See caption
Chapel of St Michael and St George at St Paul’s Cathedral
Wikimedia Commons

A chapel, also known as an oratory,[1] is a Christian place of prayer and worship. The term is used to describe several different kinds of structures:[2]

  • Smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar, the Lady chapel being a common example
  • Place of worship that is part of a building with a different primary purpose, such as a school, college, hospital, aristocratic house or military complex
  • Satellite sites built in remote areas by a church or monastery, known as chapels of easeChurch subordinate to a parish church serving an area known as a chapelry, for the convenience of those parishioners who would find it difficult to attend services at the parish church.
  • Roman Catholic and dissenting places of worship

Chapels originated with the cult of relics.[3] The term derives from the late Latin cappella, the cloak of St Martin of Tours, a relic venerated by 7th-century Frankish kings, and by extension the place where it was kept.[4] Those in charge of its care were known by the Old French name of cappellani, the origin of “chaplains”.[1]

See also


  • HagioscopeObliquely cut opening in the chancel wall of a Christian church, allowing celebrants in the side chapels to suspend their own services when the parish priest at the high altar reached the point of consecrating the eucharist.

References



Works cited


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