Sacred building
Sacred buildings (from the Latin sacer , 'holy') are buildings that are used for sacred , ritual or cultic acts such as church services or sacrifices by religious communities. Sacred buildings are interpreted as the presence of a higher power and are therefore colloquially referred to as places of worship.
The term sacred building comes from the cultural and art sciences and serves as a demarcation to the secular building , a building for secular tasks. The term cult place (cult place) also exists, in particular for structures and places from prehistory or prehistory . A common name for sacred buildings of many religions, partly also Christian churches, is " temple ". There are also numerous more or less free-standing structures ( shrines , altars ) and monuments that were erected for religious reasons. Tombs and grave structures form a special type of sacred buildings.
There is a multitude of different sacred buildings, some examples from the literal religious cultures are:
- In Buddhism , the pagoda , stupa or chorten is a symbol for Buddha.
- The Judaism knows to 70 the Jerusalem temple and since the Hellenistic period the synagogue , since the reform movement also called of the 19th century "temple".
- In Christianity , churches and chapels should be mentioned above all . Free churches occasionally also use the term prayer house , often also a community hall or community center .
- For Islam , the sacred buildings where believers come together for prayer are mosques . Members of Sufi -Bruderschaften also gather at a Tekke . The Islamic mausoleums include Qubba and Türbe .
- Fire temple in Zoroastrianism .
- The Baha'i build houses of worship and shrines (sacred tombs).
- Hindu temple in Hinduism
- In ancient Egypt , in addition to temples, the Egyptian pyramids and tents of God are to be understood as sacred buildings in addition to their function as tombs.
- The same applies to the ziggurat in Mesopotamia .
In general, in the history of architecture and religion of various religions (Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism ), monasteries are also considered sacred buildings.
See also
literature
- Wilfried Koch : Architectural Style - European Architecture from Antiquity to the Present . 27th edition 2006, ISBN 978-3-577-10089-2
- Phyllis Richardson: New Sacred Architecture: Churches and Synagogues, Temples and Mosques . Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 978-3-421-03494-6
- Rudolf Stegers: Draft Atlas of Sacred Buildings . Basel 2008, ISBN 978-3-7643-6684-1
- Rudolf Stegers: Bibliography Sacred Buildings: Churches, Synagogues, Mosques, Houses of Silence, Cemetery Buildings. 1970-2009 . Volume 53 of Aesthetics - Theology - Liturgy, Münster 2011, ISBN 978-3-643-10517-2
