CHURCH. 728 CHURCH. life. Tlic cliurpli was consecrated to the people of Uod, I'lcbs Dei" ; its walls were covered with j)aintiiigs or mosaics expressiiij;; all the themes of Clnisliaii history and belief necessary for the Cliristiaii people to know — the hook of the nn- Icarned. In the Orient, especially, Imt often also in the West, there was a strict order in the ar- rangement of sacred themes throngliont the church, so that the people should be led grad- ually from the more elementary figurative sub- jects near the doors to the most fundamental and sacred ones in the sanctuary or ajise, generally filled with the figure of the trium])hant Christ and llis attendant apostles and saints. Speculation as to the origin of the form of the church is more or less idle. The connection with the already existing halls of the ]nil>lic and pri- vate basiliiMs is self-evident. The building was oblong, with a semicircular east end, on either side of which was a small room used to keej) the treasures of the church and as a vestiary for the clergTi'. These sacristies were aftenvards thrown into the church as side-apses. In some large ciirly churches the form of a T was given to the plan l>y the addition of a eross-arm be- tween ajise and nave. (Sec H.vsiLic.). The nave itself was flanked by one aisle on each side; sometimes by two aisles; sometimes also by lines of side-chapels, though this was not done until the later Jliddle Ages. The facade (q.v.), usually at the west end, sometimes took the outline of the nave and aisles, sometimes was an inde- pendent structure. Near it or connected with it was a bell-tower (q.v.), while as the Jliddle Ages progressed, towers were limit iplied, espe- cially in northern and central Kurope, and be- came an integral part of the arcliitectural com- position. It was in the Carolingian period, under monastic influence, that the i)lan of churches was changed into the form of the cross (see CiiBisTiAX Art; Gothic Art; Rom.xes(}ue Art), thus bringing in the transept (q.v.), and still later that the choir was so enlarged as almost and sometimes quite to rival the nave in size, as was the case in many flotliic cathedrals. Other forms, however, were somi'limes in use: Concentric '•hurches, either round or polygonal, such as San Stcfano Rotondo in Rome, Xime- giien, Ottmarsheim, etc.: Greek crosses, as San Marco; in Venice, single-nave churches, some- times domed, as in Byzantine architecture, some- times vaulted or roofed, as in Dominican and Franciscan churches, whose hall form was in- vented for the sake of the sermon. AccE.ssoRV Sthi (TIKES. There were many ac- cessory structures connected with churches. The most usual were the episcopnl palace, or the parish 7io«se; the cloister for the eanons or monks attached to its service; the chapels dedi-. cated to special saints and martyrs; the bap- iisterji — in the case of churches where baptism was allowed : the atria or cloistered courts in front or beside the main building. The Cathedral of Parcnzo shows a typical groui)ing. In front, the episcopal residence: then the baptistery, on the ;ixis of (he church; then the rectangular atrium surrounded by colonnades; then the church itself. This was the type from the Fourth to the Ninth Century. The cathedrals of the Twelfth and Thirteenth centuries show the per- fecting of quite a different plan; all the struc- tures in front of the chiirch have disappeared and it fronts directly on the eitv street or square. This scheme has ever since been retained, except in monastic churches, which were within the conventual walls. Church furniture and decoration were always a very important feature. A church was not regarded as completed in the Middle Ages unless it was covered with instructive .scul))tures or paintings, through which it carried out a large part of its mission. These decorations were not left to the artist, but planned by the ecclesias- tical authorities. (See Icoxogi{.phy. ) IMosaies, frescoes, tapestries, painted glass windows, with- in; sculptured reliefs and statuary, without, were used in ju'ofusion even in the times when art had fallen lowest. The throne for the bishop in the apse and the priest's seats surrounding it; the altar, its c-jinopy and confession: the choir screen and seats; the ambones and pulpits and paschal candlestick; the altar pieces and fronts; the main and side altars; the choir- books; the altar-.service; the monuments to great ecclesiastic and civil personages against the side- walls, in special chapels, and in floor-slabs; the hanging lamps and tapestries — all gave ample opportunity for rich displ.iy of color and form. The bisliop and chapters were among the greatest art patrons. Saint Bernard's anger was excited by the very profusion of this ecclesiastical art; and he carried on a crusade for simplicity, which was successful only within his own order of Cistercian monks. A second reaction against church magnificence came with Protestai tism, which destroyed so nuiny churches, and in Ijuild- ing its own usually showed the most rigid sim- plicity, to the great loss of art. BiBi-ioGR.M'HY. I*|) to the time of the Renais- sance the history of architecture is the develop- ment of the church l)uilding. Only general works can here be cited. The most complete work cov- ering the whole ground is Deliio and Von Bezold, Die christliche liaukunst des Abcndlandes (Stutt- gart. 1884), plates and text still in course of publication. See also Hiibsch, Altehristliche Kir- (hcn (Karlsruhe. 1802-03); Liibke, ^'orschule
- ur (Icschiehte der Kirchenhaiikiiiist des Mit-
tchiUcrs (Berlin, 1858) ; Norton, C. E., Church- huilding in the Middle Ages (New York, 1880) ; Quast, Enticielcelung der Kirchenhaukunst des Mittelalters (Berlin, 1858) ; Clausse, Monu- ntenls du f'hristianismc an moiicn age (Paris, 1893). For (iermany. consult Schafer, Muster- giltige Kirchenhauten des Mittelalters in Dentschland (Berlin, 1886) ; for France, Viollet- le-Duc, "De la constiuction des edifices rcligieux en France," in Annales archcolugi(incs, I. -IV. I Paris, I844-4G). For the lesser church buildings, see Baudot. Kgliscs de boiirgs et villages (Paris, 18G7) : Brandon, Parish Churches (London, 1848). For Protestant church architecture, con- sult Schultze, Das crangelischc K irchmgehiiude (Leipzig, 188.5) ; and especially Der Kirehriibau des I'rotestonlismus (Berlin, 1803), pulilished by the Vcreinigung Berliner Architekten, and treat- ing the entire period from the Reformation till the present date. CHURCH. An organization of Christians, generally defined by Protestants in substantial ac- cord with the -Xrticles of the Church of England — "a congregation of faithful men, in which the pure word of (Jod is preached, and the sacra- ments be duly administered in all those things th:it are of necessity requisite to the same." The Roman Catholic Church emphasizes in addition
