Cathedra
Encyclopedia
Chair
A chair is a stable, raised surface used to sit on, commonly for use by one person. Chairs are most often supported by four legs and have a back; however, a chair can have three legs or could have a different shape depending on the criteria of the chair specifications. A chair without a back or...
or throne
Throne
A throne is the official chair or seat upon which a monarch is seated on state or ceremonial occasions. "Throne" in an abstract sense can also refer to the monarchy or the Crown itself, an instance of metonymy, and is also used in many expressions such as "the power behind the...
of a bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
. It is a symbol of the bishop's teaching
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
authority
Authority
The word Authority is derived mainly from the Latin word auctoritas, meaning invention, advice, opinion, influence, or command. In English, the word 'authority' can be used to mean power given by the state or by academic knowledge of an area .-Authority in Philosophy:In...
in the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, and has in some sense remained such in the Anglican Communion
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
and in Lutheran churches. Cathedra is the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
word for a chair
Chair
A chair is a stable, raised surface used to sit on, commonly for use by one person. Chairs are most often supported by four legs and have a back; however, a chair can have three legs or could have a different shape depending on the criteria of the chair specifications. A chair without a back or...
with armrests, and it appears in early Christian literature in the phrase "cathedrae apostolorum" indicating authority derived directly from the apostles; its Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
connotations of authority reserved for the Emperor were later adopted by bishops after the 4th century. A church into which a bishop's official cathedra is installed is called a cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
.
Cathedra Petri
Gian Lorenzo Bernini
Gian Lorenzo Bernini was an Italian artist who worked principally in Rome. He was the leading sculptor of his age and also a prominent architect...
in 1657 and completed and installed in 1666. As early as the 8th century, an ancient wooden chair overlaid with ivory plaques depicting the Labors of Hercules
Heracles
Heracles ,born Alcaeus or Alcides , was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, foster son of Amphitryon and great-grandson of Perseus...
and some of the constellationshttp://rubens.anu.edu.au/raider4/europe.0602/germany/mainz/roemisches_germanisches_museum/ivories/cathedra_petri_9thc/IMGP0916.JPG was venerated as the episcopal chair of St. Peter. It is a Byzantine throne, made after St. Peter's time, with framed fragments of acacia
Acacia
Acacia is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, first described in Africa by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773. Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not...
wood encased in the oak carcass and reinforced with iron bands. Several rings facilitated its transportation during processions. Pope Alexander VII
Pope Alexander VII
Pope Alexander VII , born Fabio Chigi, was Pope from 7 April 1655, until his death.- Early life :Born in Siena, a member of the illustrious banking family of Chigi and a great-nephew of Pope Paul V , he was privately tutored and eventually received doctorates of philosophy, law, and theology from...
commissioned Bernini to build a monument to display this relic in a triumphant manner. Bernini's gilded bronze throne, richly ornamented with bas-reliefs, encloses the relic. On January 17, 1666 it was solemnly set above the altar of Saint Peter's Basilica in Vatican City
Vatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
. Greater than life-sized sculptures of four Doctors of the Church form an honor guard: St. Ambrose
Ambrose
Aurelius Ambrosius, better known in English as Saint Ambrose , was a bishop of Milan who became one of the most influential ecclesiastical figures of the 4th century. He was one of the four original doctors of the Church.-Political career:Ambrose was born into a Roman Christian family between about...
and St. Athanasius on the left, and St. John Chrysostom
John Chrysostom
John Chrysostom , Archbishop of Constantinople, was an important Early Church Father. He is known for his eloquence in preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and political leaders, the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, and his ascetic...
and St. Augustine
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...
on the right.
Celebrated on February 22 in accordance with the calendar of saints
Calendar of saints
The calendar of saints is a traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the feast day of said saint...
, the Feast of Cathedra Petri honors the founding of the church in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
and gives thanks for the work of Saint Peter
Saint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
.
Chair of St. Augustine
The Chair of St. Augustine represents one of the most ancient extant cathedrae in use. Named for the first Archbishop of CanterburyArchbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
, St. Augustine of Canterbury, it is made of Purbeck Marble
Purbeck Marble
Purbeck Marble is a fossiliferous limestone quarried in the Isle of Purbeck, a peninsula in south-east Dorset, England.It is one of many kinds of Purbeck Limestone, deposited in the late Jurassic or early Cretaceous periods....
or Bethesda marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
and dates to sometime between the 6th and 12th centuries. Those who argue for an older date suggest that it may have been used to crown the kings of Kent
Kingdom of Kent
The Kingdom of Kent was a Jutish colony and later independent kingdom in what is now south east England. It was founded at an unknown date in the 5th century by Jutes, members of a Germanic people from continental Europe, some of whom settled in Britain after the withdrawal of the Romans...
. Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site....
, in which the cathedra is housed, maintains that the chair was once part of the furnishings of the shrine of St. Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion...
, since dismantled http://www.canterbury-cathedral.org/. Since antiquity, it is always used in the triple enthronement of an Archbishop of Canterbury. He is seated on the throne in the quire
Quire (architecture)
Architecturally, the choir is the area of a church or cathedral, usually in the western part of the chancel between the nave and the sanctuary . The choir is occasionally located in the eastern part of the nave...
as Diocesan Bishop, in the chapter house
Chapter house
A chapter house or chapterhouse is a building or room attached to a cathedral or collegiate church in which meetings are held. They can also be found in medieval monasteries....
as titular abbot
Abbot
The word abbot, meaning father, is a title given to the head of a monastery in various traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not actually the head of a monastery...
, and in St. Augustine's chair as Primate of All England. This is the only occasion in which the cathedra is used. A second cathedra is used for other occasions at which the archbishop is present.
Ex cathedra
The term ex cathedraEx Cathedra
Ex Cathedra is a British choir and early music ensemble based in Birmingham in the West Midlands, England. It performs choral music spanning the 15th to 21st centuries, and regularly commissions new works....
, meaning "from the throne", is used to designate official pronouncements of the pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
when he teaches the whole world. As a throne or armchair symbolizes the power to teach, the cathedra in this case refers to the teaching authority over the whole church rather than to a chair. According to Catholic dogma
Dogma
Dogma is the established belief or doctrine held by a religion, or a particular group or organization. It is authoritative and not to be disputed, doubted, or diverged from, by the practitioners or believers...
, the pope's statements ex cathedra are infallible
Papal infallibility
Papal infallibility is a dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, by action of the Holy Spirit, the Pope is preserved from even the possibility of error when in his official capacity he solemnly declares or promulgates to the universal Church a dogmatic teaching on faith or morals...
in matters of faith and morals. In Anglican episcopal governance, episcopal teaching is conditioned by synodical governance
Synod
A synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not...
, and so bishops cannot be said to speak ex cathedra in this way, although they may jocularly be said to do so.
Placement
Apse
In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...
, behind the high altar, which had been the position of the magistrate in the apse of the Roman basilica
Basilica
The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...
which provided the model type—and sometimes were adapted as the structures—for early Christian basilicas. In the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, as altars came to be placed against the wall of the apse, the practice of placing the cathedra to one side (mostly left) became standard.
Western churches
In the Catholic Church since the Second Vatican CouncilSecond Vatican Council
The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...
, the altar is often free-standing, so that in cathedrals built or renovated after the reforms of Vatican II, the cathedra is often placed behind the altar, as in ancient Roman basilicas.
In Anglican practice, the cathedra tends to be placed to one side in the choir, although in more contemporary practice, it is commonly placed on the gospel side of the chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
(ie., to the left of the altar, as one looks at it from the front).
Eastern churches
Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic cathedrals will have a throne for the bishop in the apseApse
In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...
behind the Holy Table (altar), with seats for the priests (Greek: synthranon)) arranged to either side of him. This location is referred to as the "High Place
High place
High Place, in the English version of the Old Testament, the literal translation of the Hebrew במה .This rendering is etymologically correct, as appears from the poetical use of the plural in such expressions as to ride, or stalk, or stand on the high places of the earth, the sea, the clouds, and...
" and represents the presence of Christ presiding over the services, even when the bishop is not present. For this reason, the High Place often has an icon
Icon
An icon is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity and in certain Eastern Catholic churches...
of Christ placed above the bishop's throne. The bishop ascends to the High Place only during the Divine Liturgy
Divine Liturgy
Divine Liturgy is the common term for the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine tradition of Christian liturgy. As such, it is used in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches. Armenian Christians, both of the Armenian Apostolic Church and of the Armenian Catholic Church, use the same term...
, at the Trisagion
Trisagion
The Trisagion , sometimes called by its opening line Agios O Theos or by the Latin Tersanctus, is a standard hymn of the Divine Liturgy in most of the Eastern Orthodox Churches, Oriental Orthodox Churches and Catholic Churches.In those Churches which use the Byzantine Rite, the Trisagion is chanted...
(at other times, if he sits in the sanctuary, a seat will be prepared for him on the side). For this reason, the Consecration of a bishop takes place at the Trisagion, so that he may ascend to the High Place for the first time as a bishop during the Liturgy at which he is Consecrated.
Another throne is provided for the bishop in the nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
of the church:
- In the GreekGreek Orthodox ChurchThe Greek Orthodox Church is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity sharing a common cultural tradition whose liturgy is also traditionally conducted in Koine Greek, the original language of the New Testament...
practice, this will normally be located along the southern wall of the church, on the klirosKlirosThe kliros is the section of an Eastern Orthodox or Eastern Catholic church dedicated to the choir...
. In this style, it is one of the monastic choir stalls (kathismata), only more elaborately carved, usually at the top of three steps, and with a canopy above it. During the Divine LiturgyDivine LiturgyDivine Liturgy is the common term for the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine tradition of Christian liturgy. As such, it is used in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches. Armenian Christians, both of the Armenian Apostolic Church and of the Armenian Catholic Church, use the same term...
, the deacon will ascend to this throne to read the GospelGospelA gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
, facing west.
- In the RussianRussian Orthodox ChurchThe Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
practice, the kafedra is a large square platform set in the very center of the nave, with a removable chair or faldstoolFaldstoolFaldstool Faldstool Faldstool (from the O.H. Ger. falden or falten, "to fold," and stuol, Mod. Ger. Stuhl, "stool"; from the medieval Latin faldistolium derived, through the old form fauesteuil, from the Mod. Fr...
placed on it. This arrangement is a remnant of the ancient bemahBimahA bimah A bimah A bimah (among Ashkenazim, derived from Hebrew בּמה , almemar (from Arabic al-minbar) or tebah (among Sephardim) is the elevated area or platform in a Jewish synagogue which is intended to serve the place where the person reading aloud from the Torah stands during the Torah reading...
(Greek: amvonAmbon (liturgy)The Ambon or Ambo is a projection coming out from the soleas in an Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Catholic church. The ambon stands directly in front of the Holy Doors...
), borrowed from the Jewish synagogue, which stood in the center of the church in ancient times. Sometimes during the Liturgy, the deacon will stand on this platform, facing east, to read the Gospel.
An orlets
Orlets
An Eagle rug, is a small rug, usually round, upon which Eastern Orthodox and Greek-Catholic bishops stand during divine services.-Appearance:...
, or "eagle rug" will usually be placed at both the High Place and the throne in the nave. The orletz also symbolized the bishop's authority, and he stands on it during services, even if he is not celebrating. An orletz is usually kept permanently on the Russian kafefra, even when the chair is removed.
Although an Hegumen
Hegumen
Hegumen, hegumenos, igumen, or ihumen is the title for the head of a monastery of the Eastern Orthodox Church or Eastern Catholic Churches, similar to the one of abbot. The head of a convent of nuns is called hegumenia or ihumenia . The term means "the one who is in charge", "the leader" in...
(Abbot) does not have a cathedral, he may have a similar chair, likewise symbolic of his authority, reserved for him on the kliros of his monastery. The Hegumen's kathisma would be simpler than the one for the bishop, sometimes raised atop two steps, located to the side of the bishop's throne.
See also
- ChapterChapter (religion)Chapter designates certain corporate ecclesiastical bodies in the Roman Catholic, Anglican and Nordic Lutheran churches....
- Episcopal seeEpiscopal SeeAn episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
- List of Anglican diocesan bishops in Britain and Ireland
- List of cathedrals
- List of the dioceses of the Church of England
- List of the dioceses of the Church of Ireland
- List of the Episcopal dioceses of the United StatesDioceses of the Episcopal Church in the United States of AmericaThe Episcopal Church is governed by a General Convention and consists of 100 dioceses in the United States proper, plus ten dioceses in other countries or outlying U.S. territories and the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe, which is similar to a diocese....
- List of the Catholic bishops of the United States
- List of the Catholic cathedrals of the United States
- List of the Catholic dioceses of the United States
- PulpitPulpitPulpit is a speakers' stand in a church. In many Christian churches, there are two speakers' stands at the front of the church. Typically, the one on the left is called the pulpit...
Sources
- "Cathedra", Catholic Encyclopedia
- "Cathedra Petri", Catholic Encyclopedia
External links
- Cathedra Petri in St Peter's Basilica
- Orthodox bishop seated at the High Place
- Russian bishop seated on kathedra
- Greek Bishop on throne in the kliros (Church of the Holy SepulchreChurch of the Holy SepulchreThe Church of the Holy Sepulchre, also called the Church of the Resurrection by Eastern Christians, is a church within the walled Old City of Jerusalem. It is a few steps away from the Muristan....
) - Russian Orthodox Patriarch standing at kafedra in center of Christ the Saviour Cathedral, Moscow
- Russian Patriarch sitting at kafedra
- Russian Patriarch sitting at High Place
