1. St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City
The Papal Basilica of St. Peter in the Vatican, or simply St. Peter's Basilica (Latin: Basilica Sancti Petri; Italian:Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), is an Italian Renaissance church in Vatican City, the papal enclave within the city of Rome.
Designed principally by Donato Bramante, Michelangelo, Carlo Maderno and Gian Lorenzo Bernini, St. Peter's is the most renowned work of Renaissance architecture and one of the largest churches in the world. While it is neither themother church of the Catholic Church nor the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome, St. Peter's is regarded as one of the holiest Catholic shrines. It has been described as "holding a unique position in the Christian world" and as "the greatest of all churches of Christendom".
Catholic tradition holds that the Basilica is the burial site of St. Peter, one of Christ's Apostles and also the first Pope; supposedly, St. Peter's tomb is directly below the high altar of the Basilica. For this reason, many Popes have been interred at St. Peter's since the Early Christian period. There has been a church on this site since the time of the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great. Construction of the present basilica, replacing the Old St. Peter's Basilica of the 4th century AD, began on 18 April 1506 and was completed on 18 November 1626.
St. Peter's is famous as a place of pilgrimage and for its liturgical functions. The Pope presides at a number of liturgies throughout the year, drawing audiences of 15,000 to over 80,000 people, either within the Basilica or the adjoining St. Peter's Square. St. Peter's has many historical associations, with the Early Christian Church, the Papacy, theProtestant Reformation and Catholic Counter-reformation and numerous artists, especially Michelangelo. As a work of architecture, it is regarded as the greatest building of its age. St. Peter's is one of the four churches of Rome that hold the rank of Major Basilica. Contrary to popular misconception, it is not a cathedral because it is not the seat of a bishop; the Cathedra of the Pope as Bishop of Rome is in the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran.
2. Basilica of Our Lady of Aparecida, Brazil
The Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady Aparecida (Portuguese: Basílica do Santuário Nacional de Nossa Senhora Aparecida) is a prominent Roman Rite Catholic basilica located in Aparecida, Brazil. It is dedicated to Our Lady Aparecida, (a variant of the Immaculate Conception) as the principal Patroness of Brazil. Nossa Senhora da Conceição Aparecida roughly translates to Our Lady of Conception Who Appeared. It is the second largest church in the world, after St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City.
3. Cathedral of Seville, Spain
The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See (Spanish: Catedral de Santa María de la Sede), better known as Seville Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Seville (Andalusia, Spain). It is the largest Gothic cathedral and the third-largest church in the world. It is also the largest cathedral in the world, as the two larger churches, the Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida and St Peter's Basilica, are not the seats of bishops. It was registered in 1987 by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, along with the Alcázar palace complex and the General Archive of the Indies."See" refers to the Episcopal see, i.e., the bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction.
After its completion in the early 16th century, the Seville Cathedral supplanted Hagia Sophia as the largest cathedral in the world, a title the Byzantine church had held for nearly a thousand years. The cathedral is also the burial site of Christopher Columbus. The Archbishop's Palace is located on the northeastern side of the cathedral.
4. Cathedral of St. John the Divine, United States
The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, officially the Cathedral Church of Saint John: The Great Divine in the City and Diocese of New York, is the cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of New York. It is located in New York City on Amsterdam Avenue between West110th Street and 113th Street in Manhattan's Morningside Heights neighborhood.
Designed in 1888 and begun in 1892, the cathedral has undergone radical stylistic changes and the interruption of the two World Wars. Originally designed in the Byzantine Revival-Romanesque Revival styles, the plan was changed after 1909 to a Gothic Revivaldesign. After a large fire on December 18, 2001, it was closed for repairs and reopened in November 2008.It remains unfinished, with construction and restoration a continuing process As a result, it is often nicknamed St. John the Unfinished.
There is a dispute about whether this cathedral or Liverpool Cathedral is the world's largest Anglican cathedral and church. It is also the fourth largest Christian church in the world.The interior covers 121,000 sq ft (11,200 m2), spanning a length of 601 ft (183.2 meters) and height 232 ft (70.7 meters). The interior height of the nave is 124 feet (37.8 meters).
The cathedral houses one of the nation's premiere textile conservation laboratories to conserve the cathedral's textiles, including the Barberini tapestries to cartoons by Raphael. The laboratory also conserves tapestries, needlepoint, upholstery, costumes, and other textiles for its clients.
5. Cathedral of Milan, Italy
Milan Cathedral (Italian: Duomo di Milano [ˈdwɔːmo di miˈlaːno]; Lombard: Domm de Milan) is the cathedral church of Milan, Italy. Dedicated to St Mary of the Nativity (Santa Maria Nascente), it is the seat of the Archbishop of Milan, currently Cardinal Angelo Scola. The Gothic cathedral took nearly six centuries to complete. It is the 5th-largest church in the world and the second largest inItaly.
6. Cathedral of Liverpool, UK
Liverpool Cathedral is the Church of England Cathedral of the Diocese of Liverpool, built on St James's Mount in Liverpool and is the seat of the Bishop of Liverpool. It may be referred to as the Cathedral Church of Christ in Liverpool (as recorded in the Document of Consecration) or the Cathedral Church of the Risen Christ, Liverpool, being dedicated to Christ 'in especial remembrance of his most glorious Resurrection'.
The cathedral is based on a design by Giles Gilbert Scott. The total external length of the building, including the Lady Chapel(dedicated to the Blessed Virgin), is 207 yards (189 m) making it the longest cathedral in the world;its internal length is 160 yards (150 m). In terms of overall volume, Liverpool Cathedral ranks as the fifth-largest cathedral in the world and contests with the incomplete Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York City for the title of largest Anglican church building. With a height of 331 feet (101 m) it is also one of the world's tallest non-spired church buildings and the third-tallest structure in the city of Liverpool. The cathedral is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building.
The Anglican Cathedral is one of two in the city. The other, the Roman Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral of Liverpool, is situated approximately half a mile to the north. The Cathedrals are linked by Hope Street, which takes its name from William Hope, a local merchant whose house stood on the site now occupied by the Philharmonic Hall, and was named long before either Cathedral was built.
7. Shrine of Our Lady of Lichen, Poland
The Basilica of Our Lady of Licheń [ˈlixɛɲ] is a Roman Catholic church located in the village of Licheń Stary near Konin in theGreater Poland Voivodeship in Poland. It was designed by Barbara Bielecka and built between 1994 and 2004. The construction was funded by pilgrims' donations. With a tower measuring 141.5 meters in height, it is one of the tallest and largest churches in the world.
8. Basilica of the Holy Trinity, Portugal
The Church of the Santíssima Trindade (English: Church of the Holy Trinity), officially the minor Basilica of the Holy Trinity (Portuguese: da Santíssima Trindade, is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica in the Sanctuary of Fátima(Shrine of Our Lady of Fátima) in the civil parish) of Fátima, in the municipality of Ourém in Portugal.
In 2009 it received the Outstanding Structure Award by the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering,which aims at recognizing the most remarkable, innovative, creative or otherwise stimulating structure completed within the last few years.
9. Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Belgium
The National Basilica of the Sacred Heart (French: Basilique Nationale du Sacré-Cœur, Dutch: Nationale Basiliek van het Heilig-Hart) is a Roman Catholic Minor Basilica and parish church in Brussels, Belgium. The church was dedicated to the Sacred Heart, inspired by the Basilique du Sacré-Coeur in Paris. Symbolically King Leopold II laid the first stone of the basilica in 1905 during the celebrations of the 75th anniversary of Belgian independence. The construction was halted by the two World Wars and finished only in 1969. Belonging to the Metropolitan Archbishopric of Mechelen-Brussels, it is one of the ten largest Roman Catholic church by area in the world.
Located in the Parc Elisabeth atop the Koekelberg Hill in Brussels' Koekelberg municipality, the church is popularly known as theKoekelberg Basilica (French: Basilique de Koekelberg or Dutch: Basiliek van Koekelberg). The massive brick and concrete reinforced church features two thin towers and a green copper dome that rises 89 metres (292 ft) above the ground, dominating the northwestern skyline of Brussels.
10. Basilica of Our Lady of Peace, Ivory Coast
The Basilica of Our Lady of Peace (French: Basilique Notre-Dame de la Paix) is a Catholic minor basilica dedicated to Our Lady of Peace in Yamoussoukro, the administrative capital of Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast). The basilica was constructed between 1985 and 1989 at a cost of US$300 million. The design of the dome and encircled plaza are clearly inspired by those of the Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican City, although it is not an outright replica. The cornerstone was laid on 10 August 1985, and it was consecrated on 10 September 1990 by Pope John Paul II.
The basilica is not a cathedral. The nearby Cathedral of Saint Augustine is the principal place of worship and seat of the bishop of theDiocese of Yamoussoukro.
Guinness World Records lists it as the largest "church" in the world, having surpassed the previous record holder, St. Peter's Basilica, upon completion. It has an area of 30,000 square metres (322,917 sq ft) and is 158 m (518 ft) high. However, it also includes a rectory and a villa (counted in the overall area), which are not strictly part of the church. It can accommodate 18,000 worshippers, compared to 60,000 for St. Peter's.Less than a third of Côte d'Ivoire's population are Christian, and most services conducted at the basilica are attended by only a few hundred people.
The Basilica is administered by Polish Pallottines.
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