14/11/2006
Pulpits

Triantaphyllos Sioulis © Ioannina Prefecture

print preview

The pulpit constituted an inseparable section in the liturgical life of the church, as with the iconostases and the Despotic thrones.
In older times it had been marble, however in the subsequent years the pulpit was transformed into a wood sculptured piece of furniture that was positioned in the north section in the central area of the main church, high up on the wall or on a column. We can see these types for example in the churches of Aghios Demetrios at Frangades, of Aghios Nikolaos at Kepoi of Zagorion, of Aghios Charalambos at Preveza, etc., through the influence of the Western models in the Baroque period.
Later they also employed two pulpits in many churches, to the right and left of the enclosure with railings that separated the solea from the main church. Wherever there were two pulpits, from the lower would read the Apostle and from the higher, which was also more decorative, the Gospel, as we have seen for example in the church of Aghia Paraskevi at Metsovo. Wherever there was one pulpit the Gospel was read higher up and the Apostle from some lower step.
This is also the position for the pulpits in the Epirus area in the post Byzantine period, which we have encountered from the 17th century onwards especially when two types of pulpits were developed, the pyramid shaped, such as that at Aghia Paraskevi at Metsovo etc. and the ciborium shaped, such as at the Repose of the Virgin Mary at Chrysobitsa, Repose of the Virgin Mary at Prosgolion etc.
In relation to their decoration, as with the other furniture of the church (Despotic thrones and icon stands), which were usually created by the same craftsmen, which follow the decorative on the iconostases.