The cathedral is what? Meaning of the word

There are words, the meaning of which is so multivalued, that you can not immediately understand what is at stake. And if you do not get into the heart of it, you have to guess by context. Take, for example, the word "cathedral". This is what, you immediately say? What does the person who says it mean? Agree, it is necessary to listen to the proposal in order to understand the essence. After all, the term means a lot of things. Let's see, the cathedral is what?

Look through the dictionaries

Even the simplest theoretical research is accepted starting with the primary sources. The meaning of words is contained in special books, let us turn to them. According to the special literature, the cathedral is a building, a meeting of citizens, a meeting of responsible persons, held for a specific purpose. As a rule, the term is usually associated with a religious theme. For example, everyone knows the St. Isaac's Cathedral. This is the name of a large Orthodox church, in which the patriarch conducts a service on holidays. However, in Russia, the cathedral also called secular events. A.S. Pushkin has these lines: "Raise the barbarians bloody verses; Ignorance, resigning, will lower the gloomy gaze of arrogant rhetors illiterate cathedral ". Here we have in mind a meeting far from the solution of religious affairs. But the Dictionary of Church Terms explains the meaning of the word, from the point of view of Orthodoxy. In it, the cathedral is a building, a meeting of representatives of Christian communities, and a holiday. Therefore, it is necessary to understand our term in more detail.

The lexical meaning of the word "cathedral"

Science tries to understand the concepts thoroughly, so that there are no questions left. Under the lexical meaning of the word understand, if you believe the textbooks, the image or phenomenon, which indicates a set of sounds. And here we come to the same polysemy. After all, under the word "cathedral", our interlocutor can understand both the noun (temple) and the phenomenon (assembly). That is, the same term indicates different, in fact, things. On the one hand, it denotes the structure in which worship is performed, on the other, it calls for thinking about the congress of authorized representatives. It is necessary to understand what exactly is meant by the context. For example, when you hear the phrase: "I visited the Orthodox Cathedral during the tour", you represent the building. Everyone understands that it is a large temple decorated with icons and frescoes. Another thing, for example, is the Zemsky Sobor. This word combination is an anachronism. There are no such events now.

What is the Zemsky Sobor?

To understand the essence of this concept, it is necessary to turn to the meaning of power. The ruler must rely on some kind of force, so that his orders are executed. The tyrant has an army and police, the president has an electoral system, people and parliament. In Rus of the 16th century, rulers preferred to consult certain groups of people when making important decisions affecting the entire population. The people collected special orders at the place of residence. The Moscow rulers sent messengers to all parts of the country with a demand to confer with representatives of the service and trade class. That is, ordinary peasants did not listen. On the Zemsky Sobor, people who were wealthy, who had influence in their quarter or shop, were invited. Probably, in such a simple way, democracy was born. The Zemsky Sobors operated for a long time, about one hundred and fifty years.

Church concepts

Believers also organized the work of peculiar advisory bodies. Councils of Christians are local, hierarchical, universal. They differ according to the status of participants and the level of decisions taken. Thus, archbishops and ordinary believers came to the Local Council. They discussed issues of religion and morality. And in the work of the bishop's cathedral , only church ministers take part. A simple people were not allowed to it. Such meetings replaced with time local. That is, the issues of religious life and morality began to be discussed without taking into account the opinion of the laity. The significance of the Ecumenical Councils is great. This event is held infrequently. Representatives of all local churches, that is, territorial branches, come to him. At such meetings, the most important questions of doctrine and church organization are discussed. The last Ecumenical Council tried to hold in 2016. But most of the local churches, including the Russian Orthodox Church, declined to participate.

Building

Most often the meaning of the word "cathedral" is associated with the church. So designate the structure in which the religious rites are sent by the patriarch or archbishop. The building has a special, more fundamental architecture, that is, stands out among others. It is decorated in such a way that believers can immediately appreciate the status of the temple. The size of it must also be significant, since a large number of clergy take part in the service. In the cathedrals it is customary to store spiritual relics of great value. They attract believers who want to touch the relics or miraculous icons. The cathedral is also called the main church in a large Orthodox monastery. It, too, stands out among the others in size and decoration. It is in this temple that festive divine services are held, led by the abbot.

Celebration

Some days in Christianity, too, it is customary to call cathedrals. The word again changes its meaning. For example, the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin. It's the day after Christmas. During this period, special events dedicated to the Theotokos are held in churches. After the Epiphany, the Cathedral of St. John the Forerunner is celebrated. Believers come to church and glorify this Saint. As you can see, our term has many meanings. Therefore, it should be used properly, so that the listeners understand what is at stake. Of course, many of the Zemsky sobors now have no idea, because such events have long since sunk into oblivion. However, without this there are many interpretations of the term.

The Ecumenical Council, let's repeat, is an event held to resolve fundamental religious issues affecting all believers, and Isaakievsky is a great temple. It should be noted that buildings with this name are necessarily built in the traditional architectural style of the country and period. Thus, the Cathedral of the Notre Dame of Paris has the features of Norman and Gothic styles, characteristic for the time when it was being built. The architects of all countries tried to impart their creations with characteristics that meet the traditions of society in order to preserve its features in the centuries.