Ambon (liturgy)

The Ambon or Ambo (Greek: Ἄμβων, meaning, "step", or "elevate" Slavonic: amvón) is a projection coming out from the soleas (the walkway in front of the iconostasis) in an Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Catholic church. The ambon stands directly in front of the Holy Doors. It may be either rounded or square and has one, two, or three steps leading up to it.

History

Originally, the Ambon was an elevated platform, somewhat variable in location within the church, where the scriptures were read during the Divine Liturgy. It is still so used for celebrations of the Liturgy of St James. It is a development from the bimah in the Jewish synagogue.

In the Russian Orthodox Church, during Hierarchical services, the bishop will stand upon a raised platform (kafedra) in the center of the nave like the bimah of old.

Originally used in both the East and West, the structure has almost disappeared in the Western Rites. In early Western churches it was known also as the Gradus, lectorium, or lectricium, and from it has developed the lectern or pulpit, and took the form of a raised stand for preaching and often readings, approached by steps. In the West, there were often two ambons, one on the north (for the reading or chanting of the Gospel) and one on the south (for the Epistle) side of the choir or presbytery. Remnants of the ambo may be found at the Basilica of St Clement in Rome and St Mark's Basilica in Venice.

Liturgy

Liturgy (Greek: λειτουργία) is the customary public worship performed by a specific religious group, according to its particular beliefs, customs and traditions.

The word, sometimes rendered by its English translation "service", may refer to an elaborate formal ritual such as the Eastern Orthodox Divine Liturgy (Greek: Θεία Λειτουργία), Catholic Mass, the Eucharist or Mass (Anglican Communion) or a daily activity such as the Muslim salah and Jewish services. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy is a communal response to the sacred through activity reflecting praise, thanksgiving, supplication, or repentance. Ritualization may be associated with life events such as birth, coming of age, marriage and death. It thus forms the basis for establishing a relationship with a divine agency, as well as with other participants in the liturgy. Methods of dress, preparation of food, application of cosmetics or other hygienic practices are all considered liturgical activities.

Etymology

The word liturgy, derived from the technical term in ancient Greek, leitourgia, signifies the often expensive offers of service to the people, and thus to the polis and the state. Through the leitourgia, the rich carried a financial burden and were correspondingly rewarded with honours. The leitourgia became both mandatory and honorific, supporting the patron's standing among the elite. The holder of a Hellenic leitourgia was not taxed a specific sum, but was entrusted with a particular ritual, which could be performed with greater or lesser magnificence. The chief sphere remained that of civic religion, embodied in the festivals: M.I. Finley notes "in Demosthenes' day there were at least 97 liturgical appointments in Athens for the festivals, rising to 118 in a (quadrennial) Panathenaic year." Eventually, under the Roman Empire, such obligations, known as munera, devolved into a competitive and ruinously expensive burden that was avoided when possible.

Liturgy (disambiguation)

Liturgy is a Christian term with several meanings:

Liturgy may also refer to:

Eucharist in the Catholic Church

The Eucharist in the Catholic Church is the celebration of Mass, the eucharistic liturgy. The term Eucharist is also used for the bread and wine when transubstantiated (their substance having been changed), according to Catholic teaching, into the body and blood of Jesus Christ

Blessed Sacrament is a devotional term used in the Roman Catholic Church to refer to the eucharistic species (the Body and Blood of Christ). Consecrated hosts are kept in a tabernacle after Mass, so that the Blessed Sacrament can be brought to the sick and dying outside the time of Mass. This makes possible also the practice of eucharistic adoration.

New Testament foundations

The First Eucharist in Scripture

The Catholic Church sees as the main basis for this belief the words of Jesus himself at his Last Supper: the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew 26-28; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:19-20) and Saint Paul's 1 Corinthians 11:23-25 recount that in that context Jesus said of what to all appearances were bread and wine: "This is my body … this is my blood." The Catholic understanding of these words, from the Patristic authors onward, has emphasized their roots in the covenantal history of the Old Testament.

Ambo

Ambo may refer to:

Places

Religion

Other uses

Robyn Miller

For the Casualty character see Robyn Miller (Casualty).

Robyn Charles Miller (born August 6, 1966 in Dallas, Texas) is the co-founder of Cyan Worlds (originally Cyan) with brother Rand Miller. He served as co-designer of the popular computer game Myst, which held the title of best-selling computer game from its release in 1993 until the release of The Sims nine years later. He also co-directed and co-lead designed the sequel to Myst, Riven, which was the best-selling computer game of its year of release, 1997. Miller composed and performed the soundtracks to both games. He also acted in Myst, portraying one of the antagonists, Sirrus (with brother and Cyan-cofounder Rand appearing as Achenar and Atrus). He co-wrote the first Myst novel, The Book of Atrus.

After the release of Riven, Miller left Cyan to pursue non-game interests, including films. He is the director of the 2013 film, The Immortal Augustus Gladstone.

Early Works

Miller served as a designer on Cyan Worlds's early games The Manhole, Spelunx, and Cosmic Osmo and the Worlds Beyond the Mackerel.

Pulpit

Pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin pulpitum (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accessed by steps, with sides coming to about waist height. From the late medieval period onwards, pulpits have often had a canopy known as the sounding board or abat-voix above and sometimes also behind the speaker, normally in wood. Though sometimes highly decorated, this is not purely decorative, but can have a useful acoustic effect in projecting the preacher's voice to the congregation below. Most pulpits have one or more book-stands for the preacher to rest his bible, notes or texts upon.

The pulpit is generally reserved for clergy. This is mandated in the regulations of the Roman Catholic church, and several others (though not always strictly observed). Even in Welsh Nonconformism, this was felt appropriate, and in some chapels a second pulpit was built opposite the main one for lay exhortations, testimonials and other speeches. Many churches have a second, smaller stand called the lectern, which can be used by lay persons, and is often used for all the readings and ordinary announcements. The traditional Catholic location of the pulpit to the side of the chancel or nave has been generally retained by episcopalian and some other Protestant denominations, while in Presbyterian and Evangelical churches the pulpit has often replaced the altar at the centre.