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Show CATHEDRALS. j The word cathedral is derived from the Latin word cathedra, which means a chair, and is so called because in the cathedral is erected the episcopal J throne, which is located on one side of die hir. usually the pospel side. The j chair of St. Peter in Rome has a spe- I cial attraction for all visitors there, being be-ing the one in which, St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles, sat. It is enclosed in a bronze c overing. In every diocese the principal church is designated as the cathedral, being the one especially set apart for the bishop, and in which is placed -his throne or cathedra, from whir h as judge he rules and directs that part of the faithful committed to his charge by the Roman Pontiff. The cathedral of the Roman Pontiff is termed the Holy See, because from that I throne he rules all other churches in communion with Rome, whereas other bishops rul over their, own dioceses, following the injunction of the Savior to his Apostles, the first bishops: "I will give to you to sit on the twelve thrones judging twelve tribes of Israel." Is-rael." (Luke xxii., 30.) Peter, when selected as head of the apostolic college, chose Rome for his eternal diocese, and from the throne of its cathedral his successors have for twenty centuries ruled the universal church. When a new diocese which reflects the image of the universal Church is created, the newly consecrated conse-crated bishop selects in the city in which he is to reside one of the churches for his cathedral, or will build a suitable edifice for that purpose. Here is erected his spiritual throne, from which he judges that tribe of Israel Is-rael entrusted to his charge. His supervision su-pervision extends to all the parishes and faithful of his diocese, and he is bound to supply the spiritual wants of his people, should a pastor fail in Vis duty to do so. The relations of 'the bishop to the Catholic Church are ever the same. New parishes may spring up, or old ones become extinct; pastors may move away, a new diocese may be formed from a part of the old, but any such changes will not affect the bishop's bish-op's relations with the cathedral. His union with his see. like that of the Holy Father as Bishop of Rome, will always remain the same. In Rome, not the basilica of St. Pe-ler, Pe-ler, as supposed by many, but the church of St. John of Lateran, founded l.y constant ine, is the episcopal church ' ' . - .. ':. - - - ' ' ' or cathedral of the Pope. Over its chief Dortal is a Latin inscription, which, translated, means "Mother and head of all the churches of the city and of the world." Its chieiVltar covers another an-other ancient altar, at which St. Peter officiated. Here none but the Pope can offer up the adorable sacrifice of the mass. In splendor, beauty and grandeur gran-deur the Roman cathedral does not compare with the basilica of St. Peter. The site on which St. Peter stands dates back to the year 90, when Pope Anacletus, who is said to have been consecrated by St. Peter, erected an oratory there, being the spot in which the chief Apostle was laid to rest after his crucifixion. Constantine in the year 306 built a basilica on the same place. In 1450 the present St. Feter's was commenced com-menced by Pope Nicholas V. From its foundation till dedicated 175 years elapsed. Its dimensions from figures can hardly be realized. The length of the interior is 613Va feet; height of nave, 1522 feet: length or transept from wall to wall, 446'A feet; of side aisles, 33s; feet; side aisles, 47 feet: width of nave, 77.S9 feet: circumference circumfer-ence of pillars which support the dome, 253 feet. The cupola is 193 feet in diameter. di-ameter. The height of dome from the j pavement to the base of the lantern is 4D3 feet; to the top of the cross, 44S feet. In antiquity St. Peter's antedates all cathedrals; in magnitude none equals it. The present cathedral of Milan was commenced in 13S7. The ground pl-an is a Latin cross terminated by an apsis. Its dimensions are 4S6x252 feet; between the walls of the transept, 288 feet; height of the crown of the vaulting, 153 feet; from the pavement to the top of statue, 335 feet. The first cathedral was destroved by Attila in the fifth century. The second was injured by fire. The cathedral of Florence was commenced com-menced in 129S and completed in 1444. Its length is 500 feet; the transept. 306 feet; 'the nave, 153 feet high; the side aisles, 96 feet: the cupola, octagonal in form, is 13$Vi' feet in diameter, and in height from cornice of the drum to j the eye of the dome, 133 feet. Critics pronounce it 'the most beautiful of the Italian-Gothic style. Its dome was used as a model by Michael Angelo for St. Peter's. In our own times, and by the present generation, St. Patrick's cathedral of New York, built by our first cardinal, bespeaks the vitality of the Catholic church, its architectural design, which embraces beauty, grace and symmetry, brings the mind back to the past ages when people generously shared with the Almighty to build Him a suitable dwelling place. The new cathedral now in course of erection in Salt Lake, and of which the corner stone will be laid next Sunday, will ever stand as a monument to the generosity of ithose who made its erection erec-tion possible: whilst it will at the same time perpetuate the memory of the first Bishop of Salt Lake as a man of energy, en-ergy, devotion and zeal. This edifice stands at the corner of South Temple and B streets, west of the residence of Rt. Rev. L. Scanlan. The main building is 190 feet long on B street, 103 feet wide over the south bell towers, 74 feet over the main body and 100 feet wide over the transepts. The towers will be 220 feet high from the sidewalk and the ridge of the main roof 110 feet above the same level. There is a basement under the entire building fourteen feet high in the clear and the main fioor will contain, besides seats for 1,500 worshipers, large entrance en-trance vestibules, baptistry, stairs to a large choir gallery, a sanctuary Six 40 feet, with two devotional altars, two side vestibules, an ambulatory and two large vestries. The height from floor to apex of vaulting is sixty-five feet. The building will be approached by a magnificent double set of granite steps and terraces. The entire outside will be of gray sandstone while the interior construction, construc-tion, vaulting, etc., will be mostly of steel construction. The style of architecture, which is carefully carried through outside and inside, will be a late Romanesque of the eleventh century. |