BUILDINGS
41
BUILDINGS
rum, XV, 28-31, where reference is made to a curious work
of fiction describing the imaginary labours of the Benedictine
Boyl in the West Indies.
Stephen M. Donovan.
Buildings, Ecclesiastical. — This term compre- hends all constructions erected for the celebration of liturgical acts, whatever be the name given to them: — church, chapel, oratory, basilica, etc. The subject will be treated under the following heads: I. History; II. Division; III. Erection; IV. Repair and Maintenance; V. Consecration and Blessing; VI. Immunity; VII. Church Fabric.
I. History. — In the earliest days of the Christian religion, there were no buildings specially conse- crated to Eucharistic worship; the assemblies for liturgical service were held in private houses (Acts, ii, 46; Rom., xvi, 5; I Cor., xvi, 15; Col., iv, 15; Phile- mon, 2). The assemblies which the first Christians held in the Temple of Jerusalem, in the synagogues or even in hired halls, were assemblies for instruction or for prayer (Acts, v, 12-13; xvii, 1-2; xix, 9). At the end of the second century and even later, during the periods of persecution, assemblies for Christian worship were still held in private houses. During this epoch, however, we begin to hear of the domus r (the house of the Church), an edifice used for all the services of the Christian community, in which one apartment was specially set apart for Divine worship. At an early date this apartment took on a special importance. During the third century the other parts of the building were detached from it and the domus . line the Domus Dei
(the house of God) known also as the Dominicum or the KvpiaKbv otnov (Duchesne, Origines du culte chr^tien, 399-400, Paris, 1902; Wieland, Mensa und Confessio: Studien tiber den Altar der altchristlichen Liturgie, Munich, 1906, I. 27-35, 68-73). All such churcnes were situated in towns, and the inhabi- tants of the rural districts came thither on the Lord's Day, in order to assist at the Eucharistic Sacrifice; in large cities, like Rome. Alexandria, and Carthage, there were several churches. bu1 they did not con- stitute separate parishes (Duchesne, 400; Wieland, 73 76). They depended upon the cathedral church, in which was established the see (sedes), or the chair (cathedra) of the bishop. There were, however, since the second century, outside the cities, mortuary churches attached to the Christian cemeteries. Here were celebrated the funeral rites, also the anniversary commemorations of the departed, but not the ordi- nary offices of Divine worship. Sanctuaries were also erected over the sepulchres of the martyrs, and popular devotion brought thither a large con- course of people, not only for the celebration of the anniversary, but at other times as well. The neces- sity of providing accommodation for these gatherings, as well as the desire to honour the saint, led to the construction of buildings, sometimes large and richly adorned. These churches multiplied when the people began to accord to any relic whatever, to a piece of cloth stained with his blood, to a phial of oil drawn from the lamp that burned constantly before his Bepulchre, etc., the veneration at first given only to his burial place. These were the churches of "relics". They prevailed finally to such an extent that to-day every church must have relics in each of its altars (Duchesne. 102 103 . 1' ie almost universally recog- nized at the present day, thai only on exceptional DC- serve for ordinary worship, even during the nines of persecution. They were used solely for funeral services and for the celebra- tion of the festivals of martyrs (Wieland, 81-100).
That churches existed in rural districts as early as the fourth century is undeniable. Priests went thither periodically to administer the sacraments. In the fifth century, however, on account of the increase in the number of the faithful, it became
necessary to station resident, priests in such districts.
This was the origin of parish churches, which were
established by the bishops in the most populous
districts, the vici, and were known as ecclisio? rus-
tieana;, paroehitance , dioccsanec, diocesis, parochia,
ecclesia' baptismales, because in these churches only
could the Sacrament of Baptism be administered;
they were also termed tituli majores to distinguish
them from the private churches, or tituli minores
(Imbart de la Tour, Les paroisses rurales du IV e
au XII e siecle, Paris. 1900). In addition to these
churches of the vici, the owners of the villw or great
estates founded churches for their own use and for
that of the persons connected with their establish-
ments. Such churches could not be used for Divine
worship without the consent of the local bishop, who
was wont to exact from the proprietor a renunciation
of all rights of possession. The ecclesiastical authority,
however, was not long able to resist the proprietors,
who from the seventh and eighth centuries retained
the proprietary right over the churches they had
built. These were called oratorio, basilicce, martyria,
or tituli minores, and were in no respect parish
churches, because in them baptism could not be
administered; moreover, on certain solemn days,
the faithful were obliged to assist at Mass in the
parish church. Neither did these churches receive
any tithes. From the Carlovingian period, however,
such private churches gradually became parish-
churches. Some authors contend that from that
epoch all churches became the private property of
t he laity, or of convents, or bishops. The ecclesiasti-
cal reforms of the eleventh and twelfth centuries
brought this condition of things to an end. The
Second Lateran Council (1139) commanded all lay-
men, under pain of excommunication, to resign to
the bishops the churches in their possession. (Mansi,
'•Coll. Cone", XXI, 529-532; Stutz, "Geschichte
des kirchl. Benefizialwesens", Berlin, 1895, I;
Hinschius, "System des kath. Kirchenrechts", Berlin,
1878, 11. 262-269, 277-281; Imbart de la Tour, op.
eit.) Even within the parishes, for the benefit of the
faithful, there were established at various times, chap-
els which did not enjoy the prerogatives of parish
churches, and were more or less dependent upon the
latter (Von Scherer. Handbuch des Kirchenrechtes,
Graz, 1898, II, 627). In addition to churches
specially intended for the use of the faithful, others
known as oratories were erected in the monasteries;
they acquired a greater importance when the ma-
jority of the monks were ordained priests, still more
when the exclusive privileges of the parish churches
suffered diminution. Such oratories were also com-
mon in beneficent and charitable institutions. The
medieval corporations (guilds) which were also re-
ligious confraternities, had sometimes their own
special chapels (Viollet, Histoire des institutions
politiques de la France, Paris, 1903, III, 143-176).
II. Division. — Ecclesiastical buildings are usually
divided into four classes: churches properly so called,
public oratories, private oratories, and semi-public
oratories. This division was confirmed by the Con-
gregation of Rites, 23 January, 1899 (Decreta au-
thent. Congreg. sacr. Rit. no. 4007, Rome, 1900).
Churches are edifices set apart in perpetuity for
the public exercise of Divine worship; such are
basilicas, primatial. metropolitan, cathedral, colle-
giate and parish churches, and lastly the conventual
churches of regulars, properly SO called. Public
oratories are buildings of less importance, definitely
given over to Divine worship, and accessible to the
public, whether the entrance itself be upon the public road or upon a passage-way leading to the latter. A private oratory is one established in favour of a particular family or even of a single individual. finally, a semi-public oratory is established for the benefit of a number of people; such is the chapel of
