Catholic churches differ from Orthodox churches in certain rites. Latin, Eastern liturgical, and other Western ones all have a place in this faith. The visible head of the Catholic Church is the Pope, who heads the Holy See and, of course, the Vatican in Rome. It should be noted that the history of such architectural monuments as Catholic churches is very rich and diverse. Each of them has its own characteristics.
The most famous Catholic churches
The Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore is located in Italy, in Florence. At the time when it was built, it was the largest cathedral in all of Europe. Today it is the third largest. It should be noted the unique dome, the height of which reaches 91 meters, and in diameter - 42 meters. On its facade there is the Demidov family coat of arms, who made a significant financial contribution to the design of this cathedral. Also famous is the Cathedral of St. Peter, which is located in Rome. It is the largest Christian church in the world (height - 136 m, length - 218 m). It began to be built in 1506, where the ancient basilica used to be, where the remains were located.notorious Apostle Peter. It is impossible not to mention the Basilica of St. Stephen, which is the largest temple in all of Budapest. It can easily accommodate 8.5 thousand people. Its total area is about 4730 sq. m. The plan of this basilica is somewhat reminiscent of a Greek cross. And, of course, the Basilica of St. Adalbert, which is located in Hungary, is widely known. This cathedral is the largest temple in the country and the fifth largest in the world.
Moscow Cathedrals
The Roman Catholic Church, located in Moscow, is the largest Catholic cathedral in all of Russia. It is designed for five thousand seats. Tomas Iosifovich Bogdanovich-Dvorzhetsky, the architect of the temple, created a truly masterpiece. The construction of this cathedral was carried out from 1899 to 1917. The church itself was consecrated in 1911. It should be noted that in 1938 the cathedral was taken away from the Catholics. It was completely returned in 1996. This temple is a neo-Gothic three-nave cruciform basilica. This is a cathedral where masses are held in different languages. This is French, and English, and Polish, and Russian, and Spanish, and even Latin. It should be noted that Tridentine holy masses and divine services are even held there in accordance with Armenian rites. This church has one of the largest organ in all of Russia.
Temple History
If we talk about Catholic churches, as well as their history, it should be noted that this cathedral is connectedwith some very interesting facts. This temple was allowed to be built only far from the very center of the capital and other significant churches. At the same time, it was forbidden to erect sculptures and towers outside the building. A little earlier it was said that the temple was taken away from the Catholics in 1938. Then it was plundered and a hostel was made from a sacred place. It is impossible not to note the fact that the Second World War also affected the church: due to the bombing, several spiers and turrets were destroyed. In 2002, in the spring, the temple was involved in prayer on the Rosary with Pope John Paul II and Catholics from different parts of the world. And in 2009, on December 12, the cathedral celebrated ten years since it was renovated. A year and a half later, on September 4, 2011, the centenary of this stunning building was celebrated in grand style.
Further fate of the temple
This Catholic church on Gruzinskaya Street is never empty. It organizes catechesis, various youth meetings, music concerts that take place as part of any charity events, and much more. The church shop, the library, the editorial office of the now well-known magazine called “The Catholic Herald - The Light of the Gospel”, the office of a Christian charitable organization, funds - all this belongs to the Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Temples of St. Petersburg
There are quite a lot of different churches in Moscow, which can be talked about for a long time. ButCatholic churches in St. Petersburg deserve special attention. For example, the Church of St. Stanislaus. The building itself was built in 1823-25 at the corner of Masterskaya and Torgovaya streets. The Catholic Church of St. Stanislav was erected on the very spot where the garden plot and the house of the Metropolitan named Stanislav Bogush-Sestrentsevich were located. He received his name in memory of him. It is worth noting that today there is a spiritual library near the temple. This building is the second Catholic cathedral in St. Petersburg. Before him, there was only the church of St. Catherine. Despite the rather modest size of the cathedral, the parish grew rapidly. By 1917, the number of parishioners exceeded 10 thousand people.
Temple Development
In 1829, the Catholic Church of St. Stanislaus opened a school named after Sestrentsevich. It should be noted that for quite a long time (from 1887 to 1921) a prominent figure, as well as the famous philanthropist of the Catholic Church of all Russia, Anthony Maletsky, who was a bishop, served in the cathedral. A beautiful memorial plaque reminds of this fact inside the temple.
Differences between Orthodox and Catholic churches
This topic is quite popular in Christianity. It is worth noting that Catholic and Orthodox churches have both similarities and differences. The first and most important similarity is that the adherents of both faiths are Christians. This is known to everyone. Catholic churches differ from Orthodox churches both in their appearance and in generally accepted rites. They have somewhat different understanding of the Church and itsunity. The Orthodox share the sacraments and faith, but the Catholics also consider it necessary to have a head - the Pope. The Catholic Church believes that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son, confessing in the Creed. Orthodoxy is a little different. They confess the Holy Spirit, which comes only from the Father. In Catholicism, the sacrament of marriage must be for life - divorce is prohibited. But the Orthodox Church in some cases allows divorce.
Catholics also accepted the dogma that says about the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. And this means that even original sin allegedly did not touch her. Orthodoxy glorifies the holiness of the Mother of God, but believes that she was born with original sin, just like other people.
Similarities of Orthodoxy and Catholicism
It is worth noting that, despite the many differences, these two religions are similar to each other. Both Orthodoxy and Catholicism recognize all Christian sacraments, of which there are seven in total. In the same way, they have common norms (in other words, canons) of church life and the main components of ritualism: the nature and number of the celebration of all the sacraments, the sequence and content of divine services, the interior, and the layout of the temple. There is one more similarity: services are conducted in national languages. In addition, Latin is used (as you know, a dead language) in Catholic and Old Church Slavonic (not used in everyday life) - in Orthodox churches. Despite all sorts of differences, Orthodox Christians, just like Catholics, around the worldprofess the teachings of Jesus Christ. And here the most important thing to remember is that even if once the prejudices and mistakes of people separated Christians, but faith in the one God still unites us.
