Today we are precisely one day from our annual

30 (40) Days of Blogging

adventure!

Many of you will remember last year’s blog entries, and they were excellent.

We are in the process of making a major change here at Preachers Institute, which we believe will make homiletics resources even easier to use and to make PI a better resource for you, the Orthodox Christian preacher, pastor and priest. As a result, we aren’t posting a page with links to blogs, though we do encourage ALL of you who will be participating go list your blog on our Facebook page – HERE.

If you have always wanted to start a pastoral blog, but weren’t sure

• how to start a blog
• if you actually could blog every day for 40 days,
• about what to blog about,
• whether to blog at all,
• why you should get started now,

this is your best time to start.

Begin with our Ebook This is available for free to each new ENews subscriber for the next month. If you don’t already have a copy, you can download the , the Amazon KINDLE version , or the

The next step, once you have listed a blog on WordPress.com or some other blogging platform (or set up a blog on your own parish website!), is to let us know about it. Send us the name of your blog and the URL address. Your blog will be listed on our 30 (40) Days of Blogging page, and you’ll get daily traffic from fellow PI bloggers. The fellowship, freedom and support you get will spur you on to the full 40 days. And that is no mean feat, but an excellent accomplishment for any blogger, let alone a beginner.

“But I already have a blog”

Excellent. You are ready to take your blog to the next level, and provide interesting, topical, helpful and pastoral information to your flock and to your other readers. This is the best time of year to begin.

“But I signed up last year”

You may still join this exercise, and we encourage you to do so. Let’s face it, blogging is real pastoral work.

Fr. James Coles, of the Schole blog, and I are often meeting and greeting, and informing each other that we are ‘stealing’ good material from each other’s blogs, and often using that very material for our Sunday sermons. That’s part of the purpose of this exercise – to share good, useful and preachable information.

Yes, there is real value to blogging with us and with all of the other PI bloggers.

© 2011, admin. All rights reserved.

Dormition is one of the Twelve Great Feasts of the Christian faith. Of course, this is a great preaching opportunity, so we here at Preachers Institute, are offering an article on Dormition and a few things which we hope you will find valuable as you prepare this festal sermon.

1. Preach the Gospel

Don’t forget to preach the Gospel – tell your listeners the Good News! The only reason we are celebrating Dormition at all is because of the incarnation, suffering, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, the feast of the Dormition is, indeed, a feast of resurrection! Be sure to make this connection to every listener with clarity. You may wish to treat this feast as a real opportunity to preach the Resurrection to those who may never get another chance to hear it!

This is a resurrectional feast!

2. About the Feast Itself

The word ‘Dormition’ simply means ‘falling asleep’ – the biblical idiom for a believer’s death.

The Dormition (Falling Asleep) of the Theotokos is one of the Great Feasts of the Orthodox Church, celebrated on August 15. This feast is called the Assumption in the western churches, and commemorates the death, resurrection and glorification of the Virgin Mary, Christ’s mother. It proclaims that Mary has been “assumed” by God into the heavenly kingdom of Christ in the fullness of her spiritual and bodily existence.

The Tradition of the Church is that Mary died as all people die, not “voluntarily” as her Son, but by the necessity of her mortal human nature which is indivisibly bound up with the corruption of this world.

The Orthodox Church teaches that Mary is without personal sins. In the Gospel of the feast, however, in the liturgical services and in the Dormition icon, the Church proclaims as well that Mary truly needed to be saved by Christ as all human persons are saved from the trials, sufferings and death of this world; and that having truly died, she was raised up by her Son as the Mother of Life and participates already in the eternal life of paradise which is prepared and promised to all who

“hear the word of God and keep it.” (Luke 11:27-28)

The services of the feast repeat the main theme, that the Mother of Life has

“passed over into the heavenly joy, into the divine gladness and unending delight” of the Kingdom of her Son. (Vesper verse)

The Old Testament readings, as well as the gospel readings for the Vigil and the Divine Liturgy, are exactly the same as those for the feast of the Virgin’s nativity and her entrance into the Temple. Thus, at the Vigil we again hear Mary say:

“My soul magnifies the Lord and my Spirit rejoices in God my Saviour.” (Luke 1:47)

At the Divine Liturgy we hear the letter to the Philippians where St. Paul speaks of the self-emptying of Christ who condescends to human servitude and ignoble death in order to be

“highly exalted” by God his Father. (Philippians 2:5-11)

And once again we hear in the Gospel that Mary’s blessedness belongs to all who

“hear the word of God and keep it.” (Luke 11:27-28)

Thus, the feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos is the celebration of the fact that all men are “highly exalted” in the blessedness of the victorious Christ, and that this high exaltation has already been accomplished in Mary the Theotokos. The feast of the Dormition is the sign, the guarantee, and the celebration that Mary’s fate is, the destiny of all those of “low estate” whose souls magnify the Lord, whose spirits rejoice in God the Saviour, whose lives are totally dedicated to hearing and keeping the Word of God which is given to men in Mary’s child, the Saviour and Redeemer of the world.

Finally it must be stressed that, in all of the feasts of the Virgin Mother of God in the Church, the Orthodox Christians celebrate facts of their own lives in Christ and the Holy Spirit.

What happens to Mary happens to all who imitate her holy life of humility, obedience, and love.

With her all people will be “blessed” to be “more honorable than the cherubim and beyond compare more glorious than the seraphim” if they follow her example. All will have Christ born in them by the Holy Spirit. All will become temples of the living God. All will share in the eternal life of His Kingdom who live the life that Mary lived.

In this sense everything that is praised and glorified in Mary is a sign of what is offered to all persons in the life of the Church. It is for this reason that Mary, with the divine child Jesus within her, is call in the Orthodox Tradition the Image of the Church. For the assembly of the saved is those in whom Christ dwells.

3. About The Dormition Fast

For the first fourteen days of August during each year, the Holy Orthodox Church enters into a strict fast period in honor of the Mother of God, the Virgin Mary.

Every Orthodox Christian is aware and generally knows the reason behind the fasts for Pascha and Christmas. But while they may know of the Dormition Fast, few follow it, and more than a few question why it is there, neither knowing its purpose.

First, given the pervasive misunderstanding of the purpose of fasting itself, a refresher on its purpose is always a good idea. There is a perception that we should fast when we want something, as though the act of fasting somehow appeases God, and seeing us “suffer” gets Him to grant our request. Nothing can be further from the truth. It is not our fasting that pleases God, it is the fruits of our fast (provided we fast in the proper mind set, and do not merely diet) that please Him.

We fast, not to get what we want, but to prepare ourselves to receive what God wants to give us. The purpose of fasting is to bring us more in line with another Mary, the sister of Lazarus, and away from their sister Martha, who in the famous passage was

“anxious and troubled about many things.”

Fasting is intended to bring us to the realization of

“the one thing needful.”

It is to help us put God first and our own desires second, if not last. As such it serves to prepare us to be instruments of God’s will, as with Moses in his flight from Egypt and on Mt. Sinai, as well as our Lord’s fast in the wilderness. Fasting turns us away from ourselves and toward God. In essence it helps us become like the Theotokos, an obedient servant of God, who heard His word and kept it better than anyone else has or could.

So why do we fast before Dormition?

In a close-knit family, word that its matriarch is on her deathbed brings normal life to a halt. Otherwise important things (parties, TV, luxuries, personal desires) become unimportant; life comes to revolve around the dying matriarch. It is the same with the Orthodox family; word that our matriarch is on her deathbed, could not (or at least should not) have any different effect than the one just mentioned.

The Church, through the Paraklesis Service, gives us the opportunity to come to that deathbed and eulogize and entreat the woman who bore God, the vessel of our salvation and our chief advocate at His divine throne. And as, in the earthly family, daily routines and the indulgence in personal wants should come to a halt. Fasting, in its full sense (abstaining from food and desires) accomplishes this. Less time in leisure or other pursuits leaves more time for prayer and reflection on she who gave us Christ, and became the first and greatest Christian.

In reflecting on her and her incomparable life, we see a model Christian life, embodying Christ’s retort to the woman who stated that Mary was blessed because she bore Him: blessed rather are those who hear His word and keep it. Mary did this better than anyone. She heard the word of God and kept it so well, that she of all women in history was chosen not only to hear His Word but give birth to it (Him). So while we fast in contemplation of her life, we are simultaneously preparing ourselves to live a life in imitation of her.

That is the purpose of the Dormition Fast. (source)

4. Why Is Dormition So Important?

The eminent Orthodox theologian, Fr. Sergei Bulgakov, beautifully expresses the high regard which the Orthodox Christians have for the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, for her special role in the salvation of mankind, when he affirms,

“The warm veneration of the Theotokos is the soul of Orthodox Piety.”

St. John of Damascus, one of the great Orthodox fathers, pointed out that when the Blessed Virgin Mary became the Mother of God and gave birth to Christ, the Redeemer of Mankind, she became the mother of mankind. We call the Virgin Mary “Theotokos”, from the Greek, which means “The Birth-Giver or the Bearer of God.”

Why not refer to her simply as the Blessed Virgin Mary? Because, there are many holy Marys who were virgins, but there is only one Theotokos.

This is the highest title that can be bestowed upon any member of the human race.

The Theotokos, the Virgin Mary, was

“blessed amongst women,”

and she was chosen

“to bear the Savior of our souls.”

We, therefore, as Orthodox Christians, consider her to be the Queen of all the saints and the angels.

Knowing that she holds such a high place in the Kingdom of Heaven and that she is eternally present at the throne of God interceding for mankind, we, as good Orthodox Christians, must pray for her love, guidance, and protection. We must never forget to ask for her intercessions in times of sickness and danger, and we must constantly thank her for her care and her prayers in our behalf.

The word “paraclesis” has two different meanings: the first is “consolation,” from which the Holy Spirit is called the “Paraclete,” or “Consoler”; the second is “supplication” or “petition”. The Service of the Paraclesis to the Theotokos consists of hymns of supplication to obtain consolation and courage. It should be recited in times of temptation, discouragement or sickness. It is used more particularly during the two weeks before the Dormition, or Assumption, of the Theotokos, from August 1 to August 14.

The theme of these Paraclesis Services centers around the petition…

“Most Holy Theotokos, save us.”

Since these Paraclesis Services to the Theotokos are primarily petition for the welfare of the living, let the whole Church pray for you during the first fifteen days of August and especially on the Great Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos on August 15th.

5. Special Blessings on Dormition

It is the custom in some churches to bless flowers and herbs on the feast of the Dormition.

It is the final Great Feast on the Christian Calendar. Thus, as a symbol of all believers, the liturgical year begins with the Nativity (birth) of the Theotokos, and ends with her Dormition (falling asleep).

© 2011, Fr. John A. Peck. All rights reserved.

Christ is Risen!

It’s that time of year again, the month of June – my annual vacation time, and I’ll be taking a hiatus this month from regular publication and updating of Preachers Institute. There will be articles scheduled for publication, but I won’t be updating or moderating comments during the month of June.

Thanks for all your support for our work and mission. In the coming year, we are hoping to offer many unique articles on the history and application of Byzantine homiletics (our intense interest) and how to incorporate the wisdom of the centuries into your own homiletics schedule and preaching.

Since we began offering the Called To Serve workbooks as a discounted E-book, many of you asked if and/or when some of the other E-books in our store may go on sale.

So, as a way of saying thanks for your support, in addition to leaving the Called To Serve workbooks on sale and available, for the month of June I’m now, at your request, reducing the following E-books to ONLY $5.00.

These will be instantly (or almost instantly) delivered to your Email inbox.

Normally $15 Now $5.00	Normally $29 Now $5.00	Normally $20 Still $5.00	Normally $25 Still $6.50
for the month of June	for the month of June	until Sun. June 12th  for the month of June	until Sun. June 12th  for the month of June

Have a happy and blessed June. I’ll be back in July. In the meantime, please remember me in your holy prayers.

And preach the Word, in season and out!

Fr. John

© 2011, admin. All rights reserved.

by Fr. John A. Peck

Well, friends, it is that time in our exercise. There’s no shame in it. Blogging has become difficult. We’re hitting ‘the wall’ in this marathon.

Runners know what ‘the wall’ is. It’s that wonderful experience you just have to push through. It’s tough. It’s all will power. Now for those of you who took up the challenge of the 30 (40) Days of Blogging, first let me congratulate you for takinng the challenge.

Second, for those blogging only the first 30 days, we are only a day away from the finish line, so blog on anything, but just blog.

For those of you going all the way to 40 Days of Blogging, it is a unique crucible, and one that has required some real effort.

I’d also like to say that it is precisely your willingness to – at this very busy season in the priesthood – put aside time for this exercise that will benefit you.

Remember, the purpose of this exercise is not simply to see “if you could do it.” Of that, I have no doubt whatsoever. The real prize to this exercise is what benefit it will provide you in your preaching.

As preachers, especially at Christmas, we have a real chance to preach the Gospel in a heightened way, using a more solemn and exalted tone or voice. This is a special event in the Church, to be sure, but it is prominent in our culture, too. People do expect something else, something different, something exalted.

This is a good expectation for us to try and meet, nay, exceed.  The prize of our hearer’s repentance, reconciliation with God and their fellows, and a return to some kind of healing normalcy; these are the dashed hopes of many of our hearers. They come expecting Sunday fare, or worse, a trip to a theological McDonalds. Give them a taste  of the Marriage Feast of the Lamb.

Slogging through these final days of blogging is a bit time consuming, but take a moment and recall why we are doing it. Look through some of the early articles on Blogging here at Preachers Institute. Reignite the purpose of blogging as a tool for better preaching.

After all, blogging is a kind of preaching, isn’t it? And the Lord Jesus Christ has called, chosen, and ordained us to preach “in season and out.”

We started strong. We can finish strong, for if no other reason than the Lord Himself is strong.

© 2010, Fr. John A. Peck. All rights reserved.

It’s really not all that challenging, but for someone who has never read the entire New Testament before, it is an excellent time for just such an exercise.

• If you begin on Nov. 15th, you will do the 40 day schedule.
• If you begin on Dec. 1, you will do the 25 day schedule.
• Both schedules complete their readings on Christmas day.

This makes the entire Nativity Fast a time of real devoted ascetic effort and spiritual growth. It is especially appropriate (in my opinion) as the term Advent, basically implies a preparation and anticipation of the Second Coming of Christ. Notice, on Christmas Day, one is finishing Revelation!

Now, you may say “Who is honestly going to read half – or the entire – book of Revelation on Christmas?” Well, that’s what the 12 Days of Christmas are for!

I recommend that all preachers and clergy offer this to your parishioners during the Nativity Fast. It is a great time to do it, and this is a wonderful thing to promote RIGHT NOW!

In any event, if you want some activity for parishioners to do together to count down the days of the Nativity Fast, some spiritual exercise for them to stay accountable to, and some endeavor for you to present alongside their efforts, the New Testament Challenge is my offering to you.

You can download the form in PDF format by clicking the image above.

The New Testament Challenge Schedule

This is a great exercise, and I find that often it gets folks who have desired for many years to read the New Testament on target to doing so for the first time. It’s a great fellowship builder also, as I try to get those who are reading together during our Fellowship Hour on Sunday, so they know they aren’t alone, and to provide a little impetus to keep on schedule.

It doesn’t matter to me if they finish – though that is the goal. The truth is, I want them to start.

You may have heard the old Irish saying,

“Well begun is half done.”

and this is no more true in blogging than it is in reading Scripture.

You can actually blog about the entire experience yourself.

You’ll get a more attentive audience, I can guarantee you, if they know you are reading along with them, noting (ahead of time, of course, so you can blog about it) impressions and spiritual dimensions of the readings they will be with you every step of the way. Beginning such an enterprise takes commitment and devotion, but if you really aren’t sure what to blog about, and you just can’t figure out what to do – the New Testament Challenge is an excellent blogging exercise for you, and your fellow NT readers.

Be sure to announce in your weekly bulletin AND from the pulpit that you will be doing this, so that your people will know what you are doing, and so they can join you on this journey. Be sure to pass out copies at Church.

And join you they will.

There is an Old Testament Challenge also, but that’s for another time, and is far more intense.

Fr. John A. Peck is the priest of the St. George Church in Prescott, AZ, and is the Director of the Preachers Institute.

© 2010, Fr. John A. Peck. All rights reserved.

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)

A Portable Lectern

A four-sided 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 aloud. To facilitate eye-contact and improve posture when facing an audience, lecterns may have adjustable height and slant. Lecterns are often eagle shaped to symbolize the Gospel according to St John the Apostle. Persons use lecterns while standing.

The lectern is usually the stand on which the Bible rests and from which the “lessons” (reading from Scripture) are read during the service. The lessons may be read or chanted by a priest, deacon, minister, or layperson, depending upon the liturgical traditions of the community. In protestant churches, the lectern became a central architectural feature, replacing the altar (in location and importance) and being exalted over the ‘communion table.’ In other words, the pulpit became the lectern and was often moved to the center. The lectern is normally set in front of the pews, so that the reader or speaker faces the congregation.

Lecterns are often made of wood, though brass, marble and other materials are more and more available. They may be either fixed in place or portable.

Portable Lecterns are often used in many parish Churches for the reading of the Gospel, and for the sermon afterward.

The Analogion (plural: analogia) is a lectern or slanted desk or stand on which icons or the Gospel Book are placed for veneration by the faithful in the Orthodox Church. Traditionally, the analogia were reading desks for the Epistle and Gospel, remained at the sides of the choir, as they are today and are chiefly used for reading or singing parts of the liturgy.

The analogion is normally slanted slightly, to make it easier for the one standing in front of it to see the icon or book laid on it. The analogion may have four legs or only one in the center. It is often covered with rich cloth (antipendia) which either partially or completely covers the analogion on all sides. Some analogia are made made so they fold for easy portability, some are intricately carved of fine wood, and some are simple framework intended to be completely covered with cloth. They are normally light enough to be moved without too much difficulty.

There is also a type of analogion which is used in the kliros by the chanters. This often has two or three sides and turns to allow the singers to more easily use the numerous liturgical texts required during the services.

Older Style Analogion

There is an older Greek design for this type of analogion that is octagonal with a flat top instead of slanted. This style is still found in use on Mt. Athos and at other ancient monasteries throughout the world. Sometimes this type of analogion is intricately inlaid with mother of pearl or other semi-precious materials.

A similar piece of furniture is called the tetrapodion which is a table which can be set in the center of the church, usually covered with a cloth, and upon which objects are placed to be blessed.

Analogia are used for the veneration of icons, usually with a candlestand beside or behind it, or an oil lamp burning above it. The candlestand may hold one candle and be used to shine light on the icon, or it may have places for the faithful to offer candles as they venerate the icon.

On higher-ranking feasts of the church year, when the chanting of the Polyeleos is called for, an analogion is placed in the center of the temple (i.e., the nave of the church) with candles, and the icon of the feast being celebrated is placed thereon.

At the highpoint of the service, all of the lights in the church are lit and the clergy and people gather around the icon on the analogion in the center of the temple for the chanting of festive hymns and the reading of the Matins Gospel lesson.

When a priest or bishop hears Confession, he will do so standing beside an analogion on which has been placed a Gospel Book and a Cross. The penitent will venerate the Gospel and Cross and then kneel before the analogion, for the confession.

Where to get them?

After this series of articles, you may be wondering what it would actually take to install these in your parish. The answer is not so much as you might think. We’ve compiled a list (albeit incomplete) of vendors where the following can be purchased. Now, we have not received any compensation for offering these links (too bad!), and we are certainly interested in more. If you know of a vendor who supplies these items, let us know by clicking here.

Ambones

Right now, classically designed ambones are, as far as I know, not being manufactured. However, if one desired to have one made, I would start with this vendor:

• King Richard’s - this vendor’s ambones are small ambones, or unattached pulpits rather than the classic ambo, but they are marvelous in marble and wood, and would be my first choice should you wish to reconstruct a classic ambo, or simply add a magnificent small ambo to your church. I recommend you take some time to examine their offerings, and imagine the possibilities in your own parish.

Pulpits

With pulpits, as we define them, one has more choices!

• Orama World - this vendor’s hand carved pulpit would match many an iconostasis already installed.
• – has two hand carved pulpits  in their catalog.
• Dimitrios Klitsas - this Master Woodcarver is in the US and has created pulpits for Orthodox churches.
• - excellent hand carved pulpits for Orthodox Churches.
• King Richard’s – by far the most excellent selection of hand carved wood or marble pulpits.

Lecterns & Analogia

• – hand made lecterns and analogia by an Orthodox priest in the US.
• Kizki Woodworks - a vendor who manufactures hand made lecterns & analogia.
• – again, this vendor has several hand carved lecterns.
• – has several hand carved lecterns and more.
• Istok Enterprises - this vendor has a wonderful selection of lecterns.
• - excellent hand carved lecterns for Orthodox Churches.
• King Richard’s - KR has an excellent selection of hand carved wood or marble lecterns.

© 2010, admin. All rights reserved.

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 the churches, and many cathedrals.

As you will see, there is a great variety in the design and placement of exterior pulpits, adding to their flexibility of use, ornamentation, and installation.

Examples in the United States

The Exterior Pulpit in Starkenberg, MO

There are even examples of exterior pulpits right here in the United States. One excellent and humble example exists at , in Starkenberg, Missouri, of the Diocese of Jefferson City. The shrine is located in rural Montgomery County, about 87 highway miles west of downtown Saint Louis, Missouri and is a beautiful example of just such a pulpit.

Others include the following (there are more than what I have included here);

Exterior Pulpit at Idlewild Presbyterian Church, Memphis, TN

The Exterior Pulpit over the front entrance doors of the Shadyside Cathedral in Pittsburgh, PA

The Exterior Pulpit at Chicago Theological Seminary, Chicago, IL

From Around the World

There are a multitude of exterior pulpits around the world, and particularly in Europe, where preaching has always held a high priority.

Exterior Pulpit by Donatello

Exterior Pulpit at St. Martin's Church in Birmingham, England

Exterior Pulpit on Brixton Rd in London, England

The Exterior Pulpit at St. George Church, Brentwood, Essex, England

Note the similarity in design of the above exterior pulpit to the classic ambo!

The Exterior Pulpit of St. John Capistrano, Germany

This is a particularly ornate exterior pulpit (above), from which St. John Capistrano preached against the Turkish invasion.

An Exterior Pulpit attached to an unidentified Cathedral

A 16th century Exterior Pulpit

The Exterior Pulpit at Duomo Perugia

An exterior pulpit in Hämeenlinna, Finland

Why exterior pulpits?

Now, you may be saying to yourself

“Okay. So what? None of these are Orthodox Churches, so why should I care?”

Truth is, many Orthodox parishes do not just have fellowship halls, but rather have extensive facilities. As more and more is being scheduled at these facilities, and more programs (and, yes, festivals) take place at them, it is a far better opportunity for a preaching festival than having an “Orthodoxy” tent, which ends up being little more than a kind of Ripley’s Believe It or Not for non-members.

Why not bring in several accomplished preachers to give 10 minute sermons, along with seminarians who need to smooth the rough edges from their sermon presentations?

The addition of exterior pulpits to many of the existing churches would provide excellent and unique opportunities for parishes to memorably hear the preaching of deacons, seminary students, and of course, local clergy that the congregation almost never gets to hear (because they are busy at their own parishes).

It would allow festival visitors to hear Orthodox doctrine and theology is an non-threatening setting (i.e., easy to escape), sharpen the homiletic skills of our preachers, and sharpen the listening skills of our flock. There is no down side to the installation of exterior pulpits, and they would provide excellent reminders of the Churches mission to

“preach the Gospel to the whole Creation” (Mark 16:15).

Exterior pulpits comprise a laudable tradition which would make sense in modern Orthodox parishes. They demonstrated in the planning, building and funding of these pulpits that preaching the Gospel of Christ was a priority. Again, in the Orthodox Tradition, the preaching of the Word is the culmination of the entire first half of the Divine Liturgy. It is time for the pulpit to take its place, once again, in Orthodox Church planning, furnishing and architectural planning. The exterior pulpit would practically require more and better preaching from clergy, and may even spawn a new generation of active evangelism and hard-core apologetics among the laity.

Nothing is worse than an idle pulpit.

And there’s no hiding one that is visible on the outside the Church.

Compiled from various sources

Part Five – The Lectern & Analogion will be published tomorrow

© 2010, admin. All rights reserved.

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

A Classic 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 elevated stand to preach on, attached to the Church building itself – often to a pillar. To elucidate the meaning of the word, we can refer to Solomon (2 Chronicles 6:13), who prayed from

“a brazen scaffold,”

and to Esdras (Nehemiah 8:4) who

“stood upon a step of wood”

and read the law of God. Their elevated position and public action suggest to some the symbolical meaning of the pulpit: the level of the perfect. It has been also called the analogium, from the preaching of the word of God.

Originally, the bishop often preached from his cathedra; a survival of this is retained in the French and German words for pulpit, chaire and predigtstuhl. The other German word kanzel recalls the position of the ambo at the choir-screen, or chancel screen (cancelli). The pulpit characterized as part of the church furniture by its independent position and use, found itself separated from the choir and pushed forward in the central part of the nave beyond the choir for singers.

According to Eusebius, Paul of Samosata (Eusebius, 7, 30) spoke to the people from a high canopied seat in the apse.

There can be no doubt that the pulpit, like the ambo, is a very Orthodox piece of liturgical architecture, and not just in the bygone past, but in today’s parish church as well.

Sample Pulpits

Here is a sampling of pulpits from early Christian/Orthodox Churches – as I could find them.

Leading the way of our list of examples of Orthodox pulpits is this first one from the Patriarchal Cathedral of St. George (Ecumenical Patriarchate). Note that it needs no sounding board over the top – it is placed so high on the pillar that it uses the ceiling for that purpose!

Pulpit of St. George Patriarchal Cathedral (Ecumenical Patriarchate)

An Early Monastery Pulpit

The Pulpit of St. Gabriel Church, Istanbul

The Pulpit at St. George Church, Istanbul

An Ornamented Orthodox Pulpit

A pulpit at a church in Cyprus

Another Orthodox Church Pulpit

The Pulpit of St. Catherine Church, West Palm Beach, Florida

Where the Gospel of Christ is preached in the Orthodox Church, and no ambo is available, there should be a pulpit!

Ornamented Pulpits

Pulpits became a central fixture in Churches in Europe as preaching took its proper place in the liturgical service. Pulpits, like Altars, iconostases, and rails, became more and more ornamented, and were often sponsored by wealthy merchants or royalty, and were appropriately adorned as the location where, again, the most important part of the service of the Word took place.

The Pulpit at Aachen Cathedral today

The stunningly beautiful pulpit in the cathedral at Aachen, Germany was, according to the inscription, a present from Emperor Henry II (d. 1024). The ground-plan consists of three unequal segments of a circle. The wooden core is covered with sheets of copper overlaid with gold. Of the fifteen flat surfaces formed by slightly sunken panels, six contain ivory carvings belonging to an earlier period, and the others, precious stones, cups of rock-crystal, and enamels. There is no explanation as to what this was intended to represent: with large generosity the emperor had given whatever he had that was costly for the house of God.

In many places the pulpit was made a part of the rood-loft, which was a gallery or loft of wood or stone, existing as early as the eleventh century and used, instead of the cancelli, to separate the choir from the nave; it was called the lectorium, or odeum, as the loft where the singers were, and doxale from the singing of the doxologies. Statues of the Savior and His Apostles, representing the Last Judgment and the Passion, frequently ornamented the rood-loft on the side towards the nave.

At Wechselburg in Saxony a Romanesque pulpit from the beginning of the thirteenth century is still in existence; it probably belonged, together with the celebrated altar cross, to the partially preserved rood-loft, which, with a few others of that period, is still to be found. It is ornamented with well-executed reliefs, and rests on arcades and columns. In the central oval panel, or mandorla, there is a relief of Christ as teacher, surrounded by the symbols of the Evangelists; on either side are Mary and John trampling upon allegorical symbols of error. The other reliefs, viz., the sacrifices of Abel and Abraham and the Brazen Serpent, were chosen with reference to the cross and altar in the rood-loft, redemption by Christ’s sacrificial death being a main topic of preaching.

The pulpit at Pisa, completed by Niccola Pisano in 1260, is an unattached structure resting on seven columns, which opened the way to a new development for Italian sculpture. In addition to what is palpably borrowed from antiquity, e.g. the Virgin as Juno, there are figures taken entirely from the life of the time. Instead of the mosaic, six bas-reliefs surround the breastwork: the Annunciation, Nativity, Adoration of the Magi, Presentation in the Temple, Crucifixion, and the Last Judgment; they present the main contents of the doctrine of Salvation.

The first examples of Renaissance pulpits are those of Donatello (fifteenth century). Donatello inserted here into the original round form of the pulpit seven white marble panels, on which in his customary manner he represented in bas-relief little cherubs in an animated dance; the ornamentation of the bronze capital below the pulpit, which rests on a single support, is also purely decorative in character.

At an earlier era the platform of the pulpit was supported by an understructure or by a number of columns, and during the Renaissance pulpits projected from a pillar or wall, like balconies. Both bronze pulpits in San Lorenzo at Florence rest on four Ionic columns, and are decorated with representations of the Passion, over which there is a frieze of cherubs borrowed from the art of antiquity.

The magnificent pulpit made by Master Pilgram for the Cathedral of St. Stephen at Vienna (sixteenth century) is decorated with busts of the Fathers of the Church and figures of other saints.

The ornate decoration of the pulpit of the collegiate church at Aschaffenburg depicts the Church Fathers around the supporting pillar, busts of the same in the upper frieze, scenes from the Bible separated by spirited figures of the Evangelists, and angels in the place of consoles. In the Cathedral at Trier the ascent to the pulpit is covered by a magnificently ornamented archway with a high decoration at the top. On the string-piece of the steps are carved the Sermon on the Mount and the Last Judgment, and on the panels of the parapet the works of mercy are depicted.

The pulpit of Freiberg in Saxony is fantastically developed from the root of a plant and on it in a naturalistic manner the figures of men and animals are formed.

The most striking pulpits of the Baroque period are those of Belgium. The base, stairway, and sounding-board were artistically or fantastically covered according to the taste of the time with luxurious and ornate carving.

In St. Gudule’s at Brussels the banishment of Adam and Eve from Paradise is carved underneath the pulpit, while, in contrast, the Mother of God is represented above the sounding-board as a mighty female warrior and slayer of the dragon.

Underneath the pulpit of the cathedral at Mechlin there is a representation of the Crucifixion on Calvary with the people at Christ’s feet, while below the rock Saul falls from his horse, overcome by the truth; above at the side are carvings of Adam and Eve with the Serpent. All these are rich in suggestions for the sermon.

At the base of the pulpit of the Church of St. Andrew at Antwerp there is a splendid carving of Christ, and the Apostles Peter and John in a little boat. Over the enormous sounding-board angels hold on high the St. Andrew’s cross, and beneath the dove, representing the Holy Spirit, sends rays in all directions. Note the resemblance in structure of the above pulpit with a classic ambo.

The whole structure of a pulpit in Krakow represents a ship, with sails, mast, and rigging, poised over sea monsters.

Recommended:

Click here to see a collection of 41 pulpits in Finnish Churches

Pulpit Ornamentation: General Principles

The ornamentation of the pulpit should never be excessive, but subordinate to that of the altar, whose view it should not obstruct. The latter difficulty is often removed by setting the pulpit slightly towards the side aisle, whereby a troublesome echo from the transept is avoided. Near which pillar of the nave the pulpit should be placed depends upon the acoustics of the church.

The sounding-board should, above all, make the voice of the preacher perfectly distinct; by giving it, the form of a shell the waves of sound are often sent in a definite direction. In order that the speaker may be readily understood, the pulpit should not stand too high. Its ornamentation should be appropriate: representations of the Evangelists or Church Fathers, scenes from the Bible, as the Sermon on the Mount, the dove as a symbol of the Holy Spirit on the underside of the sounding-board, and perhaps an angel over it. A simple pillar skillfully developed into the platform of the pulpit, is satisfactory, when its decoration and that of the stairway and string-piece is subordinate to that of the central main part. The lack of a vertical support makes an unpleasant impression; a reading-desk or crucifix is apt to produce an overloaded effect.

A well-arranged pulpit-cloth varied in color to suit the various feasts and periods of the year would not be improper.

Does the Pulpit have a place in Orthodoxy Today?

I think the answer to this is rather simple: Obviously yes, but only where preaching the Gospel is important. What is worse than an idle pulpit? That would be rather like having an idle altar – God forbid!

The glaring omission of pulpits in Orthodox Church architecture is not simply a reliance on the Eucharistic portion of the Liturgy, which is always primary in Orthodox architectural planning, but an abandonment of it as a necessary part of the Liturgy of the Word. Preaching in many places has atrophied to the point that sermons are no longer expected, and no longer given. Christian instruction, discipleship and education have been considered a private matter, not a parish one.

The reintroduction of the pulpit to contemporary Orthodox parish churches would be a small expense, and provide a serious challenge to the Church, a challenge to clergy in their sermon preparation and presentation, and a serious challenge to the laity who must, likewise, improve their listening skills in some places – which have atrophied as well.

At the end of this series of articles, I will offer some links to companies that offer ‘ambones’, pulpits, lecterns and analogia which are appropriate for Orthodox Churches.

Compiled from various sources

Part Four: Exterior Pulpits will be published tomorrow.

© 2010, admin. All rights reserved.

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.

The Ambo

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 deacon ascending the ambo to read the Gospel, he quotes the following from Isaiah (40:9):

“O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, get thee up into a high mountain! O thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up thy voice with strength, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, ‘Behold your God’”

(translation as quoted in Handel’s Messiah – a personal favorite)

And in the same connection he also alludes to Our Lord Jesus Christ preaching from a mountain:

“He went up into a mountain -and opening his mouth he taught them” (Matt. 5: 1, 2).

As an ambo is an elevated platform or pulpit from which, in the early churches and basilicas, the Gospel and Epistle were eventuallychanted or read from it, and all kinds of communications were made to the congregation, sometimes the bishop preached from it, as in the case of St. John Chrysostom, who, Socrates Scholasticus says, was accustomed to mount the ambo to address the people, in order to be more distinctly heard (Eccl. Hist., 6, 5).  Sozomen (Church History 9.2) states the same, still characterizing the ambo as bema ton anagnoston. Chrysostom spoke from the ambo

“in order to be better understood”;

Originally there was only one ambo in a church, placed in the nave, and provided with two flights of steps; one from the east, the side towards the altar; and the other from the west.

From the eastern steps the subdeacon, with his face to the altar, read the Epistles; and from the western steps the deacon, facing the people, read the Gospels. The inconvenience of having one ambo soon became manifest, and in consequence in many churches two ambones were erected. When there were two, they were usually placed one on each side of the choir, which was separated from the nave and aisles by a low wall. Very often the Gospel ambo was provided with a permanent candlestick; the one attached to the ambo in St. Clement’s  in Rome is a marble spiral column, richly decorated with mosaic, and terminated by a capital twelve feet from the floor.

In the Cathedral of Hagia Sophia it stood under the dome (Paul the Silentiary, P.G., 86, 2259), but was united with the choir

“like an island with the mainland.”

Similarly at Ravenna the ambo of Bishop Agnellus (sixth century) stood in the central aisle of the nave, on the inner side of the old chancel screen. Bishop Agnellus, builder of the ambo of the cathedral at Ravenna (sixth century), called it pyrgus, or tower-like structure. The exterior surface of the round middle part and the steps which come far forward on the sides have panels arranged like a chess-board in six parallel bands filled with symbolic animals: fish, ducks, doves, deer, peacocks, and lambs in regular succession.

Owing to the aversion of Byzantine art of that period to delineating the human figure, animals are here presented in symbolical dependence on the words:

“Preach the Gospel to every creature.”

In large churches, therefore, the bishops, e.g. Ambrose, Augustine, and Paulinus of Nola, preached from the ambo at a very early date.

The ambo of Salonica, traditionally called “Paul’s pulpit,” appears to be the oldest remaining monument of this kind (fourth to sixth century). It is circular in form, about four meters in circumference, with two stairways, for ascending and descending, and is ornamented with carvings of the three Magi set in niches representing a shell; two ornamental bands are carried around above the niches (“Archives des missions scientifiques,” III, 1876).

Ambones are believed by some to have taken their origin from the raised platform from which the Jewish rabbis read the Scriptures to the people, and they were first introduced into churches during the fourth century, were in universal use by the ninth, reaching their full development and artistic beauty in the twelfth, and then gradually fell out of use, until in the fourteenth century, after the fall of Constantinople, when they were largely superseded by pulpits. In the Ambrosian Rite, the Gospel is still read from the ambo. They were usually built of white marble, enriched with carvings, inlays of colored marbles, and glass mosaics.

The most celebrated ambo was the one erected by the Emperor Justinian in the Cathedral of Hagia Sophia at Constantinople, which is fully described by the contemporary poet, Paulus Silentiarius in his work peri ktismaton. He describes the body of the ambo as made of various precious metals, inlaid with ivory, overlaid with plates of silver, and further enriched with gildings and bronze. The ambo of Hagia Sophia was adorned with flowers and trees. The disappearance of this magnificent example of Christian art is involved in some obscurity. It was probably intact down to the time of the taking of Constantinople by the Crusaders in 1203, when it was stripped of its beauty and wealth.

In St. Mark’s, at Venice, there is a very peculiar ambo, of two stories; from the lower one was read the Epistle, and from the upper one the Gospel. This form was copied at a later date in what are known as “double-decker” pulpits. Very interesting examples may be seen in many of the Italian basilicas; in Ravenna there are a number from the sixth century.

Just when it became customary to use the ambo mainly for the sermon, which gave it a new importance and affected its position, is not known.

Isidore of Seville first employed the word pulpit (Etym., XVI, iv), then “‘tribunal,” because from this the priest gave the “precepts for the conduct of life,” proclaiming law and justice.

Isidore also derives “analogium” from logos, as

“the addresses were given”

from it. Thus the ambo became the regular place for the preacher, and its situation was dependent on local conditions.

The Small Ambo

Due to the reduction in importance of preaching, the ambo eventually became smaller in size, and lower in stature, until it slowly began to turn into the pulpit (if attached to a pillar or some other part of the nave) or a large lectern (if unattached). A good example of this is the Ambo in Cluj, Romania. (below)

The Episcopal Ambo

In the contemporary celebration, the last public prayer of the Divine Liturgy is the “Prayer Before the Ambo”. Originally, it was a prayer of thanksgiving said as the clergy descended the ambo at the end of the service. In ancient times, there was a large collection of Prayers Before the Ambo, written for the different feast days of the church year and for those occasional services, such as weddings and funerals, that called for celebration of the Divine Liturgy.

There is also a low platform in the center of the nave called the episcopal ambo where the bishop is vested prior to the Divine Liturgy and where he is enthroned until the Little Entrance. If the bishop is serving in a simple parish church, an episcopal ambo is set temporarily in place. In parishes where this is permanent, when the bishop is not present, an analogion with an icon is usually placed upon it.

Compiled from various sources.

Part Three – The Pulpit will be published tomorrow.

© 2010, admin. All rights reserved.

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 on the Mount” (hence the name) and often spoke where more to could hear and see Him more clearly.

This is a study, a very humble study, of how the Church liturgically and architecturally has provided a location to proclaim the message of salvation in Christ Jesus.

Introduction

In most contemporary Orthodox Churches, the preacher usually delivers his homily from the ambo – the semicircular extension of the area in front of the Royal Doors. Without too much difficulty, it is done here so that most everyone in the Church can see and hear him.

From the earliest days of human history, those who speak publicly stood in a place where they could be both seen and heard better. Proclamation of the Gospel has fared likewise, and architecturally this has been born out in our Churches in different ways throughout history.

We see it even now in the mini-mega-Churches whose sanctuaries are bereft of any Christian imagery or symbolism, yet the pastor or speaker (or drama ministry team or praise band) is on a stage. Where everyone can see and hear them easily.

In Orthodox Christian architecture and liturgy, this has classically followed secular solutions to the problem and adjusted these based on liturgical need.

In all cases, the purpose was not to separate the speaker or preacher from the crowd of listeners, but to unite them, and bring them closer to each other, able to see and hear each other with greater acuity.

Why bother?

“Why bother with places to preach? The principle liturgical action of the Church is the Eucharist.”

The truth is, the liturgy is not all about the Eucharist.

It’s about the Gospel and the Eucharist.

On every Orthodox Christian altar is the Gospel Book and it remains there. The Chalice is only brought forward and placed upon the altar during the Great Entrance, but the Gospel book remains.

The Liturgy of the Word comprises the first part of the liturgy, and the Liturgy of the Eucharist, the Eucharistic Anaphora, the second part. It has been this way from the beginning, and this is because in the Christian service of worship there is one fact which underlies everything else:

The Gospel proclaims the Eucharist, and

the Eucharist proclaims the Gospel.

Either without the other leads to distortion of the Gospel message and vision of the Church. Together, they provide earth with a place where heaven has invaded the earth.

In Orthodox Churches for some time, preaching the Gospel of Christ has taken a serious backseat to the liturgical celebration of the Eucharist. (this is evident in the lack of homiletics preparation available, let alone mandatory, at contemporary Orthodox theological seminaries).  However, in this context it is easily forgotten that the word is preached in a liturgical setting.

Secondly, some priests have taken it upon themselves to wander around the Church while preaching, or walking to and fro, up and down the aisles. Several blog articles by Roman Catholic authors have addressed this; here, and .

Among the comments was this, by “Fr. Z”‘

“I suppose the roving preacher in the Catholic Church comes from the imposition of the man’s own personal quirk on the people of God.  This may be in imitation of Protestants, who almost by the very nature of much Protestant preaching need to impose their own personality on the sermon.

In  my opinion and experience, the preacher who does this is a narcissist.  He is drawing attention to himself.  He imposes himself, overlays himself, for his own needs, on the rite, the Word of God, and the people.  His needs first… every else? Forget it.

Are there exceptions? Of course. But not many.”

I could not agree more.

The reason we chant the Scriptures is to remove our own personality from the reading – to let the words of the Scriptures speak for themselves. Likewise, the imposition of our own personalities – drawing attention to ourselves during preaching – is a disaster, and not the Orthodox theological tradition.

We must return to a vibrant and dynamic liturgical setting for preaching. The Church has always made provision for this in the past, and this is the purpose of this article – to describe how the Church in history has provided, architecturally, for one of the two most important liturgical events in the life of the Christian. It was considered important enough to be a central fixture of any Cathedral, permanently installed, intricately and expensively adorned. It was not to be overlooked, ignored or accidentally ‘missed’ in the flurry of liturgical action.

Form is determined by function architecturally (I will, of course, cede any statements about architecture to architects, but none that I contacted wanted to write an article), and Church space is no exception. In the Orthodox tradition, Church architecture is significant and unique, being formed by Incarnational theology.

“In the beginning was the Word,”

- after all.

Some definitions.

In this series of articles, though these terms are often used interchangeably, for clarity’s sake we will adhere to some specific definitions, and point out that there is a basic difference between an ambo, a pulpit, and a lectern.

An ambo is elevated, freestanding, and rectangular in shape, and is approached from the side or from behind by stairs.*

A pulpit is attached to part of the building (such as a pillar), is elevated, and surrounds the preacher except from behind where the stairs connect.

A lectern is a freestanding, portable device which is often placed on a freestanding podium.(A common faux-pas: a podium is not synonymous with a lectern, but is simply a portable box designed to elevate a lectern. That is, one stands on a podium but stands at a lectern.)

*The ambo of most Orthodox Churches has been reduced to the hemispheric projection of the bema or soleas which faces west in front of the Royal Doors. In contemporary usage, the bema itself is composed of the altar or sanctuary (the area behind the iconostas), the soleas (the pathway in front of the iconostas), and the ambo (the area in front of the Holy Doors which projects westward into the nave).

By these definitions, what are sometimes called pulpits are actually lecterns, and what are sometimes called pulpits are actually small ambones. These terms are often used interchangeably, and we simply want to set some particular definitions for the purposes of this article.

So, if you have a small ambo and it has always been called a pulpit, that is fine.

If you have a lectern, and it has always been called a pulpit, that is fine, too.

Compiled from various sources

Part Two will be published tomorrow.

© 2010, admin. All rights reserved.