Originating from the Latin legere, meaning to read, the term lectern refers to the place upon which "The Sacred Books" are placed and whence they are read.

In the early church, as today, there was only one lectern which served as the place, not only where the word was proclaimed, but where the Gospel was preached and liturgy of the Eucharist celebrated.

In other words, the lectern was a book stand for Scripture, Sermon, and Sacramentary (i.e., the missal, or altar book.)

However, as the church began to understand itself as the place where scripture was not only "read", but also as the place where the depths of its meaning were explored, two lecterns were employed.

The first, on the north chancel wall, where our own pulpit finds its home, became the place where sermons were preached, censures or excommunications pronounced and where the deacon chanted all those parts of the liturgy that belonged to his office (and it was "his" office).

In effect this lectern, functioned more as the place where the word of God was proclaimed, as opposed to being simply recited.

The other lectern, found on the north chancel wall, where our lectern resides, served as the place where scripture was actually read.

Interestingly, this lectern was often a massive two-tiered structure; the higher tier, which faced the altar, was set aside for the reading of the Epistle, whereas, the lower, facing the nave, was the place whence the other readings were recited.

As for their composition, as churches became more established and affluent, lecterns, whether north or south, became ornate edifices often built of marble, or intricately carved wood, and highly adorned with precious metals or stones.

During the Reformation, the opulence of many lecterns was seen as just another extravagance that resulted from the excesses of the Catholic Church.

As a result, lecterns were destroyed - or scrapped and salvaged - and replaced with simple wooden reading desks or podiums.

There is a sense in which the lectern, through its many incarnations, reflects the beliefs and practices of the church as it attempts to discern how to worship God faithfully and with due reverence.

Symbolically, the lectern is the embodiment of how the community understands “the place” of scripture in its life.

Whether austere or opulent, the lectern, by being placed at the junction of chancel and nave, embodies the often unspoken truth that the inspired word of God is at the "centre" of a Christian community's understanding of itself as a people who live not "by the book" but "through the book."