The largest church building in the world by interior area is St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, covering about 15,000 square meters (161,000 sq ft) and holding over 20,000 people, while the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace (Yamoussoukro) is noted for its vast footprint and capacity, though St. Peter's often takes the top spot for size and significance.
Churches can be measured and compared in several ways. These include area, volume, length, width, height, or capacity. Several churches individually claim to be "the largest church", which may be due to any one of these criteria. St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City is the largest church in the world.
Catholicism is the main branch of Christianity and the Catholic Church is the largest among churches. About 50% of all Christians are Catholics. According to the annual directory of the Catholic Church or Annuario Pontificio of 2024, there were 1.390 billion baptized Catholics in 2022; that was 1.406 billion in 2023.
The five major churches refer to the ancient Patriarchates (Pentarchy) of early Christianity: Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, which governed the undivided Church before the Great Schism, with Rome leading the West and the others forming the core of Eastern Orthodoxy. These five sees held primacy due to their political importance and apostolic foundations, though the Eastern Orthodox now comprise Constantinople (New Rome), Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem as their primary centers.
The Catholic Church (Latin: Ecclesia Catholica), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025.
Donald Trump identifies as a nondenominational Christian, having previously been associated with Presbyterianism and influenced by Norman Vincent Peale's "positive thinking," though his faith journey includes shifting affiliations and a strong connection with evangelical Christians, with recent statements emphasizing a stronger faith after a life-threatening event. While raised Presbyterian and attending church as a child, he declared himself nondenominational in 2020, yet his religious identity is complex, drawing from various Christian influences and appealing to a broad base of Christian supporters, including Christian nationalists.
This imposing Gothic masterpiece was completed in 1880; the construction itself began around 1248. In between lie more than 600 years of exciting construction history with many challenges, setbacks and a long break. Thus, the question “When was Cologne Cathedral built?” or “How old is it?” is not so easy to answer.
The Dura-Europos church in Syria is the oldest surviving church building in the world, while the archaeological remains of both the Aqaba Church and the Megiddo church have been considered to be the world's oldest known purpose-built church, erected in the Roman Empire's administrative Diocese of the East in the 3rd ...
Description. The church, erected in 1989, is notable for its small size, measuring just four feet three inches (1.30 meters) by six feet nine inches (2.06 meters), and has been called "The Smallest Church in the World".
There is not a universal dress code for the church around the world. A few denominations have requirements for attire—such as plain clothes for Amish and head coverings for certain apostolic groups—but the majority of communities don't have defined clothing expectations.
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Catholic ecclesiology professes the Catholic Church to be the "sole Church of Christ"—i.e., the one true church defined as "one, holy, catholic, and apostolic" in the Four Marks of the Church in the Nicene Creed.
Famous Atheists
Christianity, the largest religion in the United States, experienced a 20th-century high of 91% of the total population in 1976. This declined to 73.7% by 2016 and 64% in 2022.
In Hitler's eyes, Christianity was a religion fit only for slaves; he detested its ethics in particular. Its teaching, he declared, was a rebellion against the natural law of selection by struggle and the survival of the fittest.
Major religious groups
Known more commonly as the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, this sacred site in the heart of the Holy City of Jerusalem is considered the holiest Christian shrine in the world. It stands over both Golgotha, where Jesus was crucified, and the tomb where He was buried and rose on the third day.
Broadly, Roman Catholicism differs from other Christian churches and denominations in its beliefs about the sacraments, the roles of the Bible and tradition, the importance of the Virgin Mary and the saints, and the papacy.
According to a study from 2015, Christians hold the largest amount of wealth (55% of the total world wealth), followed by Muslims (5.8%), Hindus (3.3%), and Jews (1.1%).
The Catholic Church is the largest non-state landowner globally, owning 177 million acres (71.6 million hectares).