Main Features of Church Buildings and Their Furnishings

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Main Features of Church Buildings and Their Furnishings

In this assignment I will describe the main features of church

buildings and their furnishing. The two churches that I am comparing

are St. Margaret's Catholic Church and St. Stephen's Church of

England. St. Margaret's Catholic Church is one that is quite modern

and has worshippers of Catholic denomination. On the other hand St.

Stephen's Church of England, is quite traditional and has a community

of …… denomination.

Throughout, this coursework I will differentiate and draw similarities

between these two churches, occasionally commenting on specific

details.

I am intending to explore the history and culture of the two churches,

in order to conclude the atmosphere presented by them.

Information on the early splits of churches

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After the downfall of the Roman Empire in 410, power in the church

shifted from the west to the east.

However, a council of bishops, meeting at Chalcedon in 451, adopted a

resolution that many eastern bishops could not accept.

As a result, the church began to show its first real signs of

disintegration with the formation of the eastern oriental church. It

was not till 1054 that the split between east and west became final

when the great schism took place. The Orthodox Church broke away from

the Roman Catholic Church over three main areas of disagreement:

ç The claim of the pope in Rome to have supreme authority over the

whole church.

ç The desire of Rome to become the leading centre of Christianity.

ç A change by Rome in the wording of the creed, which eastern

Christians considered to be untouchable.

So Christendom broke into two parts. The Orthodox Church was formed

and the breach between it and the catholic has never been healed.

So the two churches that were split up were the st. Stephen's Church

of England and st. Margaret's roman catholic church and although the

furnishing and the main features are the same they all take a

different meaning and symbolism.

St.

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