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Summary
- A cathedral is the church that holds a bishop’s chair (cathedra) and is the main church of his diocese; the Vatican’s 1989 norms say it “holds the first place and the greatest dignity” among a diocese’s churches.
- A basilica is a church the pope has honored with that title. The four major basilicas are in Rome; all others are minor basilicas, and GCatholic.org lists 94 in the United States.
- A church can be both: the Cathedral of St. Louis became a basilica on April 4, 1997, and St. John Lateran is the pope’s cathedral as bishop of Rome and a major basilica. St. Peter’s Basilica is not a cathedral.
- In New York the cathedral is St. Patrick’s on Fifth Avenue; the basilica is the old cathedral on Mulberry Street, made a basilica on March 17, 2010.
- Basilica privileges include a plenary indulgence on six days a year, the papal crossed keys on banners and seal, and a black mozzetta with red trim for the rector.
- Canon law separates a church, open to all the faithful, from an oratory or private chapel; in Russian a sobor, such as St. Basil’s in Moscow, need not be a bishop’s seat.
Bibliography (Click to show)
- Scripture quotation is from the King James Version (1611), text of Project Gutenberg eBook no. 10 (Matthew 23:2). https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10
- Code of Canon Law (1983), canons 369 and 373: https://www.vatican.va/archive/cod-iuris-canonici/eng/documents/cic_lib2-cann368-430_en.html; canons 1214–1229: https://www.vatican.va/archive/cod-iuris-canonici/eng/documents/cic_lib4-cann1205-1243_en.html
- Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. Domus ecclesiae: Norms for the Granting of the Title of Minor Basilica, 9 November 1989. Acta Apostolicae Sedis 82 (1990): 436–440. English translation and Latin text at Adoremus: https://adoremus.org/2007/12/domus-ecclesiae/
- Gietmann, Gerhard, and Herbert Thurston. “Basilica.” The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02325a.htm
- Boudinhon, Auguste. “Cathedral.” The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 3. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03438a.htm
- Vatican News. “Pope at St John Lateran: There is no heart God cannot raise again.” 9 November 2019. https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-11/pope-feast-dedication-basilica-saint-john-lateran.html
- John Paul II. Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici gregis, 22 February 1996. https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_jp-ii_apc_22021996_universi-dominici-gregis.html
- New York Landmarks Conservancy. “St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral.” https://nylandmarks.org/explore-ny/st-patricks-old-cathedral/
- GCatholic.org. “Cathedrals in USA”: https://gcatholic.org/churches/data/cathUS; “Minor Basilicas in USA”: https://gcatholic.org/churches/data/basUS
- Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis. “About.” https://cathedralstl.org/about
- Church of England. “Cathedrals.” https://www.churchofengland.org/about/cathedrals
- Kegeles, Filipp. “Чем кафедральный собор отличается от простого, а храм от часовни?” Foma, 13 July 2023. https://foma.ru/chem-kafedralnyj-sobor-otlichaetsja-ot-prostogo-a-hram-ot-chasovni.html
- Evangelische Gesamtkirchengemeinde Ulm. “Ulmer Münster.” https://www.ulmer-muenster.de/; “Ulmer Münster,” Wikipedia (German), section “Bedeutung.” https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulmer_M%C3%BCnster
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