Church

a term applied to a body of religious believers; also to the buildings in which worship is held. The twelve largest church edifices in the world are as follows: Milan cathedral, with seating or standing capacity for 37,000; St. Peter's, 32,000; St. Paul's, 25,600; San Petronio, Bologna, the Florence cathedral, and the Antwerp cathedral, about 24,000 apiece; St. Sophia, Constantinople, 23,-000; St. John Lateran, Rome, 22,900; Notre Dame, Paris, 21,000; Pisa cathedral, 13,000; the cathedral of the City of Mexico, the cathedral of Notre Dame in Montreal, and St. Stephen, Vienna, 12,400. With the exception of St. Paul's which belongs to the Church of England, and St. Sophia, which belongs to the Greek Church, these edifices are all Roman Catholic churches. See Cathedral; Basilica; Temple