<P> The next development was the ambo, from a Greek word meaning an elevation . This was originally a raised platform from which the Epistle and Gospel would be read, and was an option to be used as a preacher's platform for homilies, though there were others . Saint John Chrysostom (died 407) is recorded as preaching from the ambo, but this was probably uncommon at this date . In cathedrals early bishops seem often to have preached from their chair in the apse, echoing the position of magistrates in the secular basilicas whose general form most large early churches adopted . Often there were two ambos, one to each side, one used more as a platform on which the choir sang; sometimes the gospel was read, chanted or sung from one side and the epistle from the other . The location of the ambo within the church varied, with about the same range of places as modern pulpits . In ancient Syrian churches it was often placed in the centre of the nave (on both axes). Gradually the ambo came to resemble the modern pulpit in both form and function, though early examples in large churches are often large enough to accommodate several people . The steps up to the pulpit almost invariably approach it from the side or behind, and are often curved . The typical design of the Islamic minbar, where a straight flight of steps leads to the front of the pulpit, is very different . </P> <P> The Ambon of Henry II, an Imperial gift of 1014 to Aachen Cathedral, was originally installed centrally, but later moved to the side . It is richly decorated with sheets of gold, ivory, and gems, probably emulating Justinian's lost pulpit of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, of which a description by Paul the Silentiary survives . In churches where there is only one speaker's stand at the front of the church, it serves the functions of both lectern and pulpit and may be called the ambo, which is still the official Catholic term for the place the gospel is read from . </P> <P> In Roman Catholic churches, the stand used for readings and homilies is formally called the ambo . Despite its name, this structure usually more closely resembles a lectern than the ambon of the Eastern Catholic churches . The readings are typically read from an ambo in the sanctuary, and depending on the arrangement of the church, the homily may be delivered from a raised pulpit where there is one . The General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) specifies: </P> <P> 309 . The dignity of the word of God requires that in the church there be a suitable place from which it may be proclaimed and toward which the attention of the faithful naturally turns during the Liturgy of the Word . It is appropriate that generally this place be a stationary ambo and not simply a movable lectern . The ambo must be located in keeping with the design of each church in such a way that the ordained ministers and readers may be clearly seen and heard by the faithful . From the ambo only the readings, the Responsorial Psalm, and the Easter Proclamation (Exsultet) are to be proclaimed; likewise it may be used for giving the Homily and for announcing the intentions of the Universal Prayer . The dignity of the ambo requires that only a minister of the word should stand at it...</P>

What is the podium in a catholic church called