We were driving the other day and, I’m not sure why, but I asked Claire what is the difference between a Church and a Chapel. Turns out that neither one of us really knew the answer. We attend St. Agnes Church, but a block or so away is the St. Agnes Chapel. We’ve gone to Mass in both buildings… why is one a church and one a chapel? Well, I figured this subject just begs for some extensive research on my part. Like a lot of things I’ve dug into lately, a satisfactory answer to how a church differs from a chapel is difficult to come by.
Since we go to a Catholic Church, I figured the Code of Canon Law might be a good place to start…
I found these definitions:
Can. 1214 — By the term church is understood a sacred building designated for divine worship to which the faithful have the right of entry for the exercise, especially the public exercise, of divine worship.
Can. 1223 — By the term oratory is understood a place for divine worship designated by permission of the ordinary for the benefit of some community or group of the faithful who gather in it and to which other members of the faithful can also come with the consent of the competent superior.
Can 1226 — By the term private chapel is understood a place for divine worship designated by permission of the local ordinary for the benefit of one or more physical persons
These definitions are interesting, but not especially satisfying. My research uncovered some more definitions — some I hadn’t even thought about, but tend to expand the terminology and instead of zeroing in on the solution just expanded the question….
A shrine is not attached to a specific community, whether a parish or an order or school, etc., but usually just to commemorate a specific saint or site or event. It’s a place people visit, but are not regular congregants.
The mother church of a diocese is known as a cathedral. It is the official church of the bishop of a diocese. The greek word cathedra means “chair” or “throne;” the bishop’s “chair” symbolizes his teaching and governing authority and is located in the principal church or “cathedral” of the local diocese, of which he is the chief pastor. The cathedral is always the most important church within a diocese.
A basilica is originally an architectural term — from the Greek basileios (“royal”) and referred to Roman government buildings. When Christianity was incorporated into the Roman Empire, the first public building used for worship were copied after this model, and retained the name and architectural style.
So religious places and/or buildings go by various names and there appears to be a good reason for each being called what it’s called….. obviously this whole subject became much broader in scope than I had anticipated. I though it was pretty simple question but….
Anyhow, here’s what I think, maybe, that I’ve concluded with all my extensive research. To look at the big picture, the Roman Catholic Church is a church — in this case the term church can refer to the entire community of Catholic Christians worldwide or a particular location, like a parish. The Sistine Chapel is a chapel — a physical location/facility.
I think a chapel can be a church, but not all chapels are churches. Some churches have small rooms or structures within the church called chapels — there are also small standalone structures called chapels that don’t have all the characteristics of a church. And there are private chapels or chapels in single rooms in buildings like hospitals, airports, etc.
So….
In summary, this is what I’ve concluded, and I’m going to leave it at that.
A church is a center of a community with its priest — a chapel is not
A church is consecrated — a chapel is not (I’m really not sure about this one)
A chapel can be a structure inside a church — or — inside another building
A chapel is usually a place for individual worship — a church usually has a regular worship service.
I guess if you’re looking for God, you can find him in a church or a chapel. Of course if you’re looking for God and you think you have to go to a church or a chapel to find him, you probably won’t find him at all….
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