Chapel

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