An opportunity to learn more about worship at The Chapel of Saint John the Divine
This visual guide provides more information about items used in worship at the Chapel at our many and varied services. We invite you to use it as an opportunity to learn more!
The Altar/Table
Bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling, that I may go to the altar of God. Ps. 27:5
The Altar/Table is the place where the Holy Eucharist (also known as the Mass, Holy Communion, the Divine Liturgy, or the Lord’s Supper) is the sacrament commanded by Christ for the continual remembrance of his life, death, and resurrection, and his coming again.
Eucharistic Bread and Eucharistic Linens and Altarware
The Altar Party, Order of the Procession, and Vestments
The Baptismal Font
I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and purify you from false gods and uncleanness. Ez. 36:25
The Baptismal Font is the place where Holy Baptism occurs, the sacrament by which God adopts us as children and makes us members of Christ’s Body, the Church, and inheritors of the kingdom of God. Following the ancient formula, those who come to God in faith are baptized with water, and in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
The Ambo 
I proclaimed righteousness in the great congregation; behold, I did not restrain my lips. Ps. 40:10
The Ambo is the place where the readings are read and from which the sermon is preached. Some churches have a pulpit and a lectern. When there is one piece of furniture serving both functions, it is called an “ambo.”
Seasonal Items
Teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts to wisdom. Ps. 90:12
Different liturgical observations call for liturgical distinctives to heighten the observation of specific seasons.
Locations and Architecture
One thing have I asked of the Lord, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. Ps. 27:5
Followers of Jesus began meeting for worship after the resurrection. Space set apart for worship becomes essential. Over millennia, the Church has given names to various features of liturgical space, and has appointed symbols of faith.
Locations in the Chapel, architectural features, and windows
