I'm not a religionist so the actual definitions are a bit of a mystery to me.
I'd always thought that the term 'chapel' had two meanings:
1) A quiet, private place of remembrance and meditation, typically an adjunct to a church or a room in a hospital or ship, say.
2) A small, one-roomed church.
I'd like to use the second definition in a story but I can't find convincing corroboration on teh interweb.
I'd appreciate corrections.
Thanks,
AJ
I believe a chapel is a place to pray but, by itself, doesn't have a pastor or regular congregation so it's not a church.
But I'm not Christian so what do I know.
I believe you have the right of it.
A chapel is a place designated for religious observance. It can be a building, a room or even a covered patio. Every ship I served on had a chapel that was used for Christians, Jews or any other religious group that wished a place to pray, worship or contemplate their belly buttons.
Most Christian Denominations consider the congregation to be the Church. While most refer to the building as this church or that church in actuality it is the building that holds the 'Church' within. Some do go to lengths to separate the name 'church' from the building.
I believe a chapel is a place to pray but, by itself, doesn't have a pastor or regular congregation so it's not a church.
Generally, a 'chapel' is a non-denominational place of reverence (i.e. open to anyone, regardless of faith), though it's also the name for the specific part of a church (i.e. generally restricted to the followers of the church).
P.S. My father was a U.S. Navy Chaplain, who would often deal with whoever needed counseling, and I spent many Sunday afternoon playing in the 'convertible' chapels sneaking between the Christian and Jewish sides while my father was working with individual parishioners.
Also, since most military personal are so young, and often fall in love with local women while overseas, their 'religious' preference isn't yet set, and is often in flux (ex: 'fox-hole' conversions).
As I understand it, a Church relates more to an organization than a specific edifice.
2) A small, one-roomed church.
Typically a VERY small, one-roomed church.
There used to be more of them, called Roadside Chapels, so that travelers could stop and worship. The word church and chapel could then be used effectively interchangeably, simply depending upon who named the location in the first place.
You might find this source interesting as it's actually a religious source.
https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03574b.htm
The way I've mostly understood the term (I was raised Lutheran) a chapel is a subset of a church.
It is the big room in which the congregation gathers for worship.
The church as a whole includes an office for the priest/pastor, possibly a residence for the same, spaces for non-worship gatherings (such as a meal/snacks before/after the service), a changing room for the officiants, and a changing room for the choir.
A very large church might contain several chapels.
A very small church might be just a chapel without all the other stuff. Such might be referred to as a church or as just a chapel, mostly depending on who named it.
A room in a private residence or a larger non-church institution (such as a university) that is set aside for prayer/worship would also be called a chapel.
The meaning of chapel has varied over the centuries, so the exact meaning needs a time frame to be sure. However, a very good basic definition is: A chapel is a place for quiet prayer and meditation that does not have a dedicated priest or minister of religion attached to it on a full-time basis and is infrequently used for the delivery of a sermon.
Way back when of over a thousand years ago rich people like a manor lord had a chapel built into their manor or castle where they retired for quiet personal prayer on a daily basis and about once a month or every other week the local priest or minister of religion would visit and hold a service in the chapel just for the family and their live-in retainers, usually no sermon was given at that time. There was a parish church within a reasonable travel distance where the usual daily and weekly services were held and the general population and the rich people went for their usual services.
At one time the term chapel was used for the place where the religious services were held within monasteries and other religious establishments where a large number of brothers or sisters who lived. Often these chapels were barred to the local public members who were supposed to attend the local parish church, but they usually allowed travelers who were staying in the monastery etc. to participate in the services in the chapel.
Today, chapel is usually used to refer to a part of a major church (most often a cathedral) that is put aside for specific activities.
The iconic place of worship at the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado is called the "Cadet Chapel" rather than the "Cadet Church," likely because it accommodates many religions.
US Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel
Thank you to everyone who replied, especially those who included links.
For the sake of global comprehension, I'd better use 'small church' rather than 'chapel'.
Something some of my relatives from Yorkshire used to say came back to me - "We're not church, we're chapel." I think it has something to do with the different branches of Christianity, but I have no idea what it means.
AJ
Some in UK use Church to refer to the major denominations (e.g. Roman Catholic, Church of England) and chapel to refer to independent non-denominational establishments.
I attended a chapel of the Bristol City Mission for a couple of years where some of the older members said "we're chapel not church". And we had a full-time paid pastor. I think usage would be similar in Wales.
In England and Wales the parish had a central church. The parish could also have chapels, which were created when travel to the church before modern transportation and people had to walk miles for services. That also applied to Roman Catholic parishes.
Meanwhile the non-conformist congregations, e.g. Baptist, Methodist, etc, would meet for worship in a Chapel.
The building is there for the use of the church, that is the people.
I think usage would be similar in Wales.
Yes, and the service in chapel would typically be conducted in welsh.
Church v Chapel
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Actually, I think the biggest difference between Church and Chapel is that one is a singer, while the other is a nurse.
Eric Church
Christine Chapel
In modern context, the Chapel is located in the Church.
So you can have Chapel without a larger church surrounding it. But you are unlikely to have a Church building if it lacks a Chapel.
In some respects, it almost compared to boat vs ship.
In some respects, it almost compared to boat vs ship.
I was looking at a site on the difference between boat, ship and yacht.
https://www.princess.co.uk/2018/09/what-is-a-yacht/
A ship is larger than a yacht, and the term is usually used to describe a working craft rather than something recreational. A ship needs a full crew, whereas a yacht doesn't always, and a boat rarely does. A boat can be anything from a basic rowing boat upwards, and plenty of captains affectionately call their ship a 'boat', no matter how large or small it happens to be. In fact many people call any floating object more complex than a raft a 'boat', which means it's often more of a cover-all term for something that floats than a specific definition for a type or style of craft.
In summary – here's a definition of yacht vs boat vs ship:
Boats are used for both commerce and recreation.
Yachts tend to be built for fun.
Boats are smaller than ships.
Yachts can be any size.
Ships are large, take to the seas, and are usually commercial.
Both boats and yachts can have either motors or sails.
Boats are smaller than ships.
Not necessarily. There are quite a number of boats that range from 362 feet to 560 feet long and 6,000 to 18,000 tons displacement that are neither ships nor yachts. They're boats, always.
They also need full crews, typically around 130 or so.
Oh, and to these boats, everything else that floats is classified not as a ship, a boat, or a yacht, but as a target.
Oh, and to these boats, everything else that floats is classified not as a ship, a boat, or a yacht, but as a target.
You are talking about submarines, aren't you?
During World War I two unarmed merchant submarines were built and operated: Deutschland and Bremen.
Merchant submarines
HM.
the Chapel is located in the Church.
They are. But chapels are also located in other places, like hospitals. There's one in the UN.
But chapels are also located in other places, like hospitals. There's one in the UN.
Since you brought up the subject of crooks, I believe prisons have chapels too.
'Chapel' is a not uncommon component of English place names eg Whitechapel, Chapeltown.
AJ
They are. But chapels are also located in other places, like hospitals. There's one in the UN.
I'm pretty sure that was covered with:
So you can have Chapel without a larger church surrounding it. But you are unlikely to have a Church building if it lacks a Chapel.
I'm pretty sure that was covered with:
So you can have Chapel without a larger church surrounding it. But you are unlikely to have a Church building if it lacks a Chapel.
The point is, a chapel isn't a church. It doesn't even have to be part of a church, but a church can have one. It's a place to pray, to meditate.
But like a ballroom, it can be used for something that would normally be done in a church. Back in the 1970s, my friends got married in the UN chapel. He was Jewish and she was Catholic. At the time, that wasn't as common as it is nowadays. So they rented out the UN chapel and brought their own people to perform the service. The biggest problem was the door kept opening during the cremony by tourists. By the way, President Biden also got married in the UN chapel (his second marriage).
The point is, a chapel isn't a church. It doesn't even have to be part of a church, but a church can have one. It's a place to pray, to meditate.
A church in the sense of the physical structure can't exist without a chapel. Technically the big room with the alter, pulpit and all the pews is a chapel. Without at least one chapel it isn't a church.
Technically the big room with the alter, pulpit and all the pews is a chapel.
From what I read googling it, the chapel is a room (or small building) attached to the church. I guess the Sistine Chapel is a chapel. Is that the church at the Vatican or is there a church and the chapel?
The point is, a chapel isn't a church. It doesn't even have to be part of a church, but a church can have one. It's a place to pray, to meditate.
And as I said, it was covered with "you can have a chapel without a larger church surrounding it"
But a Church is almost always going to have a Chapel inside of it for use as a place of worship.
You can find chapels in other locations without a church attached to it, especially in locations like a hospital, church or other venue that seeks to be "non-denominational" but once again, those scenarios fall back to "Chapel without a church attached."
Six in one hand, half-dozen in the other. You can be as pedantic as you want about it, but the thing you're picking nits over was already covered, just not in explicit detail.
There are several definitions of chap.
"chap1
/CHap/
Learn to pronounce
verb
(of the skin) become cracked, rough, or sore, especially through exposure to wind or cold weather.
"his skin is very dry and chaps easily"
Similar:
become raw
become sore
redden
become inflamed
chafe
crack
roughen
noun
a cracked or sore patch on the skin.
Definitions from Oxford Languages"
So a chap L could be an L shaped chap.
An English (British) definition: "A chap is a man or boy. [mainly British, informal] "I am a very lucky chap." I don't think that kind of chap is L shaped.
Chaps are riding gear for the feet. I suppose they could be L shaped, or made of Leather to be chap L.
There is a song
"Chapel Song
We Are Augustines
There goes my girl, into the chapel
Now she's walking down the aisle
And it feels just like a mile
And I shake, shake, shake like a leaf
And I'm lying, lying, lying through my teeth
I got a pocketful of hand shakes
And It don't mean nothing".
The meaning of the lyrics are under some dispute. One thory is that the singer is a former lover of the bride who is marrying someone else.
None of these definitions of chap L have much to do with religion.
An English (British) definition: "A chap is a man or boy. [mainly British, informal]
Nowadays it quite often includes the distaff side too, so greeting a mixed bunch one might say, "Hi Guys," or "Hi Chaps."
AJ
Nowadays it quite often includes the distaff side too
I've heard it used in a purely distaff situation - and that was about 30 years ago
Chaps are riding gear for the feet.
Chaps are riding gear, but not for the feet - they are individual-leg protective overtrousers; there are half-chaps protecting just the lower leg, and it seems some manufacturers have started calling long-legged riding boots 'half-chaps', which is probably where your confusion arises.