<Li> An outer ambulatory, the qene mehlet, used by the dabtaras and accessible to anyone . </Li> <P> In the early 16th century Martin Luther and the Reformation brought a period of radical change to church design . According to the ideals of the Protestant reformation, the spoken word, the sermon, should be central act in the church service . This implied that the pulpit became the focal point of the church interior and that churches should be designed to allow all to hear and see the minister . Pulpits had always been a feature of Western churches . The birth of Protestantism led to extensive changes in the way that Christianity was practiced (and hence the design of churches). </P> <P> During the Reformation period, there was an emphasis on "full and active participation". The focus of Protestant churches was on the preaching of the Word, rather than a sacerdotal emphasis . Holy Communion tables became wood to emphasize that Christ's sacrifice was made once for all and were made more immediate to the congregation to emphasize man's direct access to God through Christ . </P> <P> In the Netherlands the Reformed church in Willemstad, North Brabant, Koepelkerk (Domed Church) (1607), the first Protestant church building in the Netherlands, was given an octagonal shape according to Calvinism's focus on the sermon . </P>

In the medieval period churches began to be constructed with what type of floor plan