For other uses, see Temple (disambiguation).

A temple (from the Latin word templum) is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A ‘’templum’’ constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word “ template,’’ a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out on the ground by the augur. Though a templum, technically speaking, is not a “house of the gods” but a diagram that for the Romans linked the geometries of heaven and earth, it was also indicative of a dwelling place of a god or gods. This tradition, of course, dates back to prehistoric times. For the ancient Egyptians, the word pr could refer not only to a house, but also to a sacred structure since it was believed that the gods resided in houses.^[1] The word ‘temple’ (which dates to about the 6th century BCE), despite the specific set of meanings associated with the religion of the ancient Rome, has now become quite widely used to describe a house of worship for any number of religions and is even used for time periods prior to the Romans. Stated differently, temple was once a species of sacred structures; today it is, in the English language, often used as a genus.

Ancient Near East

Main articles: É (temple) and Ziggurat

Jewish synagogues and temples

In Judaism, the ancient Hebrew texts refer not to temples, the word having not existed yet, but to a "sanctuary", "palace" or "hall". (The Jerusalem temples were called Beit Hamikdash, the Holy House). The Greek word synagogue became current during Hellenistic times and it (along with the Yiddish term shul) remained the convention until the middle of the nineteenth century when the word ‘temple’ began to be used, almost exclusively by the followers of Reform Judaism, as in Temple Emanu-El, or the Temple Beth-El. The word referred not to Roman temples, but to the Temple of Solomon. Orthodox Judaism considers this inappropriate as it does not consider synagogues a replacement for the Temple in Jerusalem. The Temple Mount in Jerusalem is the site where the First Temple of Solomon and the Second Temple were built. At the center of the structure was the Holy of Holies where only the high priest could enter. The Temple Mount is now the site of the Islamic mosque, the Dome of the Rock (c. 690).

Greco-Roman temples

Main articles: Greek Temple and Roman Temple

Though today we call most Greek religious buildings "temples," the ancient pagans would have referred to a temenos, or sacred precinct. Its sacredness, often connected with a holy grove, was more important than the building itself, as it contained the open air altar on which the sacrifices were made. The building which housed the cult statue in its naos was originally a rather simple structure, but by the middle of the 6th century BCE had become increasingly elaborate. Greek temple architecture had a profound influence on ancient architectural traditions.

The rituals that located and sited the temple were performed by an augur through the observation of the flight of birds or other natural phenomenon. Roman temples usually faced east or toward the rising sun, but the specifics of the orientation are often not known today; there are also notable exceptions, such as the Pantheon which faces north. In ancient Rome, only the native deities of Roman mythology had a templum; any equivalent structure for a foreign deity was called a fanum.

Indian religions

Further information: Indian religions

Hindu temples

Main article: Hindu temple

These may also be called by other names, including mandir or mandira, koil or kovil, devasthana and devalaya, depending on region and language.

Buddhist temples

Main article: Buddhist temple

They include the structures called stupa, wat and pagoda in different regions and languages.

Sikh temples

Main article: gurdwara

Ayyavazhi temples

Main article: Pathi

Zoroastrian temples

Main article: fire temple

Zoroastrian temples may also be called the [darb-e meh and atashkada.

Christian temples

Since a temple, in its traditional sense is viewed as a dwelling place of a god or gods and was in the days of early Christianity associated with the pagans, the word is rarely used in the mainstream of the Christian tradition where God is not believed to live in a church but is defined as omnipresent. The principal words for Christian architecture are: basilica, cathedral and church. In the Eastern Orthodox Church the use of the word temple is not at all unusual, but in English the term church is often substituted, and in Slavic languages 'church' and 'temple' are used quite interchangeably. For example Temple of Saint Sava in Belgrade, Serbia. Beginning in the late eighteenth century, after the Enlightenment, some Protestant denominations in France and elsewhere began to use the word "temple" to distinguish these spaces from a Catholic church.

Temples in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints & related movements

In 1832 the restorer of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Meridian of time Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Joseph Smith, Jr., received a revelation to restore the practice of temple worship, in a "house of the Lord". The Kirtland Temple was the first temple of the Latter Day Saint movement and the only one completed in Smith's lifetime, although the Nauvoo Temple was partially complete at the time of his death. The schisms stemming from a succession crisis have led to differing views about the role and use of temples between various groups with competing succession claims.

Temples of LDS church

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a prolific builder of "Latter-day Saint" or "Mormon" temples. Currently there are 124 operating temples, 9 under construction, and 4 announced (not yet under construction). Latter-day Saint temples are reserved only for the most holy and sacred of the covenant for performing special ordinances, and are distinct from meetinghouses where weekly worship services are held. The Temples are built and kept under strict sacredness and not to be defiled thus strict rules for entrance.

Other related sects

Various other Latter Day Saint denominations also have temples. An example is the Independence Temple at Independence, Missouri that was built by the Community of Christ by then church prophet-president Wallace B. Smith. The Community of Christ also currently owns the original Kirtland Temple, which it operates as a historic site.

Masonic temples

Freemasonry is a fraternal organization with its origins in the eighteenth century whose membership is held together by a shared set of moral and metaphysical ideals. Freemasons meet as a Lodge. Lodge's meet in a Masonic Temple, Masonic Center or a Masonic Hall, such as Freemasons' Hall, London. Some confusion exists as Masons usually refer to a Lodge meeting as being in Lodge.

Other religions

Though the word "temple" is used broadly, one should use it with discretion in the context of some religions. A mosque for example, should never be called a temple. Convention allows the use of temple in the following cases:

• Shintoist temple (jinja).
• Bahá'í temple (Mashriqu'l-Adhkárs or ‘Houses of Worship’).
• Mankhim, the temple of the ethnic group the Rai, located at Aritar, Sikkim.

Temple as Metaphor

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The word 'temple' can be interpreted as metaphorical in English translations of the Bible, synonymous with Godhead. Two examples in the New Testament are: 1) Jesus and the money changers and 2) description of the rending of the veil covering the temple (in advance of his resurrection as the Christ) at the death of Jesus in Matthew 27:51.

See also

• List of Buddhist temples
• List of Hindu temples
• Temple (Latter Day Saints)
• List of temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• List of Masonic temples
• Temples of Tamilnadu

Partial list of temples

In Republic of China ( Taiwan ):

• Long-shan Temple (龍山寺, Long Shan Si)
• Bao-an Temple (大龍峒保安宮)
• Edakkunni Temple, one of the 108 durga temples built by Parasurama

In Cambodia:

• Angkor Wat

In China:

• The Temple of Heaven, a Taoist temple in Beijing

In Egypt:

• Abu Simbel
• Karnak
• Ramesseum
• Temple of Kom Ombo

In Greece:

• Parthenon
• Olympeion

In Guatemala:

• Tikal

In Iran:

• The Anahita Temple

In Italy:

• Pantheon

In Japan:

• Hōryū-ji
• Kihryuzan Senjo-ji temple
• Sensō-ji
• Ryōan-ji
• Tokyo Japan Temple

In Malta:

• Ggantija

In Turkey:

• Temple of Artemis

In the United States:

• Independence Temple
• Mount Ecclesia
• Nauvoo Temple
• Salt Lake Temple
• Washington D.C. Temple

In Mexico:

• Guadalajara Jalisco La Luz del Mundo Sede International
• México City México Temple

In India:

• Tirumala Venkateswara Temple in Tirumala, Andhra Pradesh
• Akshardam Temple in New Delhi
• Siddhivinayak temple in Mumbai
• Meenakshi Temple, temple in Madurai, Tamil Nadu
• Dakshineswar Kali Temple in Kolkata
• Parthasarathy Temple in Chennai

Additional reading

Hani, Jean, Le symbolisme du temple chrétien, G. Trédaniel (editor); [2. éd.] edition (1978), 207 p., ISBN 2-85707-030-6

References

External links

• Sri Vishnu Temples in India, Indian Hindu Temples
• The ancient Hindu cave temple in the Himalayas
• online – distinct for the religious and anatomical terms
• The Hindu Temple – Where Man Becomes God by Sri Nitin Kumar.
• The Temple of Love
• South Indian Temples History and Images
• Nepali Hindu Temples
• Temple Elephants in India – A short video in Quicktime format.
• Sri Guru Parashakthi Mutt, Marakada, Mangalore, The official site.
• The term "temple" in Judaism