It was a Sunday morning and Rohan was looking at the people going to the nearby church.
Rohan went to his mother and said “Mom, May I go to the cathedral around the corner?”
Mrs. Sharma replied “Sure, We will go together. But it is not a cathedral, it’s a church”
Rohan asked “What’s the difference?”
Difference between Church and Cathedral
Mrs. Sharma said “I will explain. Not now Rohan, I will explain in a while. Sorry”
Rohan “That’s alright”. Rohan thought to himself that he will ask Sir Dig-A-Lot. “He must surely know”, he thought to himself.
Sir Dig-A-Lot visited in the night as usual and Rohan asked him what a cathedral was.
Sir dig-A-Lot began to explain “A cathedral literally means seat or bench, it is derived from Latin and Greek words. It is often loosely used instead of a church but it actually is different. It refers to the presence of the bishop’s or archbishop’s chair or throne. In the ancient world, the chair was symbolic to a teacher or a Guru as we know it, and thus of the bishop’s role as teacher. It also meant that the bishop could officially behave as a magistrate to maintain order in dioscese or a district.”
“The difference between a church and a cathedral is simply that a cathedral is a church that also has the seat of the bishop. Normally it is the main church of the district. It is generally the largest and the most beautiful church of a place. People often get confused between the two, but the differences are stark as I have explained to you.”
Rohan “Give me an example of a cathedral. I know the place down the street is a church”
Sir Dig-A-Lot replied “All Saints cathedral, is one of the most important cathedrals in India. It is in Allahabad. It’s also called the ‘Patthar
Girja’. The st. Thomas cathedral is a famous cathedral in your city, Mumbai. Anything else Rohan?”
“Thank you! I will now tell my mother all about a cathedral” Rohan said with a smile.
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