22. AMBONES AND PULPIT
Attention must be given to the ambones in the major churches and above all in cathedral basilicas. Examples in the Roman basilicas were large, of fine make, decorated with panels of marble or also of bronze with finely wrought sacred images.
The two ambones
According to the size of the church, there can also be two: one higher from which, on the more important solemnities, the Gospel is read and the other, from which the Epistle or excerpts from the Holy Scriptures will be read, a bit lower.
One ambo only
There can also be one ambo only, as seen in many churches, both for the reading of the Gospel and for that of the Epistle. However the part from which the Gospel is read will be a bit higher, that from which the Epistle is read will be a step lower.
There will then be an even lower place, below the ambo, or elsewhere, with a space reserved for the cantors and clerics and where certain chants will be sung on the solemnities and in specific days, according to the ancient custom of the Church, above all between [the reading of] the Epistle and the Gospel.
Where possible the ambo will have two flights of stairs: one on the east, to ascend; the other, on the west, to descend.
Site of the ambo
If only one ambo is to be put in the church, it will be located on the Gospel side. If there are two, the one from which the Epistle is read, will be located on the Epistle side. The other one will be on the Gospel side so that the deacon, who reads the Gospel from this ambo, faces the southern part of the church, the one in which the men are gathered.
Ambones must be in marble or other stone, and will be decorated with pious sculptures.
They can also be built in brick, but in that case they should be decorated with finely worked and decorated slabs of marble or stone, or also plaques of gilded bronze, as seen today.
The pulpit
In all parish churches where it is not possible to build an ambo from which the Gospel can be read and the sermon given, a pulpit will be placed on the Gospel side. It will be of most solid worked wooden panels, decorous in their make and form. The Gospel can be read and the sermon given from the pulpit.
Care must be taken that both ambones and pulpit are located in the center of the body of the church and in a prominent position so that the preacher or the reader can be seen and heard by all. But they must not be too far from the high altar, in keeping with the plan of the church and the decorum. This is because it will be more convenient for the priest who, as has been established, must preach during the celebration of the Mass.
HOME – Charles Borromeo’s Instructions