Church

This article is about the building in Age of Empires III. For similar buildings, see Monastery or Temple.

Church
Building information
Introduced in	Age of Empires III
Type	Economic
Civilization	Europeans except Ottomans and Italians
Age	Commerce Age
Use	Trains healers and Spies Research town and unique technologies Generates 0.7 XP per second
Construction
Wood	150
Max. builders	8
Build time	20 seconds
Build limit	1
Statistics
Hit points	1,500
Line of Sight	12
XP build bounty	20
XP bounty	40

“	Trains healers and provides colony improvements and unique improvements.	”
—In-game description

The Church is an economic building in Age of Empires III that is available once the Commerce Age is reached. It trains healers such as Priests or Missionaries, as well as Spies in The WarChiefs expansion, and provides technologies for the player's colony as well as unique improvements for each civilization that requires a certain Home City Card (see below) to be sent. It also generates 0.7 XP per second.

Instead of the Church, the Ottomans, United States, the Mexicans, and the Italians have the Mosque, Meeting House, the Cathedral, and the Basilica, respectively, which are identical in function with the Church (with the latter two buildings having unique abilities to their respective civilizations). The African civilizations have the Mountain Monastery and the University serving as its equivalent, respectively, with different technologies and improvements that are unique to their respective civilizations. However, they can both gain access to Churches and Mosques by allying with either the Jesuits for the Ethiopians or the Moroccans for the Hausa.

As for the Native American and Asian civilizations, they lack an equivalent building to the Church; although the Monastery is the Asian spiritual equivalent of the Church, it merely functions as a Tavern instead (however, it also provides an XP trickle, and can provide upgrades to improve Monks). The Japanese can build one Church through the Church Wagon shipment from the Consulate with Dutch relations.

Units

Age	Unit	Cost	Pop.	Limit
	Priest	150 coin	1	∞
	Missionary	50 wood, 50 coin		10
	Surgeon	300 coin		∞
	Spy*	125 coin

Units with an asterisk (*) are added in The WarChiefs.

The Missionary replaces the Priest for the Spanish.

The Surgeon requires the Master Surgeon Home City Card to be trained at the Church.

Technologies

Age	Technology	Cost	Effect	Civ.
	Bastion	400 wood, 600 coin	Upgrades Walls into Bastions with +150% hit points	All
	Mission Fervor	200 food, 200 wood	Imams, Priests, Healers, Missionaries, Surgeons, and Warrior Priests get +35% hit points and +15% speed
	Town Watch	200 food	All units get +2 LOS
	Gas Lighting	100 food	All buildings get +4 LOS
	Mercantilism	1,500 coin	Gives 2,000 XP
	Roger's Rangers	800 food	Ships 5 Rangers, turns Longbowmen into Rangers and Home City Cards that ship Longbowmen now ship Rangers instead; costs ; requires The Glorious Revolution Home City Card	British
	Thin Red Line	Free	Infantry get +20% hit points and -25% speed; requires The Glorious Revolution Home City Card	British
	Coffee Trade		Bank build limit +2 but all military units get -10% speed; requires Religious Freedom Home City Card	Dutch
	Code Napoleon		Coureurs des Bois gather 10% faster but buildings cost +50%; requires Edict of Nantes Home City Card	French
	Tilly's Discipline		Infantry get +20% speed but costs +10%; requires Treaty of Westphalia Home City Card	Germans
	Encomienda Manor		Settlers gather 20% faster from Mills but 5% slower from anything else; requires Treaty of Tordesillas Home City Card	Portuguese
	Corselet		Heavy infantry get +25% hit points and -15% speed; requires Royal Decree to Claim the New World Home City Card	Spanish Knights of St. John
	Tax Burden		Ships 100 coin for every minute the game has lasted, up to 30 minutes, but Settlers get -40% hit points; requires Royal Decree to Claim the New World Home City Card	Knights of St. John
	Grand Encampment		Infantry get +25% hit points and -25% speed; requires Royal Decree to Claim the New World Home City Card	United States
	Push of Pike		Melee infantry speed +10%, train time +10%; requires Treaty of Roskilde Home City Card	Swedes
	Gustavian Guards	1,500 food	Ships 16 Gustavian Guards (Veteran Halberdiers); requires Treaty of Roskilde Home City Card
	The Black Watch	1,000 food	Ships 8 Black Watches (Highlanders); requires The Glorious Revolution Home City Card	British
	Waardgelders	1,000 coin	Ships 5 Waardgelders (Stradiots); requires Religious Freedom Home City Card	Dutch
	Imperial Young Guard	500 food	Ships 4 Young Guards (Veteran Grenadiers with Incendiary Grenades); requires Edict of Nantes Home City Card	French
	Wallenstein's Contracts	3,000 coin	Home City mercenary shipments (except TEAM Hire Hessians and TEAM 10 Cree Allies) are free; requires Treaty of Westphalia Home City Card	Germans
	Besteiros	2,000 wood	Ships 22 Besteiros (Veteran Crossbowmen with +30% hit points and attack) and upgrades Crossbowmen to Besteiros; requires Treaty of Tordesillas Home City Card	Portuguese
	Westernization	350 wood, 350 coin	Upgrades Strelets, Musketeers, Cossacks, and Grenadiers to Veteran (if not already); requires Reformist Tsar Home City Card	Russians
	Kalmucks	1,000 wood	Ships 9 Kalmucks (Guard Dragoons); requires Reformist Tsar Home City Card
	Royal Alabarderos		Ships 13 Guard Halberdiers; requires Royal Decree to Claim the New World Home City Card	Spanish
	High Crusade	Free	Ships 8 Hoop Throwers and Hoop Throwers get +25% hit points and +20% attack, but all other military units get -5% hit points; requires Royal Decree to Claim the New World Home City Card	Knights of St. John
	Indian Friendship	1,000 wood	Native warriors get +25% hit points; requires Royal Decree to Claim the New World Home City Card	John Black's Mercenaries
	Customized Merc Weapons	Free	Mercenaries get +30% attack but buildings cost +30%; requires Royal Decree to Claim the New World Home City Card
	American Patriots		Ships 16 Militiamen; requires Royal Decree to Claim the New World Home City Card	United States
	Savolax Jaegers	1,000 wood	Ships 6 Savolax Jaegers (Jaegers with +5% hit points and Stealth mode); Upgrades Jaegers to Savolax Jaegers; requires Treaty of Roskilde Home City Card	Swedes
	Standing Army	350 coin	Infantry train time -25%	All
	Mass Cavalry	750 coin	Cavalry train time -35%
	Blue Guards	2,000 coin	Ships 30 Blue Guards (Guard Musketeers); requires Religious Freedom Home City Card	Dutch
	Imperial Middle Guard	1,000 food	Ships 8 Middle Guards (Guard Grenadiers with Incendiary Grenades) and upgrades Young Guards to Middle Guards; requires Imperial Young Guard and Edict of Nantes Home City Card	French
	Imperial Old Guard	2,000 food	Ships 15 Old Guards (Royal Guard Grenadiers) and upgrades Middle Guards to Old Guards; requires Imperial Middle Guard and Edict of Nantes Home City Card
	Zweihander	2,000 coin	Ships 12 Doppelsoldner and Doppelsoldner gets +10% hit points; requires Treaty of Westphalia Home City Card	Germans
	Order of the Tower and the Sword	2,000 wood	Ships 11 Order Knights (Black Riders); requires Treaty of Tordesillas Home City Card	Portuguese
	Petrine Reforms	2,500 coin	Upgrades Strelets, Musketeers, Halberdiers, Cossacks, Cavalry Archers, Oprichniks, and Grenadiers to Guard/Royal Guard (if not already); requires Westernization and Reformist Tsar Home City Card	Russians
	Bashkir Ponies	2,000 coin	Ships 17 Bashkirs (Guard Hussars); requires Reformist Tsar Home City Card
	Wild Geese	2,000 food	Ships 10 Wild Geese (Harquebusiers); requires Royal Decree to Claim the New World Home City Card	Spanish
	Queen's Rangers	2,000 coin	Ships 26 Guard Skirmishers	British

Civilization differences

• The Japanese can build one (and only one) Church by allying with the Dutch at the Consulate (requires a level 25 Home City), which provides the Church Wagon shipment that ships a namesake unit capable of building a Church for free.

Further statistics

Building strengths and weaknesses
Strong vs.	Nothing
Weak vs.	Everything
Improvements
Hit points	Flying Buttress (+20%)
Sight	Gas Lighting (+4)
Construction cost	Cree Textile Craftsmanship (-25% wood) Tupi Forest Burning (-20% wood)
Penalties	Code Napoleon (+50% cost, French only) Customized Merc Weapons (+30% cost, John Black's Mercenaries only)

Home City Cards

Click for a list of Home City Cards related to the Church

Green: TEAM Shipment that is sent to each player in a team British Card Description Age HC level The Glorious Revolution Provides the Church with the Thin Red Line, The Black Watch, and Roger's Rangers improvements 10 Dutch Card Description Age HC level Religious Freedom Provides the Church with the Coffee Trade, Waardgelders, and Blue Guards improvements 10 Europeans Card Description Age HC level Improved Buildings Buildings get +40% hit points 10 Master Surgeons Surgeons can be trained at the Church and heals +50% hit points 10 The Master Surgeons card is not available to British and Spanish. French Card Description Age HC level TEAM Cheap Church Church and Mosque costs -80% and their improvements (except unique ones) cost less; Field Hospitals cost -50%; Monastery costs -30%; Community Plaza are free 10 Edict of Nantes Provides the Church with the Code Napoleon and Garde Imperial 1/2/3 improvements 10 Germans Card Description Age HC level Treaty of Westphalia Provides the Church with the Tilly's Discipline, Wallenstein's Contracts, and Zweihander improvements 10 Indians Card Description Age HC level TEAM Improved Buildings Buildings get +25% hit points 10 Portuguese Card Description Age HC level Treaty of Tordesillas Provides the Church with the Encomienda Manor, Besteiros, and Order of the Tower and the Sword improvements 10 Russians Card Description Age HC level Reformist Tsar Provides the Church with the Westernization, Kalmucks, Petrine Reforms, and Bashkir Ponies improvements 10 Spanish Card Description Age HC level Royal Decree to Claim the New World Provides the Church with the Corselet, Royal Alabarderos and Wild Geese improvements 10 Campaign Card Description Age HC level Royal Decree to Claim the New World Ships 2 Surgeons and provides the Church with Corselet, Tax Burden, High Crusade (Knights of St. John), Indian Friendship, Customized Merc Weapons (John Black's Mercenaries), American Patriots and Grand Encampment improvements (United States). 1

Changelog

Age of Empires III

• Churches cost 100 wood and take 10 seconds to build.

The Asian Dynasties

• The Church built by the Japanese by allying with the Dutch at the Consulate has the British Church appearance in the Colonial/Fortress Age and cannot train Spies.

Definitive Edition

• Churches cost 150 wood and take 25 seconds to build. They now provide a 0.6 XP/second trickle.
• The Church built by the Japanese by allying with the Dutch at the Consulate now has the Dutch appearances through the Ages and can train Spies.
• With update 20322, Churches take 20 seconds to build.

The African Royals

• With update 38254, Churches provide a 0.7 XP/second trickle.

History

“

Churches are places of worship for Christian colonists. Settlers in the New World built churches to provide a place for worship as well as for community events. Religion drove exploration and colonization as people like the Pilgrims left their homes, fleeing persecution, to find religious freedoms in the New World.

”

Gallery

Churches

German Church concept art from the Age of Empires III User's Manual

Spanish Church in the Industrial/Imperial Age

German Church in the Colonial/Fortress Age

Russian Church in the Colonial/Fortress Age

Swedish Church in the Colonial/Fortress Age

Swedish Church in the Industrial/Imperial Age

See also

• Mosque – Ottoman equivalent
• Meeting House – United States equivalent
• Cathedral – Mexican equivalent
• Basilica – Italian equivalent