cathedral, church in which a bishop presides. The designation is not dependent on the size or magnificence of a church edifice, but is entirely a matter of its assignment as the church in which the bishop shall officiate.

Romanesque cathedrals (see Romanesque architecture and art) were massive, blocklike, domed and heavily vaulted structures based on the traditional basilica form, reflecting the style dominant in Europe from c.1050 to c.1200. The tall, wide nave arcade or colonnade, flanked by shallower, shorter aisles, ran from decorative exterior portals to a large ambulatory and an apse with radiating chapels. The nave was crossed by a transept and illuminated by a clerestory pierced by small windows so as not to diminish the strength of the supporting walls. The Romanesque cathedral is a strong visual whole with interrelated parts that emphasize its basic structural clarity.

The great cathedrals of the 13th and 14th cent. are the culminating expression of Gothic architecture. These buildings are distinctive in their consistent use of ribbed vaults, pointed arches, rose windows, buttresses, geometric tracery, and variegated stained glass. All of these elements were combined into a design of infinite complexity and richness. Gothic interior structure, also based on basilica form, included a long central arcaded or colonnaded nave with flanking aisles, a transept, a choir, ambulatory, and apse with radiating chapels. Stained glass was used to create a light, lacy effect of spiderweb airyness, made possible by buttressing the comparatively thin walls. The exterior facade was ornamented with great portals covered with sculpture and surmounted by double towers. Further towers often rose above transepts and crossing, and the rear portion of the entire edifice was engulfed in a profusion of buttresses and pinnacles. The building's structure is entirely subordinated visually to the intricacy of its details.

Among the most important medieval cathedrals are the following: France—Amiens, Beauvais, Bourges, Chartres, Le Mans, Notre-Dame de Paris, Rouen, Reims, Strasbourg; England—Canterbury, Durham, Ely, Lincoln, Peterborough, Salisbury, Wells, Westminster Abbey, Winchester, York; Germany—Bonn, Cologne, Mainz, Speyer, Ulm, Worms; Belgium—Antwerp, Brussels, Louvain, Ypres; Italy—Como, Florence, Milan, Monreale, Orvieto, Pisa, Siena, Spain—Ávila, Burgos, Barcelona, Salamanca, Seville, Toledo; Sweden—Lund, Uppsala. Among major cathedrals built in modern times and adhering to medieval styles of architecture are St. Patrick's Cathedral and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine (Episcopal) in New York City and the cathedrals of Washington, D.C., and Liverpool, England.

Saint Paul's Cathedral, London, masterpiece of Sir Christopher Wren and one of the finest church designs of the English baroque. It stands at the head of Ludgate Hill, where, according to tradition, a Roman temple once stood. In the early 7th cent. King Æthelbert of Kent dedicated the first church to St. Paul. The Saxon cathedral was destroyed by fire in 1087 and was replaced by a Norman structure, completed in the 13th cent. In 1561, St. Paul's was again struck by fire. Major rebuilding was not undertaken until 1628, when Inigo Jones was employed to restore it. He appended a classical facade. Plans for further repairs were next prepared by Wren, but the great fire of London (1666) almost destroyed the church, and in 1668 he was granted authority to demolish the badly damaged structure and to build an entirely new one. Wren's design, in the shape of a Greek cross, with a dome over the center, was modified to provide the long nave and choir of the traditional medieval plan. In 1675, Wren himself laid the first foundation block of the building, and 35 years later he set the final stone in place. The interior of the church consists of a three-aisled nave and choir, of equal lengths, extending east and west from a great central space at the crossing. Porticoes project north and south at the center of the building. The crossing is covered by a great dome, pierced at the crown to allow a view of the lantern above. Over this dome rises a concealed conical dome of brick that acts as support for the timber framework of the exterior dome, the entire domical feature thus being constructed in three shells. The western front of the church has as central motif a double-storied portico of coupled columns, flanked by two finely designed towers. The exterior dome, which ranks as one of the great domes of the world, rises above a colonnaded drum and supports a stone lantern terminating with a cross. Wren's scheme for an open, colonnaded piazza to furnish a setting for St. Paul's was not executed. The cathedral was severely damaged by bombings in World War II, and reconstruction according to Wren's original plan was not completed until 1962.

Saint Patrick's Cathedral, New York City, largest Roman Catholic church in the United States. The Gothic building at Fifth Ave. between 50th and 51st St. replaces an earlier cathedral at Mott St. The original plans, by James Renwick, were executed in 1853; the cornerstone was laid in 1858; in 1879 the building was dedicated. The Lady Chapel behind the high altar was added later, using the plans of Charles T. Matthews. The cathedral is of marble in the traditional cruciform shape and has 12 side chapels, many stained-glass windows, and a chime of 19 bells.

Saint John the Divine, Cathedral of, New York City, the world's largest Gothic cathedral. The Episcopal cathedral was begun in 1892 in the Byzantine-Romanesque style after designs by G. L. Heins and C. Grant La Farge. In 1911, plans for the cathedral were altered and a French Gothic style was adopted according to the design of Ralph Adams Cram. The nave was built (1916-43), and in 1941 the entire length of the cathedral was opened for the first time. Interrupted by World War II, work on the cathedral did not resume until 1979, when the stoneyard was dedicated. Three years later, construction of the north and south towers resumed. Work was again halted a decade later when funds for the project were exhausted. In 1999 officials announced that plans for future construction had been canceled and that efforts would be concentrated on repair and preservation of the existing structure. The north wing of the cathedral was damaged by fire in 2001. In addition to worship services, the cathedral has schools, social projects, artist-in-residence and textile conservation programs, guest speakers and performers, and more.

Church, often large and magnificent, in which a residential bishop has his official seat. Cathedrals are usually embellished versions of early Christian basilicas; their construction, on an ever-larger scale, was a major preoccupation throughout Europe in the Middle Ages. Masonry vaulting replaced the earlier timber roofs, and the basilican plan grew more complex. Above the arches of the nave, and below the clerestory, was the triforium, an arcaded upper story that often contained vaulted tribune galleries open to the nave. The portion containing seats for the choir, usually east of the transept, was called the chancel. Between the chancel and the sanctuary (high altar) was the presbytery, a raised area occupied only by clergy. The chapter house, a popular feature of English cathedrals, was a chamber, typically octagonal, in which business was transacted. Small chapels, including the founder's chantry and the Lady Chapel (dedicated to the Virgin Mary) were often added. Many cathedrals of the Île-de-France region were remodeled to embody a chevet, or arc of radiating chapels, on the eastern wall, a feature reflected in England in Westminster Abbey and Canterbury Cathedral.

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Cathedral of the Church of England in London. The present building is a domed church of great openness designed in a restrained style that combines elements of Neoclassical, Gothic, and Baroque architecture. It was designed by Christopher Wren and constructed (1675–1710) of Portland stone. The building replaced Old St. Paul's, destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666. The interior is characterized by ironwork and woodcarving by master craftsworkers. The majestic dome, set on a colonnaded drum, rises 365 ft (111 m). The superbly detailed cathedral that Wren built bears only a slight resemblance to the Classical-Gothic design that had been accepted; why this is so remains a mystery.

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