Cambridge IGCSE Religious Studies

The church as a building and as a people

For Christians the word church has two meanings. It is the building where a congregation meets, and it is the whole community of believers, wherever they are. The New Testament uses the Greek word ekklesia, meaning an assembly of people called together, and Paul writes of the church as the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27). Christians who stress this second meaning say that worship can happen in a home, a school hall or a field, because the church is the people and not the stones.

The building still matters to most Christians. It is where the community gathers each week, where the sacraments or ordinances are celebrated, and where the major events of a life are marked: baptism, marriage and funeral. It is usually dedicated to God and set apart for worship and prayer, so that people can be quiet there at any time. For many congregations it is also the centre of local life, hosting groups, charity work, food banks and lunch clubs. A Christian who has been baptised, married and buried from the same church can feel that the building holds the history of a family as well as of a faith.

Layout and decoration differ a great deal between traditions. A Roman Catholic or Orthodox church is usually rich in images, candles and incense. A Quaker meeting house, a Baptist chapel or a Pentecostal hall may have almost nothing in it but chairs and a table. The differences come from different beliefs about what worship is, and about what is needed to approach God.

The altar or holy table

The altar is the table at the front of a church on which bread and wine are placed for the Eucharist. Catholic, Orthodox and many Anglican churches call it an altar, because they understand the Eucharist as connected to the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross; it is often made of stone, covered with cloths, and may contain a relic of a saint. It is treated with great respect, and the priest and congregation may bow to it.

Many Protestant churches, particularly those in the Reformed and Free Church traditions, prefer the term holy table or Communion table. They stress that Jesus' sacrifice was made once and for all, so there is no further sacrifice on a table; it is the place where a memorial meal is shared. The table is often plain, made of wood and movable, and may be brought out only when Communion is held. The different name and look both express a theological difference about what Communion is.

The sanctuary

The sanctuary is the holy area at the east end of many churches, containing the altar and set apart from the seating. It is often raised by a step or two and sometimes divided from the rest of the church by a rail, so that Communion can be received kneeling at the rail. In an Orthodox church an icon screen, the iconostasis, separates the sanctuary from the nave and only clergy and servers enter it. The sanctuary represents the presence of God, so the arrangement shows reverence and the difference between God and humanity.

In churches that emphasise the equality of all believers, the arrangement is much more open. A Baptist or Pentecostal church may have a raised platform with a table, a pulpit and a band, but nothing is regarded as more holy than the rest of the room.

The lectern

The lectern is a reading stand, often shaped as an eagle with outstretched wings, from which the Bible is read aloud during the service. The eagle is a symbol of the gospel being carried to the whole world. The lectern shows that the reading of scripture is a central part of worship: God is understood to speak to the congregation through the Bible, so it is read from a place of honour, and in some churches the congregation stands for the gospel reading. Where the readings are done by members of the congregation and not only by clergy, the lectern also shows that laypeople have a share in leading worship.

The pulpit

The pulpit is a raised platform, usually with a rail or enclosed sides, from which the sermon is preached. Being raised means that the preacher can be seen and heard by everyone. In Protestant churches, particularly Lutheran, Reformed and Baptist, the pulpit often stands in the middle of the front and is the visual focus of the building, because the preaching of the word of God is seen as the heart of worship. In many Catholic and Anglican churches the pulpit is placed to one side, and the altar holds the centre, since the Eucharist is the climax of the service. The position of the pulpit therefore tells a visitor what that tradition thinks is most important.

The baptistery and the font

A baptistery is a pool large enough for a person to be immersed completely in water. It is used by Baptist churches and many other Christians who practise believers' baptism, in which an adult or older child who has made their own decision to follow Christ is baptised. Total immersion is understood to symbolise dying to the old life and rising to a new one, as in Romans 6:3-4. Where a church has no baptistery, baptisms may take place in a river, the sea or a hired pool.

A font is a stone or metal basin holding water, used in the baptism of babies and others by pouring or sprinkling. It is usually near the entrance of the church in the Catholic and Anglican traditions, to show that baptism is the entrance into the Christian community. Water in a Catholic font is blessed, and holy water is also kept in a small stoup by the door, so that people can make the sign of the cross on entering. Both the baptistery and the font point to the importance of baptism, although they reflect different views about who should be baptised and how.

Statues, images and decorations

Churches may be decorated with stained glass windows, paintings, statues, crucifixes, icons and carvings. Supporters argue that images teach the Bible to people who cannot read, help worshippers to focus on God, and glorify him through beauty. Catholic churches often contain statues of Mary and the saints, with candles lit in front of them, and Orthodox churches are covered in icons, which are venerated as windows through which a believer meets the holy person depicted. The Orthodox and Catholic traditions distinguish between veneration, which is shown to saints and images, and worship, which is for God alone.

Some Protestants, following the commandment against making carved images to worship (Exodus 20:4), think that images can lead to idolatry and draw attention from God. In the sixteenth century reformers in Switzerland and elsewhere removed statues and paintings from churches, and Reformed and Baptist churches are often plain, with perhaps a simple cross, so that attention rests on the reading and preaching of scripture. Many Anglican and Methodist churches fall between these positions, with stained glass and a cross but few statues.

Different views in different traditions

The layout of a church follows what its tradition holds to be most central to worship.