List of largest church buildings

St. Peter's Basilica, the largest church in the world.

This article lists the largest church buildings as measured by various criteria.

Scope

The term church is open to interpretation and debate. In this article, it means any building that was built for the primary purpose of weekly public Christian worship. The list does include at least one building—the Hagia Sophia—that was originally a church but later became a mosque and is now a museum. The list does not include some buildings from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Two of their buildings are significantly larger than any buildings on the list - the Conference Center in Salt Lake City is 130,000 square meters and the Salt Lake Temple is over 23,500 square meters. However neither of those buildings are used for public worship weekly. They also have scores of other temples that are large enough to be included, but are similarly not used for public worship, which are found at List of temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Measurements

Whilst claims are made about the relative size of churches many of these claims are not easily substantiated. "Largest" is at best a vague term, which is often not qualified by claimants. Accepted measures of largeness could include area, volume, length, width, height, and/or capacity, although the last is far more subjective. It is important to note therefore that churches may claim to be "the largest" based on only one of these measurements; and thus that there may be several churches that have claims to be "the largest church". Since there is no official body governing these claims, there is no generally accepted criterion for being "the largest church".

The list below attempts to rank churches by different (more-or-less) objective criteria, and thus may generate different orders depending on the measure used. Churches for which claims are made but dimensions cannot be found are not included on the below lists.

For length, width and height, there is usually a definitive statistic for each church, which can easily be compared. However, for area and volume, the situation is often more complex. It is often possible to find multiple values quoted for the area/volume of a church in references. Many values appear to be estimates or approximations (especially for volume), or may have been calculated by multiplying lengths, widths and heights. In the latter case, the exact dimensions used (internal vs. external, etc.) may give very different figures. Therefore, although area and volume are the most common 'largeness' measures, they are also apt to be the least reliable. This should be borne in mind when comparing church sizes.

Area (m²)Gross volume (m³)NameBuiltCity CountryDenominationComment
15,160 (interior)[1][2]
21,095 (exterior)[1]		5,000,000[3]St. Peter's Basilica1506–1626Vatican City   Vatican CityCatholic (Latin)Area can be verified on a plan printed as 205% size in 1:1000 scale to match a 41.47 m dome internal diameter
12,0001,200,000[4] Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida1955–80 Aparecida  BrazilCatholic (Latin)Church dimensions 173×168 m yielding a maximum area of 29,000 m²[5]
11,520[6] (It may be larger, the size remains a subject of debate) 500,000 +Seville Cathedral1401–1528Seville  SpainCatholic (Latin)According to UNESCO, the largest Gothic cathedral[7]

Burial site of Christopher Columbus[8]

11,700 (interior) [9]440,000 [10]Milan Cathedral1386–1965Milan  ItalyCatholic (Ambrosian Rite)One of the largest Gothic cathedral in the world
11,200[3]480,000[11]Cathedral of Saint John the Divine1892–presentNew York City  United StatesAnglican (Episcopal Church in the U.S.)Unfinished, lacking transepts among other components
10,090300,000[12]Basilica of Our Lady of Licheń1994–2004 Licheń Stary  PolandCatholic (Latin)9,240 m²[12] or 10,090 m²
9,687[13]450,000 +Liverpool Cathedral1904–78Liverpool  United KingdomAnglican (Church of England)
8,700[14]130,000 Church of the Most Holy Trinity2004-07 Fátima  PortugalCatholic (Latin)Area given as 12,000m²[4]
8,515Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the WallsIV–1823Rome  ItalyCatholic (Latin)One nave & four aisles by 80 columns
8,318[15]Basilica-Cathedral of Our Lady of the Pillar1681–1872Zaragoza  SpainCatholic (Latin)
8,300Florence Cathedral1296–1436Florence  ItalyCatholic (Latin)Largest brick and mortar dome in the world
8,260 (6,029 interior)190,000Ulm Minster1377–1890Ulm  GermanyLutheranWorld's tallest and one of the largest brick churches
8,000Basilica of the Sacred Heart1905–70Koekelberg (Brussels)  BelgiumCatholic (Latin)
8,167Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe1974–76Mexico City  MexicoCatholic (Latin)Circular base of 102 m in diameter[16]
8,000[17]Cathedral of Our Lady1352–1521Antwerp  BelgiumCatholic (Latin)
8,000Rio de Janeiro Cathedral1964-76Rio de Janeiro  BrazilCatholic (Latin)External diameter is 106 meters
7,989 (interior)
30,000 (exterior)[18]		Basilica of Our Lady of Peace1985–89 Yamoussoukro  Ivory CoastCatholic (Latin)The enclosed area approximately 8,000 m²[19]
7,960255,800 [20]Hagia Sophia532–537Istanbul  TurkeyOrthodox (Ecumenical Patriarchate)Was the largest church in the world for a millennium, now a museum.
7,920258,000 San Petronio Basilica[21] 1390–1479Bologna ItalyCatholic (Latin)World's largest Gothic brick church
7,914407,000[22]Cologne Cathedral1248–1880Cologne  GermanyCatholic (Latin)Gross volume without buttresses
7,875[2]St Paul's Cathedral1677–1708London  United KingdomAnglican (Church of England)
7,712[23]Washington National Cathedral1907–90Washington, DC  United StatesAnglican (Episcopal Church in the U.S.)
7,700[24]200,000 (interior only)Amiens Cathedral1220–70Amiens  FranceCatholic (Latin)Gross volume slightly below 400,000
7,700 Abbey of Santa Giustina 1501–1606[25]Padua ItalyCatholic (Latin)
7,097 (interior)
12,069 (exterior)[26]		Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception1919–61Washington, DC  United StatesCatholic (Latin)Completed Trinity Dome in 2017
7,000 (estimated)Calvary Temple2012[27]Hyderabad, India IndiaCalvary Temple
6,968Cathedral of La Plata1884-1932La Plata  ArgentinaCatholic (Latin)Largest church in Argentina
6,825660,000Saint Joseph's Oratory1904–67Montreal  CanadaCatholic (Latin)Exterior dome rises 263 m above sea level; highest point in Montreal
6,732Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral1573-1813Mexico City  MexicoCatholic (Latin)
6,655160,000 (interior)Palma Cathedral1220-1346Palma, Majorca  SpainCatholic (Latin)With the largest rosette Gothic world
6,650Reims Cathedral1211–75Reims  FranceCatholic (Latin)The longest church in France; 149.17 m
6,044Strasbourg Cathedral1015–1439Strasbourg  FranceCatholic (Latin)World's tallest building 1647-1874
6,038Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels1998–2002Los Angeles  United StatesCatholic (Latin)
6,020[28]43,300De Hoeksteen, Barneveld2007–08Barneveld  NetherlandsCalvinist
6,000Padre Pio Pilgrimage Church1991-2004San Giovanni Rotondo  ItalyCatholic (Latin)Vaulted church holding 6,500 seats
5,900Bourges Cathedral1195-1230Bourges  FranceCatholic (Latin)
5,660Esztergom Basilica1822–69Esztergom  HungaryCatholic (Latin)World's largest altarpiece painting on a single canvas
5,500Notre Dame de Paris1163–1345Paris  FranceCatholic (Latin)
5,400Sagrada Familia1882–presentBarcelona  SpainCatholic (Latin)Will be the tallest church in the world when finished (172,5m)
5,300São Paulo Cathedral1913-1954São Paulo  BrazilCatholic (Latin)Capacity for 8,000 people
5,300Primate Cathedral of Bogotá1807-23Bogotá  ColombiaCatholic (Latin)
5,240Cathedral of Christ the Saviour1839–83Moscow  RussiaOrthodox (Moscow Patriarchate)Rebuilt during 1995-2000
5,200Chartres Cathedral1145-1220Chartres  FranceCatholic (Latin)Ground area 10,875 square meters
5,170New Cathedral, Linz1862–1924Linz  AustriaCatholic (Latin)
5,038[29]Provo ward conference center2012Provo, Utah United StatesThe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints[30]
5,017Westminster Cathedral1895–1910London  United KingdomCatholic (Latin)
5,000185,000–190,000St. Mary's Church[31]1343–1502Gdańsk PolandCatholic (Latin)One of the largest Gothic brick churches north of the Alps
5,000137,000Holy Trinity Cathedral1995–2004Tbilisi  GeorgiaOrthodox (Patriarchate of Georgia)Description see[32]
4,968[33]Winchester Cathedral1079–1525Winchester  United KingdomAnglican (Church of England)The longest Gothic Cathedral in Europe.
4,800Dresden Cathedral1739-55Dresden  GermanyCatholic (Latin)Largest church in all of Saxony
4,500Basilica of St. Thérèse, Lisieux1929-54Lisieux  FranceCatholic (Latin)
4,320[34]Basilica de San Martin de Tours (Taal)1856–78Taal, Batangas  PhilippinesCatholic (Latin)
4,273[35]Ely Cathedral, Cambridgeshire1083–1375Ely  United KingdomAnglican (Church of England)Third-largest medieval Cathedral in the United Kingdom
4,188185,000–190,000[36]Frauenkirche 1468–1525Munich GermanyCatholic (Latin)One of the largest Gothic brick churches north of the Alps and the largest hall church
4,130Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis (St. Louis)1907-14St. Louis  United StatesCatholic (Latin)7,700 square meters, largest mosaic collection in the world
4,000Saint Isaac's Cathedral1818–58Saint Petersburg  RussiaOrthodox (Moscow Patriarchate)
4,000 (Estimated)Lincoln Cathedral1185-1311Lincoln, England United KingdomAnglican
3,822Saint Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral, Yerevan1997–2001Yerevan  ArmeniaArmenian Apostolic Church
3,500[37]170,000[37]Church of Saint Sava1935–89Belgrade  SerbiaOrthodox (Serbian Orthodox Church)The largest church in Southeastern Europe.
3,170[38]Alexander Nevsky Cathedral1882–1912Sofia  BulgariaOrthodox (Patriarchate of Bulgaria)
2,972Westminster Abbey960-18cLondon  United KingdomAnglican (Church of England)
2,800[39]Medak Cathedral1914–26Medak  IndiaAnglican (Church of South India)
2,500[40] [41]Nashville Stake Center2015Nashville, Tennessee United StatesThe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
2,322Roskilde Cathedral1170-1985Roskilde DenmarkLutheran (Church of Denmark)
2,300Our Lady of Dolours Syro-Malabar Catholic Basilica1929-2005Our Lady of Dolours Syro-Malabar Catholic Basilica  IndiaCatholic (East Syriac Rite)It has the 3rd tallest tower in Asia
2,13564,040[42]Basilica of St. John the Baptist1839–55St. John's  CanadaCatholic (Latin)The largest church in eastern Canada
2,025Myeongdong Cathedral1892-1898Seoul  KoreaCatholic (Latin)In 1898, largest building in Seoul
1,76032,162[43]All Saints Cathedral, Halifax1907–10Halifax  CanadaAnglican (Church of Canada)The largest Anglican cathedral church in Canada

By height

By length

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "St. Peter's - The Nave". Saintpetersbasilica.org. Archived from the original on 16 July 2012. Retrieved 2012-09-05.
  2. 1 2  Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Basilica of St. Peter". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  3. 1 2 Ellis, Edward Robb (21 December 2004). The Epic of New York City: A Narrative History. Basic Books. p. 413. ISBN 978-0786714360. (Subscription required (help)).
  4. 1 2 "Faith". The Times. 13 March 2012. Archived from the original on 30 August 2008. Retrieved 2012-09-05.
  5. ↑ "Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida". Structurae. Retrieved 2015-06-08.
  6. ↑ Quintero, Josephine. "Seville Cathedral, The City of Seville main sights, Andalucia, Southern Spain". Andalucia.com. Retrieved 2012-09-05.
  7. ↑ http://www.catedraldesevilla.es/la-catedral/patrimonio-de-la-humanidad/. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. ↑ "Seville Cathedral". seville-traveller.com. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
  9. ↑ "I NUMERI DEL DUOMO DI MILANO - Duomo Patrons Italiano". www.duomopatrons.org.
  10. ↑ http://www.ticketone.it, TICKETONE. "Duomo di Milano". Duomo di Milano - Biglietti.
  11. ↑ Ellis, Edward Robb Edgewood Apartments p. 413
  12. 1 2 9,240 m² of Lichen Basilica: enclosed main floor includes transept and apse at 290 m², enclosed tower floor at 560 m², open tower and gallery floor at 23,000 m² (which excludes the porticos at 530 m²), total area includes all floors"Sanktuarium Maryjne w Licheniu". Lichen.pl. Retrieved 2012-09-05.
  13. ↑ "Cathedral". Liverpool Cathedral. Retrieved 2012-09-05.
  14. ↑ Carvalho, António P. O.; Freitas, Diamantino (10 July 2003). "The New Megachurch For The Sanctuary Of Fátima" (PDF). Tenth International Congress on Sound and Vibration. Stockholm: University of Porto. Retrieved 2015-05-29.
  15. ↑ "La Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar" (in Spanish). Goya.unizar.es. Retrieved 2012-09-05.
  16. ↑ "Basílica de Guadalupe | Santuario". Virgendeguadalupe.org.mx. Retrieved 2012-09-05.
  17. ↑ "Art & Architecture: Facts and Figures". Dekathedraal.be. Retrieved 2015-05-29.
  18. ↑ "The world's most extreme structures". The Guardian. 17 June 2004. Retrieved 2015-05-29.
  19. ↑ "Basilica of Our Lady of Peace Yamoussoukro". Emporis: Buildings. Retrieved 2012-09-05.
  20. ↑ Wieslaw Woszczyk (27 January 2014). "Aural Architecture: Music, Acoustics, and Ritual" (PDF). Onassis Seminar on music acoustics and ritual. Stanford University. Retrieved 2015-05-29.
  21. ↑ data from http://www.bolognawelcome.com, Basilica di San Petronio plus calculations as follows:
    • San Petronio de Bologna: The footplan of the building is a simple rectangle
      • Area = length of the building x width of the building = 132 m x 60 m
    • The volume, without the roofs, can be calculated as a sum of five cuboids, one single (the central nave) and two pairs (the aisles and the files of chapels). The sum each of the pairs can be calculated as one cuboid of double width. Knowing the height of the central nave and the width of the building, the measures of the sections can be calculated by measuring an orthograde photo of the facade.
      • Volume = (traverse section of the central nave [width = 22 m, height = 44.27 m] + sum of the traverse sections of the two aisles [width = 20 m, height = 29.06 m] + sum of the traverse sections of the two files of chapels [width = 18 m, height = 22.38 m]) x length of the building [132 m]
      • (973.94 + 581.2 + 402.84) x 132 = 1,957.98 x 132 = 258,453.36
  22. ↑ "The Cathedral's dimensions". Dierk's page. 7 January 2015. Retrieved 2015-05-29.
  23. ↑ "Architectural History". Washington National Cathedral. Retrieved 2015-05-29.
  24. ↑ Structurae. "Structurae - International Database and Gallery of Structures". En.structurae.de. Retrieved 2012-09-05.
  25. ↑ "D Padova - Basilica e Abbazia di Santa Giustina". www.dpadova.com.
  26. ↑ "Histsory: Architecture". National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Retrieved 2015-06-08.
  27. ↑ http://www.calvarytemple.in/about/
  28. ↑ "GGiN Barneveld - Van Beijnum Architecten". www.vanbeijnumarch.nl.
  29. ↑ https://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/central/provo/byu--ward-conference-center-ready-for-fall/article_427c93fb-34d3-5229-a254-f5af1f3fbee0.html
  30. ↑ https://www.deseretnews.com/article/700126843/New-LDS-Church-facility-in-Provo-to-house-48-wards-4-stakes.html
  31. ↑ http://structurae.net/structures/saint-marys-church give 155,000 only, excluding roofs and turrets, without telllng that
  32. ↑ Description of Tblisi Cathedral: The overall area of the cathedral, including its large narthex, is 5,000 square meters and the volume it occupies is 137,000 cubic meters. The interior of the church measures 56 metres by 44 metres, with an interior area of 2,380 square metres. The height of the cathedral from the ground to the top of the cross is 105,5 metres. The underground chapel occupies 35,550 cubic metres. The height is 13 metres.
  33. ↑ Sergeant, Philip W. (1899). Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Winchester. London: George Bell & Sons.
  34. ↑ Basilica de San Martin de Tours (Taal)
  35. ↑ "Facts & Figures". Ely Cathedral. Retrieved 2015-05-29.
  36. ↑ "Volumen (Kubatur) der Münchener Frauenkirche". www.gebaut.eu.
  37. 1 2 "Димензије и архитектонске карактеристике Храм Светог Саве гатара" [Dimensions and Architectural Features] (in Serbian). Hram Svetog Save. Retrieved 2015-05-29.
  38. ↑ "I love early morning Sofia". Archived from the original on 30 March 2010. The church occupies an area of 3170 m² and can accommodate up to 5,000 worshippers inside, which makes it the second biggest cathedral on the Balkan Peninsula after the Temple of Saint Sava in Serbia.
  39. ↑ "Welcome to Medak Diocese | Church of South India". Csimedakdiocese.in. Retrieved 2012-09-05.
  40. ↑ https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/williamson/2015/01/02/church-jesus-christ-latter-day-saints-expands-reach/21105409/
  41. ↑ https://brentwoodhomepage.com/new-mormon-stake-center-opens-on-sunset-road/
  42. ↑ "Geology of the Catholic Basilica of St. John the Baptist, St. John's, Newfoundland" (PDF). Geoscience Canada. Geological Association of Canada. 31 (1): 1–10. March 2004. Retrieved 2015-05-29.
  43. ↑ "Welcome". Cathedral Church of All Saints. Retrieved 2015-05-29.
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