Parish chair
The Pew is the seat and preparation area of the pastor and often his family in the choir of Protestant churches .
Description and function
In the Protestant, especially in the Reformed churches, the pastor belonged to the community. Until his official duties he did not hide in the sacristy , an extension of the church, but, like the presbyters , sat on a separate bench in the choir room of the church , usually opposite the church elders. In many smaller churches there is therefore no sacristy, which is only used to store ritual objects.
The parsonage was usually somewhat separated by a wooden structure that was open at the top, which made the connection to the community possible through openwork wooden windows. The space created in this way was also used by the pastor to dress in his gown and to prepare for the divine service and sermon.
In Evangelical Lutheran churches , the parsonage was also often used for confession . There are also lower, more open parish chairs. From the parsonage, the preacher often takes a flight of stairs to the pulpit .
Reason
The separate seating for pastors and presbyters resulted in multiple counterparts: the preacher preaching God's word in the congregation and presbytery. The presbytery watches over the right proclamation as well as the discipline in the community. This is mainly due to the theology of Johannes Calvin and the theology of Reformed confessional writings . They describe various offices in the Church . In this, the presbyteral office is that of the guard. “In exercising their spiritual jurisdiction , the elders take care of the order of the church. […] First and foremost, [this office] is responsible for ensuring that the proclamation of the word and the administration of the sacraments are in accordance with the Scriptures and the foundation […]. And the same office has the task […] of unworthiness, d. H. to prevent the ethical disqualification of the pastor performing this ministry ”.
developments
Even today, parish chairs are used in their traditional Reformed tradition, for example in Womrath , Sargenroth or Mengigart .
In recent renovations, parish chairs and high pulpits are often removed. The pastor sits in the front of the congregation and the sermon is given from a lectern .
Web links
- Dieter Hofmann: Sins confessed in the parish chair? Wiesbadener Kurier , September 6, 2012 (pdf; 139 kB).
Individual evidence
- ^ Jan Rohls : Theology of reformed confessional writings: from Zurich to Barmen (= UTB Theologie 1453). Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, Göttingen, 1987, ISBN 3-525-03267-6 , p. 288; on the whole: pp. 288–290.