the place where these ceremonies take could be less church-like than the not place. The question of the location of the choir is a somewhat difficult one. It is placed in almost every possible part of the church, as in the chancel, at the uncommon arrangement of providing a low gallery in the center of the chancel, perhaps the most conspicuous place in the building, to be occupied by a quartette, leaving the minister only a narrow CHURCH AT CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS shelf-like platform between it and the front pews! When, however, the choir is large or its gallery high above the church floor, these objections have less force. The position at one side of the front of the church has been a favorite one of late years, though open to some extent to the same criticisms as the central location last mentioned. In this case, if the singers face toward the chancel and are partially screened from the church, the effect is less personal and more church-like. A high gallery in the transept of a large church or a gallery occupying one of the aisles and opening either into the chancel or the nave is an excellent location, inconspicuous and musically effective. The common arrangement of the New This shows the simple method of economizing space by using trusses from wall to wall England meeting-house "east" end between the clergy space and the east wall at one side of the platform, in a transept, or in a gallery at the rear of the building. There seems, however, one good rule to be followed in this matter, and that is that unless the choir is a vested one it should never occupy a conspicuous place. The visible effect of the uniformity of a simply and suitably vested choir often adds greatly to the solemnity and reverence of a service, but the distinctly individual and personal appearance of the choristers and the variety and secular character of the millinery exhibited by the average unvested choir has the opposite effect if placed in a prominent position. What with the choir gallery at the rear has much to recommend it. The choristers are not in a conspicuous position, and yet the gallery may be made of sufficient architectural interest to conform to the importance of the music in the service. When the singing is entirely congregational, the duty of the choir being leadership only, the "west" gallery arrangement is excellent, or the choir seats may be placed in the front of the church on the floor level. The tendency to give to the choir an unnecessarily exalted position is well characterized in the remark attributed to a well-known bishop, who, in response to a request for an inscription for an ornate choir gallery, suggested "To the Glory of the Choir and in Memory of God." As for the organ, when properly designed, it is an extremely decorative feature wherever placed. It should be so planned as to open freely into the church, that its full volume of sound may be utilized. There is one point in connection with the organ that should be noted. It has become the practice of some organ-builders to make a majority of the visible pipes so-called "dummies"—that is, turned pieces of wood representing metal pipes. This is entirely unnecessary, and it is only a matter of a little care and study on the part of the architect to design an organ whose every pipe shall speak. As the position of the choir in many of our churches has grown too exalted, that of the communion-table has been suffered to become obscure and even mean. Through all the Christian ages till the time of the nonconformists, the table where was celebrated the sacrament of the Lord's Supper occupied the most impor use would seem to require that it be allowed a more appropriate treatment than is customary in many evangelical churches. A common but unsatisfactory location is in front of a central pulpit and practically on the level of the floor CHURCH OF ST. MARTIN'S, TRIEL, FRANCE An example of a small aisled church showing the interesting and beautiful effect of the piers and vaults, and also the obstruction of the view by the piers of the church. A much better plan is to place the table near the rear of the chancel, with a permanent seat for the minister behind it and seats for the deacons at either side. tant, the focal, position in the church. In the early "basilican" church it was placed in the center of the circular apse or directly in front of it and raised above the church floor; at a later time the table was placed in the center of the crossing and marked by a towering ciborium or canopy; in the small English churches we find it against the "east" wall of the chancel. In each case it was dignified by an important architectural position. While it may not be desirable to give to the communiontable the importance granted the Roman Catholic altar or even such as it has in the Episcopal Church, its purpose and If the communion-table be put in its proper and traditional position in the center of the chancel, the pulpit, in order not to be directly in front of it, must be moved to a location at one side, which is from all practical considerations of hearing and seeing as good as the central position. It may be in some churches that the sermon is considered the only material part of the service. In such a case the central pulpit might be consid A building on the Greek cross plan, built of travertine without and within in the style of the Renaissance. It has escaped the tawdry stucco work of a later time which mars so many Italian churches, and it forms an excellent model for a large modern church if classic motives are to be used This church, with the exception of modern decorations in the apse and a new altar, is much the same as when erected in the fifth century. It is interesting to note the focal position of the communion-table, as well as the fact that the priest stood behind the table and faced the people, instead of in front of it and with his back to them, as became the usage later If it is the plan to have the pulpit at the side, the lectern may be placed at the opposite side, as is usually the case in Episcopal churches. Perhaps a still better idea, as signifying more clearly the place which the Bible occupies in the modern church, is to put the reading desk in the middle of the chancel at the front and on a lower level than the communion-table. The location of the font is not fixed by any special needs. The historic position near the entrance to the building, with its symbolic reference to the entrance of the baptized person upon the Christian life, is not now followed in the non-liturgical monumental character, the softened and mellowed character of their interiors, the aspiring vertical lines, almost inseparable in the mind of an Anglo-Saxon from a religious structure, their wealth of symbolism, and the glory of their pictured windows, are all as applicable to the church building to-day as they were in the thirteenth century. In so far as our churches are to signify the unchanging principles and customs of Christianity, we may pattern after the forms used by the medieval builders, and we should endeavor to approach in the reverent, serious, and artistic spirit of these men our new and difficult |