Manners for Visitors to a church
The church is a sacred place of prayer for the congregation, and is not a tourist facility. When visiting, be courteous to all church members and try to make everybody’s experience as pleasant and comfortable as possible.
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Entry may be refused at times.
Entry to the church may be restricted during Mass (church service) or religious events. Also, please do not enter if there is a wedding or funeral ceremony in progress.
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Photographing inside the church is generally forbidden.
Please take home as memories what you cannot take home as photographs. Also, Mass is a sacred ceremony. Please refrain from taking photographs.
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Make your visit quietly.
We recommend quietly taking a seat when first entering. Speaking loudly, eating and drinking, smoking and alcohol are strictly prohibited. Also, please set your mobile phone to vibration mode.
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Dress appropriately for a place of worship.
Please remove any headdress or hats when entering a church. Casual dress is allowed, but for the sake of decency, avoid wearing clothing with excessive skin exposure, such as miniskirts, shorts or tank tops.
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Please do not enter the altar area (especially the chancel).
The chancel is the raise area inside the altar, and is considered the most sacred area inside the church. Never enter this area.
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Things you may not touch.
Church members place high importance on items such as The Bible and altar bells. Also, holy water is for cleansing the soul. Please do not touch unnecessarily.
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Please use public restrooms as much as possible.
Church restrooms are for the use of the church members. Please use public restrooms whenever possible.
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If you would like to contribute, please use the alms box.
If you would like to express your gratitude for the tour in the form of a donation, there is an alms box for anybody to use.
