A cathedral is also known as a bishop’s church. If you’re sitting in one of the many church chairs, look around the place and see if you can find a bishop’s throne. A cathedral should have a bishop’s chair, known as a cathedra. It usually looks like pulpit chairs, except bigger with a luxurious appearance. It represents a bishop’s role as the chief shepherd of the diocese. On every occasion the bishop pontificates, the steps to the cathedra are to be carpeted and the canopy as well as the throne are to be decorated with expensive adornments. They may often have the best folding tables and chairs as well.
A cathedral’s official name in the Latin Church is ecclesia episcopalis; this indicates that it houses a cathedra of an ordinary bishop and if it is a seat of an archibishop, it is called ecclesiae archiepiscopalis. Depending upon the rank of the clergyman who owns the throne, the church will be titled accordingly. A Cardinal’s church will indicate that it is run by one. In the Byzantine Catholic Church, there is no specific word for cathedral, but it is simply called a “great church.” Many names are given to cathedrals in the various countries of the Latin Church. In Italy, it is known as “il duomo” and in Germany the cathedral is either called “Münster” or “der Dom”.
When a diocese becomes large enough, new cathedrals are established. Most cathedrals have been around for centuries, but if the Holy See sees the need for it to be partitioned, a new diocese is formed. An example of this is the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania diocese when it created the Greensburg diocese on March 10, 1951 from parishes belonging to the Pittsburgh diocese. The official name of a new diocese is called canonical erection. In the United States, the man who to be named bishop of the new diocese selects the church in the selected city to be his church, therefore including the seat of his cathedra. According to canon law, a cathedral should be consecrated according to the Roman rituals, unlike the church which can just be blessed.
The grandeur or size of a church does not qualify it to be a cathedral contrary to what many people think, although it has to be big enough to accommodate a large gathering ofbelievers. A church becomes a cathedral because it was erected canonically by the Holy See and the bishop of the diocese has his cathedra in it. It is customary for the finest church in the city to be designated as a cathedral.