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In the
File:Poulsbo, WA - First Lutheran - interior 01.jpg, This Lutheran sanctuary delineates the standard practice of the pulpit being located in the Gospel side and the lectern being located in the Epistle side.
File:Strasbourg crypte de la cathédrale Notre Dame messe de Requiem 2013 01.JPG, A Roman Catholic priest standing at the Epistle side during the offering of a
In the liturgical
Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...
traditions of Western Christianity
Western Christianity is one of two sub-divisions of Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Y� ...
, the Epistle side is the term used to designate the side of a church on which the Epistle is read during a church service
A church service (or a service of worship) is a formalized period of Christian communal worship, often held in a church building. It often but not exclusively occurs on Sunday, or Saturday in the case of those churches practicing seventh-day S ...
. It is the right-hand side of the chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse.
...
as viewed by the congregation from the nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-typ ...
.
The Gospel side is the other side of the chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse.
...
, where the Gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...
is read. Facing the altar from the nave, it is the left-hand side. In some places, especially if a comment is based on a romance language source, the Gospel side will be cited as the Evangelist side.
In Lutheran
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
and many Anglican churches, a pulpit
A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...
is found on the Gospel side (the side left of the altar) from which the pastor reads the Gospel and preaches the sermon
A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. E ...
; a lectern
A lectern is a reading desk with a slanted top, on which documents or books are placed as support for reading aloud, as in a scripture reading, lecture, or sermon. A lectern is usually attached to a stand or affixed to some other form of support. ...
is found on the Epistle side (the side right of the altar) from which readers read aloud the other Scripture lesson
A lection, also called the lesson, is a reading from scripture in liturgy. In many Christian denominations, the readings of the day are appointed in the lectionary.
History
The custom of reading the books of Moses in the synagogues on Sabb ...
s, such as the Epistle. The same occurs in Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...
parishes with a divided chancel though not in Methodist parishes designed with a pulpit-centered chancel that features a central pulpit
A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...
that is situated behind the communion table
Communion table or Lord's table are terms used by many Protestant churches—particularly from Reformed, Baptist and low church Anglican and Methodist bodies—for the table used for preparation of Holy Communion (a sacrament also called the ...
(as with other Anglican and Presbyterian churches). Within the Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, in the Tridentine Mass
The Tridentine Mass, also known as the Traditional Latin Mass or Traditional Rite, is the liturgy of Mass in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church that appears in typical editions of the Roman Missal published from 1570 to 1962. Celebrated alm ...
, which is still in use among some communities, the lectern
A lectern is a reading desk with a slanted top, on which documents or books are placed as support for reading aloud, as in a scripture reading, lecture, or sermon. A lectern is usually attached to a stand or affixed to some other form of support. ...
holding the Missal
A missal is a liturgical book containing instructions and texts necessary for the celebration of Mass throughout the liturgical year. Versions differ across liturgical tradition, period, and purpose, with some missals intended to enable a pri ...
is moved from the Epistle side of the altar to the Gospel side after the reading of the Epistle.
Gallery
Tridentine Mass
The Tridentine Mass, also known as the Traditional Latin Mass or Traditional Rite, is the liturgy of Mass in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church that appears in typical editions of the Roman Missal published from 1570 to 1962. Celebrated alm ...
File:Chancel and Nave of Saint Andrew's Anglican Church.jpg, This Anglican chancel delineates the standard practice of the pulpit being located in the Gospel side and the lectern being located in the Epistle side.
File:Epworth-Euclid United Methodist Church sanctuary.jpg, A Methodist church with a divided chancel containing the pulpit on the Gospel side and the lectern on the Epistle side.
See also
* DecaniReferences