Ambo
a raised platform or reading-desk, from which, in the primitive Church, the gospel and epistle were read to the people, and sometimes the sermon preached. Its position appears to have varied at different times; it was most frequently on the north side of the entrance into the chancel. The singers also had their separate ambo. — Bingham, Orig. Eccl. bk. 3, ch. 7.
Baldus and Durandus derive the name from the circumstance of there being a double flight of steps to the ambo; others, with more probability, from the Greek ἀναβαίνω, to ascend. Treatises on this subject are by Geret, De vet. ecclesioe ambonibus (Onold. 1757); Weidling, De ambonibus vet. ecclesiae (Lips. 1687). SEE LESSON; SEE PULPIT.
The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature was edited by John McClintock and James Strong. It contains nearly 50,000 articles pertaining to Biblical and other religious literature, people, creeds, etc. It is a fantastic research tool for broad Christian study.
John McClintock was born October 27, 1814 in Philadelphia to Irish immigrants, John and Martha McClintock. He began as a clerk in his father's store, and then became a bookkeeper in the Methodist Book Concern in New York. Here he converted to Methodism and considered joining the ministry. McClintock entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1832 and graduated with high honors three years later. Subsequently, he was awarded a doctorate of divinity degree from the same institution in 1848.WikipediaRead More