Pew in Church

PEW IN CHURCH. - It seems that in the early days of Christianity the faithful, at least in the West, listened to the sermon standing, a custom that later disappeared in the early Middle Ages when, during the sermon and the sacred functions, the need began to be felt to be seated (A. Linsenmayer, Geschichte der Predigt in Deutschland während des Mittelalters, Freiburg im Br. 1912, pp. 33-130). The form of the seats used is not known to us. For civil authorities and dignitaries there existed artistically worked seats, such as that of Charlemagne in the cathedral of Aachen, that of Emperor Henry II in St. Emmeram at Regensburg, etc. Toward the end of the Middle Ages, pews were known for the guilds and various associations. Only in the Baroque period were seats or benches with kneelers, or pews, introduced more frequently.

Under the discipline currently in force, none of the faithful may have a special place in church without the explicit consent of the Ordinary. This privilege is reserved, outside the presbytery and without a canopy, solely to those who have the legitimate right of patronage (CIC, can. 1455, 3). The bishop may at his own discretion arrange the seats or pews in church (S. Congr. Rites, decr. 174 ad 3). According to the liturgical laws, a distinct place outside the presbytery may be assigned to authorities according to their rank or even to private individuals; however, the Ordinary, for a just reason, may always revoke his consent or suspend or modify the right (CIC, can. 1263, 2, 3; S. Congr. Rites, decr. 816, 2007, 2141). It is, however, an ancient custom that priests have wooden or stone pews in the presbytery, originally arranged in a semicircle to the right and left of the bishop's chair. For canons, during the synod, they may be raised by one or two steps (S. Congr. Rites, decr. 2047 ad 4; 2082; 2420 ad 5). When the canons in habitu canonicali and as a chapter enter a church of Regulars, the pews must be adorned with a cloth. Likewise the celebrant with his ministers may sit on draped pews during the singing of the Gloria, the Credo and the Sequence.

In matters of the right to a pew in church, Italian jurisprudence customarily applies the principles of canon law, and therefore recognizes the discretionary and unreviewable power of the ecclesiastical authority to revoke or suspend concessions, even if the latter is founded on an onerous agreement (subject, in this case, to any eventual right to reimbursement); while it recognizes the competence of civil courts to judge disputes between the ecclesiastical authority and a private individual concerning the existence and ownership of the right to a pew, and those between private individuals relating to ownership or possession.

Filippo Oppenheim - Pio Ciprotti