Church (building)

A church, church building, or church house is a building used for Christian worship services and other Christian religious activities. The earliest identified Christian church is a house church founded between 233 AD and 256 AD. Sometimes, the word church is used erroneously to refer to the buildings of other religions, such as mosques and synagogues. Church is also used to describe a body or an assembly of Christian believers, while "the Church" may be used to refer to the worldwide Christian religious community as a whole. In traditional Christian architecture, the plan view of a church often forms a Christian cross with the centre aisle and seating representing the vertical beam and the bema and altar forming the horizontal. The area of the church containing the altar is the chancel. Churches are usually topped with a steeple, which metaphorically directs the minds of the faithful upward to God. Steeples often house a belfry that contains church bells, which call Christians to Christian prayer and worship. Modern churches have a variety of architectural styles and layouts. Some buildings designed for other purposes have been converted to churches, while many original church buildings have been put to other uses. From the 11th to the 14th century, there had been a wave of church construction in Western Europe. Many churches worldwide are of considerable historical, national, cultural, and architectural significance, with several included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.