n.
Originally a secular public building in ancient Rome, typically a large rectangular structure with an open hall and a raised platform at one or both ends.
In one type, the central hall was flanked by side aisles set off by colonnades , and the raised platform was enclosed by an apse . The early Christians adopted this type for their churches. In the typical early Christian basilica, the columns separating the nave from the lower side aisles carried either arches or entablatures , above which rose clerestory walls that supported the roof. The long nave came to be crossed just before the apse by a shorter transept , creating the cross-shaped plan that remains a standard church form to the present. "Basilica" is also a title of honor given to a Roman Catholic or Greek Orthodox church distinguished by its antiquity or its role as an international center of worship. See also cathedral .