The term basilica comes from Latin and the Romans began to popularize it, who, in turn, adopted it from the Greek (for the Greeks, the basilica was the rectangular room in which the throne of kings was located).
With the assimilation of Christianity to Roman civilization, the term basilica ceased to be used in the civil sphere and acquired its current meaning as a religious building (Roman basilicas were intended for commercial activity or as a courtroom).
From the outset, the use of the word basilica presents a difficulty, since there is no exact and precise definition of this type of religious buildings intended for worship. In this way, it is easy to establish a certain confusion between this term and other similar ones, for example, cathedral, church, sanctuary or hermitage. All of them fulfill the same function and are not mutually exclusive, since their denomination depends on the official consideration determined by the religious authority (in the case of the Catholic Church, it would be the Holy See).
General characteristics of the basilicas
From an architectural, religious and historical point of view, the basilica presents a series of features:
– The plan of the basilica has a parallelogram shape, presenting a portico at one end and an apse at the other.
– It has a central corridor that is accompanied by columns on both sides, with the roof of the main nave being larger than the adjacent naves.
– The denomination of a church as a basilica depends on the historical and spiritual value that is given to a church and as a general criterion in most cases each basilica has a holy door, which is only used on special occasions.
– According to the tradition of the Holy See, when a church receives the title of basilica there must be signs or insignia that are visible in the temple and that accredit this distinction (there are three insignia: a colored umbrella known as a basilica umbrella, an image of the employer or tintinábulo and the coat of arms).
– In the terminology proper to the Catholic Church, a distinction is made about these buildings: the major basilicas, which are four and are located in the city of Rome (San Pedro, San Juan de Laterano, Santa María la Mayor, and that of San Pablo) and, on the other hand, the rest of them (also known as minor basilicas).
– All basilicas tend to have a symbolic and historical dimension (this is what happens with the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem, built in the 4th century AD in the place where Jesus Christ is believed to have been born).
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