Temple

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Temple of Hephaestus, a Doric Greek temple in Athens with the original entrance facing east, 449 BC (western face depicted).

The 12th-century Angkor Wat Hindu temple in Cambodia, with the entrance facing west, is the largest temple in the world.

A model of Herod's Temple adjacent to the Shrine of the Book exhibit at the Israel Museum, Jerusalem.

Longshan Temple in Taipei City with the entrance facing west; an example of architecture with southern Chinese influences commonly seen in older buildings in Taiwan (1738).

The Ecclesia, the Rosicrucian Healing Temple with the entrance facing east, Oceanside, California, United States, 1920; it's a solar temple dedicated to the coming Age of Aquarius.

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^{[citation needed]}, 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 dates back to prehistoric times.^{[citation needed]} 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^{[citation needed]}), 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.

Ancient Near East

Main articles: É (temple) and Ziggurat

The oldest known temple seems to be that found at Göbekli Tepe in southeastern Turkey, dating from the 10th millennium BC.

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". Each of the two ancient Temples in Jerusalem was called Beit Hamikdash, which translates literally as "the Holy House".

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 shrine, the Dome of the Rock (c. 690).

The Greek word synagogue came into use to describe Jewish places of worship during Hellenistic times and it, along with the Yiddish term shul, and the original Hebrew term Bet Knesset ("House of meeting") are the terms in most universal usage.

From the middle of the nineteenth century, the word ‘temple’ began to be used, almost exclusively by the followers of American Reform Judaism, as the Temple Beth-El. The word refers not to Roman temples, but to the Temple of Solomon. Orthodox Judaism considers this usage inappropriate, as it does not consider synagogues a replacement for the Temple in Jerusalem (there were local places of worship contemporaneous with the existence of the Temple, e.g. the one that can be seen at Masada).

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 templullm; any equivalent structure for a foreign deity was called a fanum.

Indian religions

Brihadeeswarar temple at Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India.

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 the region in the Indian subcontinent and its local language.

Hindu temples are large and magnificent with a rich history. Some date as far back as the Bronze Age and later the Indus Valley Civilization. In the present day magnificent Hindu temples have been built in various countries of the world including India, Great Britain, the United States, Australia and South Africa.

Buddhist temples

Interior of Tibetan temple.

Main article: Buddhist temple

They include the structures called stupa, wat and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in Buddhism represent the pure land or pure environment of a Buddha. Traditional Buddhist Temples are designed to inspire inner and outer peace.^[2]

Sikh temples

Main article: gurdwara

Jain temples

A Jain temple in Kochi, Kerala, India.

Jain idols of Tirthankaras are worshipped in Jain temples. Usually they are built from Marble stone. Some famous Jain temples are located in Palitana, Shankeshwar, Shikharji, Vataman, Mumbai, and Ahmedabad.Usually Jain temples have many marble pillars which are carved beautifully with Demi god posture. The main vestibule usually contains the statues of 3 of the thirthankars: Parshwanath, Rishabdev and Mahavir. The Jain Dilwara temples at Mount Abu are considered the most beautiful Jain pilgrimage sites in the world.

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

The Temple of Saint Sava, in Belgrade, Serbia.

The word is rarely used in the Western Christian tradition, and very frequently used in Eastern Orthodox Church. The principal words for Western Christian architecture are: basilica, cathedral and church, while in Eastern Orthodox Church, principal words are: temple and church.

In the Eastern Orthodox Church the use of the word temple comes from the need to distinguish building of the church vs. church as Body of Christ. For example Temple of Saint Sava in Belgrade, Serbia. See also: Orthodox church (building) and catholicon.

Beginning in the late eighteenth century, following the Enlightenment, some Protestant denominations in France and elsewhere began to use the word "temple" to distinguish these spaces from a Catholic church. Evangelical and other Protestant churches will make use of a wide variety of terms to designate their worship spaces, such as Tabernacle, Temple, etc.

Temples in the Latter Day Saint movement

LDS temple in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. Dedicated 1893.

According to Latter Day Saint tradition, in 1832, 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

See also: List of temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a prolific builder of "Latter-day Saint" or "Mormon" temples. Currently there are 128 operating temples, 8 under construction, and 9 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 meeting houses and chapels 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 Denominations that split from the LDS Church

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. Lodges 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:

Bahá'í temple (Mashriqu'l-Adhkárs or ‘Houses of Worship’).
Mankhim, the temple of the ethnic group the Rai , located at Aritar, Sikkim.
Confucian temple or Temple of Confucius.
Shintoist jinja are normally called shrines in English in order to distinguish them from Buddhist temples (-tera, -dera).