its tendencies toward modernity (see, e.g., Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral or Notre Dame du Haut), Orthodox architectural style remains largely conservative and traditional. One notable and architecturally important exception is Frank Lloyd Wright's design of Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, in the United States. The Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity on New York City's Upper East Side is the largest Orthodox Christian church in the Western Hemisphere. Terminology In the Russian language (similar to other East Slavic languages) a general-purpose word for "church" is tserkov (церковь). When spoken in an exalted sense, the term khram (Храм), "temple", is used to refer to the church building as a Temple of God Khram Bozhy (Храм Божий). The words "church" and "temple", in this case are interchangeable; however, the term "church” () is far more common in English. The term "temple" () is also commonly applied to larger churches. Some famous churches which are occasionally referred to as temples include Hagia Sophia, Saint Basil's Cathedral, the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, and the Temple of Saint Sava. Some churches have a special status and are referred to as sobor (or soborny khram, cоборный храм), from the Old Russian word for "gathering" (see sobor for other meanings). In Greek, diocesan sees are referred to as καθεδρικός ναός. In Russian, a cathedral is a "sobor" (Russian: кафедральный собор, kafedralny sobor). The seat of the patriarch is called a "patriarchal sobor" (Патриарший собор, Patriarshiy sobor). The main church of a monastery may also be called a "sobor". If a bishop builds a new sobor for his cathedra, the old church retains its status of a sobor. The status of sobor may be assigned only by the patriarch. The major church in a monastery is called a catholicon, and may be reserved for major services, lesser services being celebrated in other churches in the monastery. A church independent of local eparchy is called "stauropegial sobor" (Greek stauropegia means "mounting of the cross"). For example, patriarchal sobors are stauropigial ones. Another kind of extra-eparchial churches are house churches, which belong to households. Architecture Orthodox church buildings have the following basic shapes, each with its own symbolism: Elongated: rectangle, rounded rectangle (circle), symbolizing the ship as a means of salvation (Noah's Ark) Cruciform (cross shaped) Star shaped Circular The cupola instead of a flat ceiling symbolizes the sky. In Russian churches, cupolas are often topped by onion-shaped