The word "sedilia" is the plural form of the Latin noun "sedilium," meaning "seat."

To answer the question that must be plaguing the grammatically fastidious, the reason why this liturgical furnishing is being defined and described in the plural is because, like blind mice, stooges, penny operas, and persons of the Trinity, sedilia (almost) always come in threes, i.e., one seat for each of the sacred ministers of the liturgy: the celebrant, deacon, and sub-deacon... a.k.a. server.

For those who read the previous entries on Incumbent's stall and Bishop's chair and are, rightly, confused by this profusion of sacred seating, the story goes like this.

In the early church, before the Emperor Constantine legitimated Christianity as the state religion of the Roman Empire in 313 A.D., Christians, because of the ruthless persecution visited upon them, sought to conceal their faith by worshipping in catacombs, the numerous subterranean caves found at the city's outskirts.

So to make seating available for the celebrant, deacon, and subdeacon as they presided amidst the huddling faithful, niches were carved out of the catacomb walls, immediately behind the altar. These niches were simply called sedilia... i.e., seats.

Another more contemporary theory has it that these niches were not so much seats for presiding at the Sunday liturgy, as they were places from which funeral masses were celebrated - the catacombs being the most likely place where Christians, as members of the lower classes, would be buried.

In any event, as the church came out of the caves into the light of day, and into more permanent housing, the sedilia went with it.

As a result, many of the more ancient post-Constantinian churches have sedilia carved into their apse walls, immediately behind the altar.

However, unlike their older catacomb cousins, later sedilia were often quite elaborate, with beautiful wood carving, and/or gilt canopies bespeckled with precious metals and stones.

In the Middle Ages, the sedilia made another migration, this time from niches in the wall to moveable stools that could traverse the sanctuary and chancel, so that their occupants could officiate from wherever the liturgy required.

If this idea of "shuffling the deck chairs" sounds odd, consider that, as here at Trinity, the Eucharist of often celebrated using a moveable altar, so as to provide for more intimate worship.

For example, at our 8 o'clock service, the community gathers around the smaller, vesica-shaped, altar that stands at the transept crossing, so that the altar is closer to those who would worship before it.

Since the Incumbent's stall is a convenient, liturgical hop, skip and a jump away, there is no need for sedilia.

However, were we to use them here at Trinity, the sedilia would most likely be placed at the top of the chancel steps, with the liturgical ministers facing the congregation - presuming the altar for the 8 o'clock service were used.

Moreover, rather than making a sojourn to the liturgical equivalent of Ikea to snap up the latest models, the stools that presently occupy the sanctuary would serve as ideal sedilia stand-ins, especially since the sentiments with which they are inscribed, namely, "to love" and "to cherish," are what compel us to take a seat at God's table in the first place.