THRONE (thronus, cathedra, sedes). – It is the seat reserved for the bishop in his cathedral church for pontifical functions.
It cathedra (v.) of the senators, and later changed from a simple teaching chair into an honorary throne on a high stepped podium with a canopy, modeled on the Byzantine imperial throne granted to imperial state magistrates; made of stone or marble, it stood at the back of the basilica’s apse until the 11th and 12th centuries. Already in the Carolingian period, especially after the high altar was moved into the apse, the t. was placed in front of the altar on the Gospel side (Ordo Rom. II, 2, 3; V, 21 [ed. Andrieu: II, 115, 231]). Both locations, in the apse and on the right side of the altar, are still provided for today in the Caeremoniale Episcoporum (book I, chapter 13, 1 and 2). The one at the side (in the Middle Ages movable and without a canopy: Durandus, Rationale, book II, chapter 11, 2) now remains permanently erected. The seat (of wood, stone, or metal) stands on three steps covered with carpets and is surmounted by a canopy; it has the form of an armchair with a high back and is covered with cloth (or silk) of the color proper to the pontifical function; the back is decorated with the incumbent’s coat of arms.
Because it is a symbol of the diocese’s supreme sacerdotal and juridical authority, the t. belongs only to the bishop of the diocese; the coadjutor and auxiliary bishops, as well as other bishops, must use the faldistorium (v.), to be placed on the left side of the altar, called the Epistle side. Exceptions are the archbishop within the bounds of his metropolitan territory, for whom in a suffragan cathedral the t. is raised on the Epistle side, while that on the Gospel side is reserved for the diocesan bishop; cardinals in all churches outside Rome (in their presence, out of reverence, the Ordinary uses the faldistorium); and nuncios in churches within the territory, in the cathedral with the bishop’s consent. With the concession of pontifical functions, the bishop may also grant the use of the throne with its canopy (CIC, can. 337, 3) to bishops in charge, in the cathedral itself, but never to a coadjutor or auxiliary bishop. Abbots too have the use of the t. (with two steps) with a canopy in their abbey churches (CIC, can. 325).
The act of taking possession of a diocese is called the bishop’s “enthronement”; liturgical enthronement has formed part of the rite of consecration since ancient times; the juridical enthronement, as part of the “canonica provisio seu institutio” (CIC, cann. 332, 1; 334, 3), is carried out by presenting the apostolic letters to the chapter of the cathedral church.
In the Greek rite a double t. is used: the older one, at the back of the apse, similar to the ancient cathedra; and the more recent one, with a high back and canopy, in the nave of the church, similar to the episcopal t. in the West.
The small throne with a canopy, also called a shrine or repository, prescribed for the public exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, consists of a base or pedestal, a back of white cloth or silk, and a canopy, sometimes supported by columns; it is movable, that is, it is used and placed only for Eucharistic exposition (Decr. auth. 4268 ad 4 of 27 May 1911). Outside the exposition, it is not permitted to place the Cross upon it; it is not fitting to place the small throne above the tabernacle.