CATHEDRAL
438
CATHEDRAL
of much greater antiquity than the other parts of
the cathedra; the presence of the rings suggests the
inference that originally the chair was one of the
"sedes gestatoria>", which came into fashion in the
reign of Claudius (41-54). The wear and tear of
time, and the zeal of the relic-hunter, made extensive
repairs necessary at a later period, perhaps in the
reign of Charlemagne. The oak frame was rein-
forced by the insertion of pieces of acacia, and new-
panels of the same wood were made for the front and
sides. The front panel is adorned with square slabs
of ivory, disposed in three rows of six each, represent-
ing the labours of Hercules. Some of these slabs are
placed upside down and were not, apparently, made
for the places they occupy. The ivory ornaments
of the back, on the contrary, are well adapted to the
form of the chair; they represent the combats of
animals, of centaurs and of men. In the centre of
the horizontal bar of the tympanum is the figure
of an emperor, between two angels, variously sup-
posed to represent Charlemagne, Charles the Bald,
or an emperor of the seventeenth century. The
ivories of the front panel arc attributed to the fifth
century. The beautiful ivory chair of Bishop
Maximianus (so called from the monogram in front,
"Maximianos ep.") preserved in the sacristy of the
cathedral of Ravenna is an excellent specimen of
fifth- or sixth-century ivory carving. Until recently
it was attributed to the pontificate of Bishop Maxi-
mianus of Ravenna (d. 556), but Venturi (Storia dell'
Arte Ital., I, 46G) attributes it rather to Maximianus
of Constantinople (d. 431). The back is engraved
with twenty-four scenes from the life of Christ and
the Blessed Virgin, the front represents St. John
the Baptist with the four Evangelists, while on the
sides the story of Joseph, in ten scenes, is depicted.
Occasionally the cathedra was covered by a baldac-
chino, e. g. at Torcello and Grado. The marble
cathedra of St. Mark, in his church at Venice, is of
great antiquity (Secchi, La catedra di San Marco,
Venice, 1853).
(2) — The term cathedra was applied also to the see of a bishop. The earliest use of the word in this sense occurs in Tertullian, who speaks (De prae- scriptione, XXXVI) of cathedra; Apostolorum" in allusion to Apostolic succession in episcopal sees. In the councils and ecclesiastical writings of the early Middle Ages such expressions as "cathedra viduatse", "cathedra principales", "cathedrae ma- trices" have a similar signification. For the feast of the "chair" or "cathedra" of St. Peter at Rome and at Antioch, see Chair of Peter.
(3)— Canon 41 of the Council of Aachen, held in 789, refers to the cathedral church as distinguished from the other churches of a diocese as "principalis cathedra"; the term for the official seat of the bishop is thus employed for the bishop's church. By a definition "ex cathedra" is meant a formal infallible decision of the pope, obligatory on all the faithful. See also, Faldstool.
Haddan in Dictionary of Christian Antiquities, s. v. (Lon- ,lr,ii 1S75), I; Lowhik, Monuments of the Early Church (New York. 190H; Ventcri, Storia Ml' Arte Italiana (Milan. 1801)' Krids, Gesch. tier christl. Kunst (Freiburg, 1S96); Kaufmans', Christl. Archaologic (Paderborn, 1905); de Fleory, La Messe, II, 147 sqq. . tt
Maurice M. Hassett.
Cathedral, the chief church of a diocese, in which the bishop has his throne (cathedra) and close to which is his residence-; it is, properly speaking, the bishop's church wherein he presides, teaches, and conducts worship for the whole Christian community. The word is derived from the Gr. Ka.8eSpa through the Lat. cathedra, throne, elevated seat. In early ec- clesiastical literature it always conveyed the idea of authority. Christ Himself spoke of the scribes and Pharisees as seated on the chair of Moses (Matt., xxiii, 2), and it suffices to recall the two feasts of the
Chair of St. Peter (at Antioch and Rome) to show
that, in the language of the Fathers as well as among
the monuments of antiquity, the cathedra was the
principal symbol of authority. (Martigny, Diet, des
antiq. chret., Paris, 1877, s. v. Chaire.) In the Latin
Church the official name is ecclesia cathedralis; never-
theless, this expression is not wholly identical with
that of ecclesia episcopalis, also an official title, which
indicates the church of one who is only a bishop, while
the churches of higher-ranking prelates take their
names from the dignity of their incumbents: eccle-
sia; archiepiscojxilcs, metropolitaiUB, primatiales, patri-
archates. In the East the word cathedral does not
exist, the episcopal church being known simply as
"the church" or "the great church". (L. Clugnet,
Dictionnaire grec-fran^ais des noms liturgiques en
usage dans l'Eglise grecque, Paris, 1S95, s. v.'EwcX^irta.)
What seems to predominate is the name of the city;
at the consecration of a bishop it is simply said thai
he is destined for the Church of God in a given city.
In popular usage the cathedral is variously named.
In France, England, and English-speaking countries,
the word cathedral is general; occasionally it gives
way to the expression, metropolitan church (la mct-
ropole). In Lyons it is known as the primatial
church, in reference to the special dignity of the arch-
bishop. In Spain it is called la seo or la seu (the see).
In one instance the city itself is thus known, Urgel
being called la Seo d'Urgel or simply la Seo. In Italy
the cathedral is called il duomo, and in some parts of
Germany, especially in the ecclesiastical province of
Cologne, der Dom (whence the German term Domherr,
canon), the episcopal church being looked on as pre-
eminently the house of God or of the saint from whom
it was named (DuCange, Glossar., med. et inf. latin.,
s. w. Ecclesia, domo, and domus). At Strasburg
and elsewhere in Germany the cathedral is called
Miinster (monasterium) , because some cathedrals were
served by monks, or, rather, were the abode of canons
living in community, the church being thus converted
into a sort of monastery, especially where the reform
of St. Chrodegang (d. 766) had been adopted. (Du
Cange, Glossar., s. v. Monasterium). Medieval writ-
ers and documents offer other names for the cathedral
church. The following are found in the above-men-
tioned work of Du Cange (s. v. Ecclesia) : ecclesia
major, ecclesia mater, ecclesia principalis, ecclesia senior,
more frequently ecclesia matrix. The last appellation
was current in Northern Africa (Fulgentius Ferran-
dus, Breviatio canonum, nos. 11. 17. 38, in Migne, P.
L., LXVII.950) and has been consecrated by the canon
law; Innocent III says quite explicitly (c. Vencrabili,
12, de verb, signif.): Per matricem ecclcsiam cathedra -
lem intelligi columns.
Hence the juridical character or standing of the cathedral does not depend on the form, dimensions, or magnificence of the edifice, since, without under- going any change, a church may become a cathedral, especially when a new diocese is founded. \\ hat properly constitutes a cathedral is its assignment by competent authority as the residence of the bishop in his hierarchical capacity, and the principal church of a diocese is naturally best adapted to this purpose. Such official designation is known as canonical erec- tion and necessarily accompanies the formation of a new diocese. At present, and for a long time past, new dioceses are formed by the division (dismembra- tio) of older ones. Erection and division being what are known in canon law as important alTairs [causa majores) are reserved to the sovereign pout iff, and the erection of cathedrals likewise belongs to him. Very often the Apostolic Letters by which a new diocese is created expressly designate the cathedral church; again, however (and such is usual in the United States), the episcopal city being named, the bishop is left free to select his church (III Cone. Bait., n. 35). The transfer of a cathedral can occur in two ways:
