Acolumbarium (/ˌkɒləmˈbɛəri.əm/;[1] pl.columbaria), also called acinerarium, is a structure for the reverential and usually public storage offunerary urns holdingcremated remains of the dead. The term comes from theLatincolumba (dove) and originally solely referred to compartmentalized housing for doves and pigeons, also calleddovecotes.
Roman columbaria were often built partly or completely underground.[2] TheColumbarium of Pomponius Hylas is an ancient Roman example, rich in frescoes, decorations, and precious mosaics.[3]
Today's columbaria can be free-standing units or part of amausoleum or another building. Some manufacturers produce columbaria built entirely offsite and brought to acemetery by large truck. Many moderncrematoria have columbaria. Examples of these are the columbaria inPère Lachaise Cemetery in Paris andGolders Green Crematorium in London.
In other cases, columbaria are built into church structures. One example is theCathedral of Our Lady of the Angels (Los Angeles, California), which houses several columbarium niches in the mausoleum built into the lower levels of the Cathedral. The construction of columbaria within churches is ubiquitous in theCzechoslovak Hussite Church. An example can be seen at the Church of St Nicolas inOld Town Square, Prague. In theCatholic Church, although traditional burial is still preferred,cremation is permitted provided that the cremated remains are entombed and that the cremation is not done for reasons contrary to the Catholic faith. As a result, they are within some Catholic cemeteries.
Columbaria are often closely similar in form topagodas, which function as in-situ columbariapavilions atBuddhist temples, which from ancient times have housed cremated ashes. InBuddhism, ashes may be placed in a columbarium (Chinese:納骨堂; pinyin:nágǔtáng; Japanese:のうこつどう; Korean:납골당), which can be either attached to or a part of a Buddhist temple or cemetery. This practice allows survivors to visit the temple and carry out traditional memorials and ancestor rites.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
