en.wikipedia.org
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A
temple (from the
Latin word
templum) is a building reserved for
religious or spiritual rituals and activities such as
prayer and
sacrifice.
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The word
temple is used frequently in the tradition of
Eastern Christianity; particularly the
Eastern Orthodox Church, where the principal words used for houses of worship are
temple and
church. The use of the word
temple comes from the need to distinguish
a building of the church vs.
the church seen as the Body of Christ. In the
Russian language (similar to other
Slavic languages), while the general-purpose word for "church" is
tserkov, the term
khram (Храм), "temple", is used to refer to the church building as a temple of
God (
Khram Bozhy). The words "church" and "temple", in this case are interchangeable; however, the term "church" (
Ancient Greek: ἐκκλησία) is far more common. The term
temple (
Ancient Greek: ναός) is also commonly applied to larger churches. Some famous churches which are referred to as temples include the
Hagia Sophia,
Saint Basil's Cathedral, the
Cathedral of Christ the Saviour and the
Temple of Saint Sava in
Belgrade,
Serbia.
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