小圣堂是基督徒聚集和礼拜的场所，尤指没有神职人员常驻的教堂。它可以附属于各种机构，例如较大的教堂、大学、医院、 宫殿、 监狱或墓地，也可以是一座独立的建筑物，有时还有自己的庭院。直到宗教改革以前，小圣堂是指以下的礼拜场所：不是由当地本堂神父主要职责的次要地点，或者属于个人或机构。许多大型教堂拥有一个或多个次要的祭台，如果它们拥有自己分开的空间，就经常被称为小圣堂。

在中文语境中，天主教使用“小堂”、“小圣堂”、“小教堂”或“小礼拜堂”等称谓，并在特指时称“某某小堂”；一些新教教派则使用“礼拜堂”一词，特指时即称“某某礼拜堂”。应当注意的是，这种区分在西方语言中是不存在的。

A chapel is a religious place of fellowship, prayer and worship that is attached to a larger, often nonreligious institution or that is considered an extension of a primary religious institution. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a college, hospital, palace, prison, funeral home, church, synagogue or mosque, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building, sometimes with its own grounds. Many military installations have chapels for the use of military personnel, normally under the leadership of a military chaplain.