(Greek: an elevation)
An elevated desk or pulpit with a flight of stairs on each side from which the Epistles and Gospels were read and the sermon preached, in the early Church; in later times, two ambones were used, one for the Epistle, the other for the Gospel. In the Russian Orthodox Church the ambo is a flight of stairs in front of the iconostasis (picture screen in front of the sanctuary); in the cathedral churches the priest stands on the ambo in the middle of the nave during part of the service. In the Greek Catholic Church the ambo is a table in front of the iconostasis, at which baptisms, confirmations, and marriages are celebrated.
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