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This comes from the Latin 'cathedea' which means a 'chair' or 'throne'. Cathedrals are any church (usually large and lavish - but any church is theoretically acceptable) which houses the bishop's 'cathedra' or throne from where he oversees an area of land (county sized) called a diocese. Many cathedrals have been cathedrals for hundreds of years. In the UK, because of population growth, some dioceses split in two, and a new cathedral was needed for the new diocese created. In many of these cases large parish churches were used and the bishop's throne installed. They then became cathedrals with immediate effect.

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14y ago
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15y ago

The word "Cathedral" comes from the Greek "kathedra", which means "seat" or "chair" and is a reference to the ornate carved chair on which a bishop sat. A cathedral is thus the church where a bishop presides (and thus the chief church in a diocese).

In previous times, when having a bishop in your town was a big boost to prestige and commerce (seeing as bishops were commonly temporal rulers as well and in any case had church courts with their attendant lawyers and plaintiffs), a cathedral was commonly a large and ornate building especially built for the purpose. These days, when new bishoprics are created for administrative convenience and don't usually involve prestige or wealth, the largest parish church in the town is designated "cathedral".

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14y ago

Cathedral comes from the Latin boy meaning cahaha

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Q: What did the name ''cathedral'' come from?
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