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a Catholic Church, as set forth in the Church's authorized books of rites and ceremonies, and illustrated by traditional usages, and the best authors upon ecclesiastical rites. The idea of a Church, entertained at present by most Church-builders, is, that it should be a simple, oblong room, of great or small dimension, as the case may require, well ventilated and lighted, and furnished with an altar at one end.[1]
Fig. 1.
Another type—and it is a favourite, from its supposed capacity for the accomodation of very large congregations—is the T shape.[2] An occasional deviation from these forms is the addition of a fourth limb, so as to produce an ill-proportioned cruciform arrangement. All these forms had their origin in penal times, when it was impossible to practise the ceremonial prescribed by the Church, and are by no means adapted to the requirements and commands of the Church in a state of freedom. In fact, Irish Catholics had become so accustomed to witness
- ↑ Figure 1 is the plan of a Church of this type. A is the nave, or, as it is usually called, the “body of the Church;” B, the sanctuary; C, the sacristy; D D, porches; 1 is the communion railing; 2 2, reserved seats within the sanctuary: 3, the pulpit, also within the sanctuary.
- ↑ Figure 2 is a plan of this favourite arrangement. A is the sanctuary, containing the principal altar, 1, and lesser altars, 2 2, all within one enclosure or communion railing. B is the nave; C C, the transepts; D E and F, porches; and G, the sacristy.
