CATHEDRAL, a church in which is a bishop's see or seat. The word comes from the Greek καθίστα, a chair, from καθίσθαι, sedeo, I sit. The denomination of cathedral seems to have taken its rise from the manner of sitting in the ancient churches, or assemblies of primitive Christians. In these the council, that is, the elders and priests, was called presbyterium; at the head of that body was the bishop, who held the place of chairman, cathedralis, or cathedratus; and the presbyters, who sat on either side, were also called by the ancient fathers assessores episcoporum. The episcopal authority did not reside in the bishop alone, but in all the presbyters, of whom the bishop was the president. A cathedral, therefore, originally was different from what it is now; the Christians, till the time of Constantine, having no liberty to build any temple; and hence, by their churches they only meant their assemblies, and by cathedrals nothing more than consistories.