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.

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.

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