presbytery

In the architecture of large churches, the space reserved for the clergy conducting the religious service. The presbytery originally referred to the priests’ seats, in particular the sedilia or stone seats at the southern edge of the choir or chancel; now it may denote the entire eastern end in a cruciform church beyond the choir and including the sanctuary with the altar, or particularly the area between the choir and the high altar. It may be demarcated from the choir by a flight of stairs or a partition, with more steps leading up to the altar. The area of the choir and presbytery, considered more sacrosanct than the nave and restricted to lay worshippers, is often encircled by ambulatories, or pathways, within the building for processions or for devotees to access secondary shrines chapels around the apse. The term ‘presbytery’ also refers to the residence of a Roman Catholic priest or priests (‘presbytery house’); a clerical court in the Presbyterian Christianity, and the set of parishes represented by such a presbytery; and sometimes to Presbyterianism in general. Also: presbyterium.