The Latin word basilica has three distinct applications in modern English. The word was used to refer to an ancient Roman public building, where courts were held, as well as serving other official and public functions, it had the door at one end and a raised platform and an apse at the other, where the magistrate or other officials were seated. The basilica was centrally located in every Roman town adjacent to the main forum. Subsequently, the basilica was not built near a forum but adjacent to a palace and was known as a "palace basilica". Secondly, as the Roman Empire adopted Christianity, the major church buildings were constructed with this basic architectural plan and thus it became popular throughout Europe, it continues to be used in an architectural sense to describe rectangular buildings with a central nave and aisles, a raised platform at the opposite end from the door. In Europe and the Americas the basilica remained the most common architectural style for churches of all Christian denominations, though this building plan has become less dominant in new buildings since the latter 20th century.

Thirdly, the term refers to an official designation of a certain kind of church in the Roman Catholic Church: a large and important place of worship, given special ceremonial rights by the Pope, whatever its architectural plan. These are divided into: major basilicas—numbering only four, all of which are ancient churches located within Rome—and minor basilicas—found all around the world and which, as of 2019, number 1,810; these major and minor basilicas are simply referred to as basilicas. Some Catholic basilicas are Catholic pilgrimage sites, receiving tens of millions of visitors per year. In December 2009 the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe set a new record with 6.1 million pilgrims during Friday and Saturday for the anniversary of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The Latin word basilica lit. "royal stoa" referring to the tribunal chamber of a king. In Rome the word was at first used to describe an ancient Roman public building where courts were held, as well as serving other official and public functions.

To a large extent these were the town halls of ancient Roman life. The basilica was centrally located in every Roman town adjacent to the main forum; these buildings, an example of, the Basilica Ulpia, were rectangular, had a central nave and aisles with a raised platform and an apse at each of the two ends, adorned with a statue of the emperor, while the entrances were from the long sides. By extension the name was applied to Christian churches which adopted the same basic plan and it continues to be used as an architectural term to describe such buildings, which form the majority of church buildings in Western Christianity, though the basilican building plan became less dominant in new buildings from the 20th century; the Roman basilica was a large public building. The first basilicas had no religious function at all; as early as the time of Augustus, a public basilica for transacting business had been part of any settlement that considered itself a city, used in the same way as the covered market houses of late medieval northern Europe, where the meeting room, for lack of urban space, was set above the arcades, however.

Although their form was variable, basilicas contained interior colonnades that divided the space, giving aisles or arcaded spaces on one or both sides, with an apse at one end, where the magistrates sat on a raised dais. The central aisle tended to be wide and was higher than the flanking aisles, so that light could penetrate through the clerestory windows; the oldest known basilica, the Basilica Porcia, was built in Rome in 184 BC by Cato the Elder during the time he was Censor. Other early examples include the basilica at Pompeii; the most splendid Roman basilica is the one begun for traditional purposes during the reign of the pagan emperor Maxentius and finished by Constantine I after AD 313. Basilica Porcia: first basilica built in Rome, erected on the personal initiative and financing of the censor Marcus Porcius Cato as an official building for the tribunes of the plebs Aemilian Basilica, built by the censor Aemilius Lepidus in 179 BC Basilica Sempronia, built by the censor Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus in 169 BC Basilica Opimia, erected by the consul Lucius Opimius in 121 BC, at the same time that he restored the temple of Concord Julian Basilica dedicated in 46 BC by Julius Caesar and completed by Augustus 27 BC to AD 14 Basilica Argentaria, erected under Trajan, emperor from AD 98 to 117 Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine In the Roman Imperial period, a basilica for large audiences became a feature in palaces.

In the 3rd century of the Christian era, the governing elite appeared less in the forums. They now tended to dominate their cities from opulent palaces and country villas, set a little apart from traditional centers of public life. Rather than retreats from public life, these residences were the forum made private. Seated in the tribune of his basilica, the great man would meet his dependent clientes early every morning. Constantine's basilica at Trier, the Aula Palatina, is still standing. A private basilica excavated at Bulla Regia, in the "House of the Hunt", dates from the first half of the 5th century, its reception or

John J. Astley is an English professional snooker player from Gateshead and Wear. Astley first came into prominence in 2007 by winning the national Under-19 title, however wins in the amateur PIOS tournaments proved hard to come by, his attempts to qualify for the main tour via Q School in 2011 and 2012 were unsuccessful as well. Astley gained enough sponsorship to be able to enter all the PTC events in the 2012/13 season as an amateur, he reached the last 32 stage three times and finished fourth highest ranked amateur on the Order of Merit, winning a tour card for 2013/14 and 2014/15 seasons. Astley won his opening match of the season 5–2 against Mike Dunn to reach the main draw of the Wuxi Classic. In his first appearance in a ranking event Astley was whitewashed 5–0 by Robert Milkins, he won a match in a ranking event for the first time by edging out Ken Doherty 6–5 in the UK Championship, a performance he described afterwards as the best of his career. He lost 6–1 against Stuart Carrington in the next round.

Astley qualified for the China Open with a 5–2 success over Robbie Williams and came through a wildcard round match once in China, before losing 5–1 to Ding Junhui. Astley beat Sam Baird 10–9 in the first round of World Championship qualifying, but his season ended in his next match with a heavy 10–2 loss to Jamie Cope, he finished his debut season on the tour ranked world number 98. Astley was awarded the Rookie of the Year Award at the World Snooker Annual Award Ceremony. Astley's 2014/2015 season proved to be disappointing as he could not qualify for any ranking event, other than the UK Championship and Welsh Open for which he gained automatic entry, he lost in the first round of the UK 6–2 to Jamie Cope and beat David Gilbert 4–1 at the Welsh, before Gary Wilson knocked him out 4–3 in the second round. Astley played in all six of the minor-ranking European Tour events but could not win a match in any of them. After losing his first qualifying match for the World Championship to Dominic Dale, Astley was relegated from the tour as he was ranked 86th in the world.

Astley only entered Q School in the 2015/2016 season and in the Second Event he beat Peter Lines 4–0 to secure a two-year tour card. At the 2016 Riga Masters, Astley beat Joe Perry 4–1, Andy Hicks 4–2 and Jimmy Robertson 4–1 to play in the quarter-finals of a ranking event for the first time in his career, where he lost 4–1 to Mark Williams, he reached the third round of the Indian Open and Paul Hunter Classic and was defeated 4–2 by Nigel Bond and 4–1 by Zack Richardson. Astley qualified for the International Championship by overcoming Peter Ebdon 6–3 and saw off Mark King 6–4 once in China, before losing 6–2 to Mark Selby, he recovered to win 5–4 from 4–0 down against Kyren Wilson to qualify for the German Masters, where he was edged out 5–4 by Ricky Walden in the opening round. Astley progressed through to the fourth round of the Gibraltar Open by 4–1 victories over Andreas Ploner, George Pragnall and Ben Woollaston and was eliminated 4–2 by Ryan Day, he finished his first year back on the tour ranked world number 76.

In March 2016, Astley appeared on-stage at the Sheffield Crucible in Richard Bean's play, The Nap, as the opponent of lead Jack O'Connell's character. English Under-19 Championship, 2007 EBSA Qualifying Tour – Bulgaria, 2012 John Astley at worldsnooker.com

The Adirondack Phantoms were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, who began play in the 2009–10 AHL season. The Phantoms were based in Glens Falls, New York, playing home games at the Glens Falls Civic Center and were the AHL affiliate of the NHL's Philadelphia Flyers; the franchise moved to Glens Falls from Philadelphia, where they were known as the Philadelphia Phantoms from 1996 to 2009 in the Flyers' former arena, the Spectrum. Beginning in the 2014–15 season, the team moved to Allentown and are now known as the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. In 2008, Comcast Spectacor announced that the Wachovia Spectrum, the Phantoms' home since 1996, was going to be demolished to make way for Philly LIVE, a project which included a luxury hotel and entertainment district. On February 4, 2009, it was announced that Comcast Spectacor has reached an agreement to sell the Phantoms to the Brooks Group of Pittsburgh. On April 28, 2009, it was announced by the AHL's board of governors that approval had been given for the Brooks Group to move the Phantoms to Glens Falls.

The Phantoms would be the second American Hockey League team to play in Glens Falls, New York, after the Adirondack Red Wings from 1979 to 1999. On December 4, 2009, the Phantoms returned to Philadelphia to play a home game; the Phantoms lost 2–1 in overtime to the Norfolk Admirals at the Wachovia Center. The Phantoms played in Philadelphia again on January 21, 2011, against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at the Wells Fargo Center; the Phantoms won by a score of 4–2. The Phantoms returned to Philadelphia a third time on January 6, 2012, where they took part in the third annual AHL Outdoor Classic, they hosted the Hershey Bears at Citizens Bank Park, four days after the ballpark hosted the Flyers and New York Rangers in the NHL Winter Classic. This was the third outdoor AHL game, it marked the first time an outdoor AHL game was included in the Winter Classic festivities. In March 2011, plans were announced for the PPL Center to be built in Pennsylvania; the arena, located in downtown Allentown, takes up the entire block between Seventh and Eighth streets and Hamilton Boulevard and Linden Street.

Demolition at the arena site began in January 2012. In February 2012, it was announced the Phantoms would return to Pennsylvania in 2013–14. However, due to construction delays on the new arena it was pushed back to 2014–15 and the franchise began play as the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Records as of April 20, 2014. Jared Ross, 2009–10 Dan Jancevski, 2010–11 Ben Holmstrom, 2011–14 Goals: Jon Matsumoto, 30 Assists: Erik Gustafsson, 44 Points: Jason Akeson, 64 Penalty minutes: Zac Rinaldo, 331 GAA: Michael Leighton, 2.22 SV%: Michael Leighton.926 Wins: Michael Leighton, 28 Shutouts: Michael Leighton, 5 Goaltending records need a minimum of 25 games played by the goaltender Career goals: Jason Akeson, 58 Career assists: Jason Akeson, 114 Career points: Jason Akeson, 172 Career penalty minutes: Brandon Manning, 447 Career goaltending wins: Michael Leighton, 43 Career shutouts: Michael Leighton, 7 Career games: Ben Holmstrom, 256 Greg Gilbert, 2009–10 John Paddock, 2010 Joe Paterson, 2010–12 Terry Murray, 2012–14 List of Adirondack Phantoms players