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.
The reason the edifice was built was for Christian religious services (see Church (building) for more detail)
Entries are included even if they currently do not function as a church. For example, the Hagia Sophia is included; it was originally built as a church but currently operates as a mosque.[a]
Buildings that were not originally constructed as churches are generally not included; for example, the Lakewood Church building, which was initially built as the Compaq Center. An exception is made for buildings that have been substantially modified for use as a church; for example, the Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba.
The building must still be standing.
The building has a known floor area of more than 2,000 square metres (22,000sqft).
Internal floor area is measured to the internal face of the external walls.
External floor area is measured to the external face of the external walls.
A reliable source is present that states the building's area.
Not a shrine, tabernacle, temple, or any other structure that functions separately from a church.
List
Converted buildings included due to substantial transformation into churches
Largest church by total exterior area and the largest Gothic cathedral.[25][26][27] Originally built as a mosque, it was later converted into a Catholic cathedral.[28][29]
One of Australia's largest churches and the third tallest after St Patrick's Cathedral and St Paul's Cathedral. 75 metres (246 ft) long and has a ceiling height of 24 metres (79 ft). The main spire is 87 metres (285 ft) high. [citation needed]
↑ The Hagia Sophia was constructed in 360 and operated as a church until 1453 when it was converted into a mosque. In 1935 the Hagia Sophia was reconstituted as a museum open to the public. After this decision was annulled in 2020, the status of the Hagia Sophia reverted to that of a mosque.
1 2 The external floor area also includes the courtyards.
↑ The measurement does not include non-public areas such as private cloisters, offices, and storage rooms. It also excludes other buildings that are part of the Cathedral, such as La Giralda, which is the Cathedral’s bell tower, as well as exterior spaces within the Cathedral complex, like the Patio de los Naranjos (Orange Tree Courtyard) and other courtyards.
↑ "The History". Mezquita-Catedral de Córdoba. Retrieved 3 July 2025.
↑ Daniel, Ben (2013). The Search for Truth about Islam. Westminster John Knox Press. p.93. ISBN9780664237059. The church is Catholic and has been for centuries, but when Catholic Spaniards expelled the local Arabic and Muslim population (the people they called the Moors) in 1236, they didn't do what the Catholic Church tended to do everywhere else when it moved in and displaced locally held religious beliefs: they didn't destroy the local religious shrine and build a cathedral of the foundations of the sacred space that had been knocked down. Instead, they built a church inside and up through the roof of the mosque, and then dedicated the entire space to Our Lady of the Assumption and made it the cathedral for the Diocese of Córdoba.
↑ "Seville Cathedral Interiors". Seville Cathedral Tickets. Retrieved 2 July 2025. Located in Seville, Spain, Seville Cathedral is a UNESCO Designated Site and the largest cathedral and Gothic church in the world.
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" (in Polish). Marian Sanctuary in Licheń. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
↑ Carvalho, António PO; 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 29 May 2015.
↑ According to the cadastral plan (PUZ, scale 1:200) approved by Bucharest General Municipality, of the architecture company Vanel Exim SRL (April 2013), the company that designed the cathedral.
↑ "Building". www.svenskakyrkan.se (in Swedish). 28 November 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
↑ Lampen, Michael. "Architecture". Grace Cathedral. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
↑ "I love early morning Sofia". Hitotoki. 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
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