a diocese. The abbey church of a territorial abbey serves the same function (that is, houses the seat of the abbot), but does not acquire the title. In any other jurisdiction canonically equivalent to a diocese but not canonically erected as such (prelature, vicariate, ordinariate, prefecture, apostolic administration), the church that serves this function is correctly called the "principal church" of the respective entity—though some have coopted the term ''cathedral'' anyway. The Catholic Church also uses the following terms.

* A '''[[pro-cathedral]]''' is a parish or other church used temporarily as a cathedral, usually while the cathedral of a diocese is under construction, renovation, or repair. This designation applies only as long as the temporary use continues.
* A '''[[co-cathedral]]''' is a second cathedral in a diocese that has two sees. This situation can arise in various ways such as a merger of two former dioceses, preparation to split a diocese, or perceived need to perform cathedral functions in a second location due to the expanse of the diocesan territory.
* A '''proto-cathedral''' ({{literal translation|first cathedral}}) is the former cathedral of a transferred see.

[[File:Basilica di San Pietro in Vaticano September 2015-1a.jpg|thumb|right|Despite its size and historic importance, [[St. Peter's Basilica]] in [[Rome]], the [[Holy See]] of the Catholic Church, is not a cathedral.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2012/11/st-peters-basilica-in-vatican-is-not-the-official-church-of-the-pope/|title=St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican Is Not The Official Church Of The Pope|last=Noreen|date=November 19, 2012|website=Today I Found Out|language=en-US|access-date=February 14, 2019}}</ref>]]
The cathedral church of a [[metropolitan bishop]] is called a ''metropolitan cathedral''.

The term ''cathedral'' actually carries no implication as to the size or ornateness of the building, although many cathedrals are impressive edifices simply because diocesan celebrations typically require the capacity of one of the larger churches in the diocese. Thus, the term ''cathedral'' is often applied colloquially to large and impressive churches that do not function as cathedrals (e.g. the [[Arctic Cathedral]] in [[Tromsø (city)|Tromsø]], Norway). [[Simon Jenkins]]' guidebook on European cathedrals intentionally includes several churches that have never been cathedrals ([[Ulm Minster]] and the [[Sagrada Família]], a [[minor basilica]] in Barcelona) or that were formerly designated so ([[Westminster Abbey]] and [[Basel Minster]]).<ref>{{cite book|last=Jenkins |first=Simon |author-link=Simon Jenkins |title=Europe's 100 Best Cathedrals}}</ref>