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by Fr. John A. Peck The final installment of our five part series A Short History of the Liturgical Location for Preaching: The Ambo, the Pulpit and the Lectern. The Lectern (Analogion) The Lectern (from the Latin lectus, past participle of legere, "to read") is a reading desk with a slanted top, usually placed on a stand or affixed to a some other form of support, on which documents or books are placed as support for reading … [Read more...]
by Fr. John A. Peck Part Four of a Five Part series A Short History of the Liturgical Location for Preaching: The Ambo, the Pulpit and the Lectern. The Exterior Pulpit There is a wonderful history of outdoor, or exterior pulpits, attached to Churches. As stated previously, exterior pulpits were used for funeral orations in the churchyard, for the preaching of pilgrimages, or for the exhibition of relics, and were often built outside of … [Read more...]
by Fr. John A. Peck Part Three of a Five Part series A Short History of the Liturgical Location for Preaching: The Ambo, the Pulpit and the Lectern. The Pulpit The word pulpit comes from the Latin pulpitum, meaning a stage or scaffold. The most popular and consistent architectural 'solution' to a highly visible and clearly audible location in a Church has been the pulpit. The pulpit is the direct descendant of the ambo, as is an … [Read more...]
by Fr. John A. Peck Part Two of our Five Part series. A Short History of the Liturgical Location for Preaching: The Ambo, the Pulpit and the Lectern. The Ambo An Ambo (pl. Ambones) is a Greek word, supposed to signify a mountain or elevation. This was understood in the west as well – and well after the Great Schism. Even Pope Innocent III of Rome so understood it, for in his work on the Liturgy (II.I. 33), after speaking of the … [Read more...]
By Fr. John A. Peck Part One of a Five Part Series A Short History of the Liturgical Location for Preaching: The Ambo, the Pulpit and the Lectern Throughout history, the place occupied by the preacher has changed based on liturgical and theological need. Primarily of course, the purpose of changing the location was of necessity – to be seen and heard by those listening and looking. Our Lord Himself ascended a mountain for the “Sermon … [Read more...]
by Fr. Sergius Halvorsen Professor of rhetoric and homiletics at Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Cromwell, CT, Fr. Sergius is a founding member of the Preachers Institute. In this article, he gives some effective guidelines for sermon preparation in this article on the function of Orthodox Christian preaching. The sermon that is preached in the context of the Divine Liturgy should lead the hearer on the path of sanctification and theosis. … [Read more...]
by Fr. Jonathan Cholcher The former headmaster of St. Nicholas Orthodox Classical School in Mogadore, OH, Fr. Jonathan is a graduate of Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO. An outstanding apologist, homilist and teacher, Fr. Jonathan provides four measurable benchmarks for Orthodox preachers. We are reprinting this article, which was originally published by Preachers Institute in May of 2009. Orthodox preaching needs to be good preaching. … [Read more...]
How to reconcile them? It's a bogus problem. by Fr. Patrick Henry Reardon Not long ago, in a Q&A session following a lecture in a distant city, someone inquired of me, "How do you reconcile children to the violent stories found in the Old Testament?" My response went along these lines: I believe this is a bogus problem. In truth, I have never met a child disturbed by violence in literature. In my experience, on the contrary, … [Read more...]
by Fr. Patrick Henry Reardon Senior Editor of Touchstone Magazine, and archpriest of All Saints Orthodox Church in Chicago, IL, Fr. Patrick is, perhaps, the most erudite writer in the Orthodox Church in North America today. This article, one of his Pastoral Ponderings, was published by Orthodoxtoday.org. The People of God have long been accustomed to the titles, ascriptions, and even historical settings that preface various of … [Read more...]
by Fr. Barnabas Powell We are republishing this article from our good friend, Fr. Barnabas, who is the priest of Ss. Raphael, Nicholas and Irene Church in Cumming, GA and blogger at Sober Joy, co-teaches the course PAST 7201 - Preaching: Proclaiming The Kindgom, with Fr. Nick Triantifilou, the president of Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology. Fr. Nick was the main professor, and Fr. Barnabas was the co-instructor. In this … [Read more...]
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