Trinity Church (Newport, Rhode Island)
Trinity Church, on Queen Anne Square in Newport, Rhode Island, is a historic parish church in the Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island. Founded in 1698, it is the oldest Episcopal parish in the state. In the mid 18th century, the church was home to the largest Anglican congregation in New England.
Front view of church and steeple
1886 engraving
1920 postcard
1970 photo
A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin pulpitum. The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accessed by steps, with sides coming to about waist height. From the late medieval period onwards, pulpits have often had a canopy known as the sounding board, tester or abat-voix above and sometimes also behind the speaker, normally in wood. Though sometimes highly decorated, this is not purely decorative, but can have a useful acoustic effect in projecting the preacher's voice to the congregation below, especially prior to the invention of modern audio equipment. Most pulpits have one or more book-stands for the preacher to rest his bible, notes or texts upon.
The pulpit of the Notre-Dame de Revel in Revel, Haute-Garonne, France
Pulpit at Blenduk Church in Semarang, Indonesia, with large sounding board and cloth antependium
"Two-decker" pulpit in an abandoned Welsh chapel, with reading desk below
1870 Gothic Revival oak pulpit, Church of St Thomas, Thurstonland