VOA名师答疑2023 cathedral和church的区别

Religious Places

Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we will answer a question about different kinds of religious centers.

Question:

Dear teacher,

I am Saeed from Iran. I am so glad to send you an email. I have a question about differences between a "cathedral" and a "church?"

Are they the same?

Thank you,

Saeed

Answer

This is a great question, Saeed!

Let's expand this question further to include different religious centers.

A "church" is a building used by Christians² for their religious services. Because there are many different denominations⁴ of Christians, there are many different kinds of churches.

A "cathedral" is one kind of Christian¹ church. However, a "cathedral" is the main church for an area under the direction of a bishop⁵, a high-level church leader, in the Roman Catholic faith.

Other Christian groups might also call large churches cathedrals. For example, sometimes the term is used in the Eastern Orthodox Church, another form of Christianity based in places like Eastern Europe, Greece, and the Middle East.

There are many famous cathedrals around the world like Notre Dame⁶ in Paris, St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow, and the Cathedral of Brasilia in Brazil's capital.

Now let's talk about a few different worship and prayer centers for other big religions.

A "temple" is another form of religious building. "Temple" is the English language word for religious centers in Hinduism, Buddhism⁷, Jainism, and Sikhism. Temples are places of prayer or worship.

Sometimes, people who observe Reform Judaism call their religious centers "temples."

A "mosque⁸" is a place for Muslims to pray. Women and men usually have separate places to pray within the same building. Muslim holidays and marriages are observed in mosques⁹.

"Synagogues" are Jewish places of worship. They are for prayer and religious services, ceremonies and study.

These are not the only places of worship as there are many different religions in the world. If you know of a religious center or place of prayer or worship, we have not named, please write to us in the comments below!

Please let us know if these explanations and examples helped you, Saeed!

What question do you have about American English? Send us an email at [email protected]

And that's Ask a Teacher.

Words in This Story

denomination³ – n. a separate religious group

faith – n. strong religious belief or strong belief in someone or something

worship – v. to show respect and love for God or for a god especially by praying, having religious services, etc.

prayer – n. words spoken to a god or higher being especially in order to give thanks or to ask for something

1 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

2 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

3 denomination   

n.命名，取名，(度量衡、货币等的)单位

参考例句：

• The firm is still operating under another denomination.这家公司改用了名称仍在继续营业。
• Litre is a metric denomination.升是公制单位。

4 denominations   

n.宗派( denomination的名词复数 )；教派；面额；名称

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• The service was attended by Christians of all denominations. 这次礼拜仪式各教派的基督徒都参加了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

6 dame   

n.女士

参考例句：

• The dame tell of her experience as a wife and mother.这位年长妇女讲了她作妻子和母亲的经验。
• If you stick around,you'll have to marry that dame.如果再逗留多一会，你就要跟那个夫人结婚。

7 Buddhism   

n.佛教（教义）

参考例句：

• Buddhism was introduced into China about 67 AD.佛教是在公元67年左右传入中国的。
• Many people willingly converted to Buddhism.很多人情愿皈依佛教。

8 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

9 mosques   

清真寺； 伊斯兰教寺院，清真寺； 清真寺，伊斯兰教寺院( mosque的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why make us believe that this tunnel runs underneath the mosques? 为什么要让我们相信这条隧洞是在清真寺下？
• The city's three biggest mosques, long fallen into disrepair, have been renovated. 城里最大的三座清真寺，过去年久失修，现在已经修复。