Ambon (liturgy)
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The Ambon (Slavonic: amvón) is a projection coming out from the soleas in an Eastern Orthodox or Eastern Catholic church. The ambon is directly in front of the Holy Doors, and forms a platform from which the deacon says the litanies, or the priest gives the dismissals during the Divine Services. The ambon is considered to be a part of the altar (i.e., the sanctuary), so normally only the clergy will go up onto the ambon. The exception is that the faithful will step up onto the ambon when they come forward to receive Holy Communion.
The last public prayer of the Divine Liturgy is the Prayer Before the Ambon, originally a prayer of thanksgiving said as the clergy descended the ambon at the end of the service. In ancient times, there was a large collection of Prayers Before the Ambon, written for the different Feast Days of the church year and occasional services (Weddings, Funerals, etc.) calling for a celebration of the Liturgy.
Originally, the Ambon extended into the center of the nave. It was the place where the clergy sat and the scriptures were read during the Divine Liturgy. It is a development from the bimah in the Jewish synagogue.
In the Russian Orthodox Church, during Hierarchical services, the bishop will still stand upon a raised platform in the center of the nave like the bimah of old (see Cathedra).
