Cathedral

   The word "cathedral," derived from the Greek word cathedra, meaning a seat, is the name given to the Church where the Bishop's seat or throne is. As such, it is the chief church in the Diocese and the centre of the Bishop's work. Around it are gathered the educational and charitable institutions of the Diocese. It is the centre of Diocesan activities and of the mission work carried on by the Cathedral clergy under the direction of the Bishop. Of the Cathedral as an institution a recent writer has said: "It must be granted that a Cathedral in its origin was nothing more than a missionary creation, where the Bishop of a partly unevangelized country placed his seat with his council of clergy grouped around him, whose duty was to go forth into the surrounding districts with the message of the Gospel, to plant smaller churches which should be subordinate or parochial centres, and to return again periodically to the Diocesan church as headquarters, for the counsel, direction and inspiration of their chief."

   See Diocese.