These are the presider’s chairs, or the fancy word is the sedilia. They are chairs in which the priest and, if you have deacons, deacons sit. Sometimes you’ll have servers sit up next to the priest as well. They should resemble the pews in the church, but they should be a little bit distinct. The idea is that the priest obviously is ordained, and he is set apart, sanctified from the people. But also, the priest comes from the people, so there’s a similarity to the priest.
First and foremost, the priest is a Christian with the people and for them, he is a priest.
