座堂(cathedral)

在实行主教制的基督教会如天主教会中，指驻堂主教所在的教堂。座堂级别不同，有主教座堂、大主教座堂、都主教座堂、首席主教座堂、牧首座堂；天主教还有教宗座堂。早期教会行政区划沿袭罗马帝国的行政区划，因而座堂尽可能设在城市。在某些圣日，主教必须在座堂，按立神职人员一般也在座堂举行。在东正教，凡主教所在并主持节日礼拜的城市，其主要教堂即称座堂。俄国教区数目少而辖境广，因此任何较大城镇的主要教堂即称座堂，不管是否驻有主教。16世纪宗教改革以後，已废除主教制之处的座堂即成为普通教堂。但在瑞典，座堂仍是路德宗各主教所驻之处。在圣公会，凡保持主教制之处，座堂也仍是主教所驻之处。

English version：

cathedral

Church, often large and magnificent, in which a residential bishop has his official seat. Cathedrals are usually embellished versions of early Christian basilicas; their construction, on an ever-larger scale, was a major preoccupation throughout Europe in the Middle Ages. Masonry vaulting replaced the earlier timber roofs, and the basilican plan grew more complex. Above the arches of the nave, and below the clerestory, was the triforium, an arcaded upper story that often contained vaulted tribune galleries open to the nave. The portion containing seats for the choir, usually east of the transept, was called the chancel. Between the chancel and the sanctuary (high altar) was the presbytery, a raised area occupied only by clergy. The chapter house, a popular feature of English cathedrals, was a chamber, typically octagonal, in which business was transacted. Small chapels, including the founder's chantry and the Lady Chapel (dedicated to the Virgin Mary) were often added. Many cathedrals of the ?le-de-France region were remodeled to embody a chevet, or arc of radiating chapels, on the eastern wall, a feature reflected in England in Westminster Abbey and Canterbury Cathedral.

参考文章

• 法国亚眠主教座堂建筑与名胜