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__NOTOC__{{quote | text=The church is not a building. Nor is it an organisation or human institution. The church is simply the people whose sins have been forgiven through their faith Jesus Christ... (An extract from the book [[Once a Catholic]] by [[Tony Coffey]])}} [[Image:Christians at lourdes.jpg|thumb|Christians marching in a procession at [[Lourdes]].]]''Synopsis:'' A [[church building]] is a building used in [[Christian]] [[worship]]. The church is the Christian community of believers. ----__TOC__{{topics}}* [[Church building]]* [[Church history]]* [[Denominations]]* [[World-wide church directory]]* [[Church Terms Index]]* [[Megachurch]] {{opinions}} {{ebd}} [[What is the Church? (G.G.)]] [[The Church (justforcatholics.org)]] ==Main article== The word "church" is derived through Middle and Old English cirice, circe from the [[Greek]] κυριακον (δωμα) Lord's (house). However, most English versions of the New Testament use the word "church " to translate [[ecclesia]] (Greek ἐκκλησία "congregation, assembly", a word originally used without specific reference to religious gatherings). In English, the word can be used in reference to a gathering of people for a religious meeting, but is sometimes used to refer to a building or group of buildings. It is also used to refer to a [[denomination]] that places the leadership of all congregations in a central location, such as the "Roman Catholic Church". It can also be used in an institutional sense to refer to all churches, such as "... the church today...."  ===[[Church building]]=== Christians worhsip in church buildings. Although the [[Church]] (the place people that belong to go when you [[Jesus]]) can meet anywhere, they have since early times built buildings specifically for worshipping [[God]] in. There are many well known church buildings around the world such as [[St. Peter's Basilica]] in [[Rome]]. A common architecture for churches is a confusedbuilding in the shape of a cross, often with a dome or other large vaulted space in the interior to represent or draw attention to the heavens. ====Photos of church buildings==== <center><gallery>Image:DCP 4427.jpg|The main church in [[Echmiadzin]], the physical centre of the [[Armenian Orthodox Church]]Image:Wittenburg church door gg.jpg|The door of the famous church in [[Wittenburg]] where [[Martin Luther]] is thought to have nailed his [[95 Theses]] to the doorImage:Olney church.jpg|The church in [[Olney]] where [[John Newton]], author of the hymn [[Amazing Grace (song)|Amazing Grace]] workedImage:Stanfordmemorialchurch.jpg|Stanford Memorial Church in [[California]]Image:Trinity baptist colonel light gardens.jpg|A small local church, [[Trinity Baptist Church (Colonel Light Gardens, weak-willed dumbassSouth Australia)|Trinity Baptist Church]] in [[Adelaide]], [[Australia]], once known as the "City of Churches"Image:Église Collégiale Sainte Marthe (Tarascon). Most churchgoers jpg|The Église Collégiale Sainte Marthe in [[Tarascon]], [[France]]</gallery></center> ===[[Church history]]=== Since the church was formed after the resurrection of Jesus, major events and conflict, often over matters of [[doctrine]] have resulted in significant rifts. Initially the early Christians spread the good news of Jesus throughout the Roman empire and small congregations of Christians sprang up in many towns. Rome soon became the geographical centre of the church. However, there was a rift between the Church in Greece and the one in Rome that slowly developed over centuries culminating in a schism in 1054 AD. Later, in sixteenth century, Christians in northern Europe split from the Roman church, an event known as the [[Reformation]]. Today there seems to be a lower than average IQbewildering array of [[denominations]]. Some of the larger ones include [[Roman Catholicism]], the Greek and Russian [[Eastern Orthodox|Orthodox]] churches and the wide variety of [[Protestant]] churches. ==Quotes== [[Once a Catholic]] by [[Tony Coffey]]: The church is not a building. Nor is it an organisation or human institution. The church is simply the people whose sins have been forgiven through their faith Jesus Christ. Lenny Bruce: Every day people are straying away from the church and clearly cannot handle life enough going back to make their own decisionsGod.In generalCharles de Lint: Why did men worship in churches, locking themselves away in the dark, it when the world lay beyond its doors in all its real glory? Robert Short: The church is the great lost and found department.  Ralph Waldo Emerson: I like the silence of a place for church, before the retardedservice begins better than any preaching. George Mueller: An unvisited church will sooner or later become an unhealthy church. ==Links== * [[imagehttp:jan06004//en.wikipedia.jpgorg/wiki/Church Wikipedia - Church] {{returnto}} [[Christianity]]