Basilica

The Latin word basilica (derived from Greek basiliké stoà, royal stoa), was originally used to describe a Roman public building (as in Greece, mainly a tribunal), usually located at the centre of a Roman town (forum). In Hellenistic cities, public basilicas appeared in the 2nd century BC.

The ecclesiastic basilica

The Early Christian purpose-built basilica was the basilica of the bishop, on the model of the semi-public basilicas of the secular power elite, and its growth in size and importance signalled the gradual transfer of civic power into episcopal hands, under way in the 5th century. Basilicas in this sense are divided into two classes, the greater or patriarchal basilicas, and the lesser basilicas.

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Major Basilicas

To the former class belong primarily those five great churches of Rome, which among other distinctions have a special "holy door" and to which a visit is always prescribed as one of the conditions for gaining the Roman Jubilee. They are also called patriarchal basilicas, seemingly as representative of the great ecclesiastical provinces of the world thus symbolically united in the heart of Christendom.

Related Topics:
Holy door - Roman Jubilee - Patriarch

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• St. John Lateran is the cathedral of the Bishop of Rome, Patriarch of the West: the Pope,
• St. Peter's Basilica is assigned to the Patriarch of Constantinople,
• St. Paul outside the Walls to the Patriarch of Alexandria,
• St. Mary Major to the Patriarch of Antioch,
• St. Lawrence outside the Walls to the Patriarch of Jerusalem.

Minor Basilicas

The lesser basilicas are much more numerous, including nine or ten different churches in Rome, and a number of others. Cathedral Basilica of Notre-Dame de Québec in Quebec City was the first basilica in North America, designated by Pope Pius IX in 1874. The Basilica of Saint Mary in Minneapolis, Minnesota was the first basilica in The United States of America.

Related Topics:
Cathedral Basilica of Notre-Dame de Québec - Quebec City - Pope Pius IX - 1874 - Basilica of Saint Mary - Minneapolis - Minnesota - The United States of America

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There has been a pronounced tendency of late years to add to their number. In 1960, Pope John XXIII even declared Generalisimo Franco's grandiose tomb in the monumental Valley of the Fallen near Madrid a basilica. A list of more recent examples would be a long one.

Related Topics:
Pope John XXIII - Generalisimo Franco - Valley of the Fallen - Madrid

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Oratory

A basilica should not be confused with an oratory which is a semi-private place of worship. The Oratorians have constructed several oratories, none of which are basilicas. Some oratories, though, have been raised to the status of minor basilica, such as Saint Joseph's Oratory in Canada.

Related Topics:
Oratory - Oratorians - Saint Joseph's Oratory - Canada

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Ecclesiastical basilicas: external references

• Catholic Encyclopedia: Basilica
• Richard Krautheimer, Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture