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Views from the Choir Loft

The Place of Pews in the Church

Veronica Brandt · September 9, 2017

empty church OU ENTER A CHURCH, you expect there to be somewhere to sit. There might be pews or chairs—hopefully they also have kneelers. But it wasn’t always like that.

I had not given it much thought until I came across this article: The History of Pews is Just as Terrible and Embarrassing as You’d Imagine. Seating only came in with the extended preaching of the Protestants.

My favorite quote from the article, musing about what the people did without seats: “There’s no record of whether they engaged in stage dives and crowd surfing, so we’re forced to assume they did.”

But jokes aside, imagine what it would be like.

Even now many Orthodox churches function without seating for the congregation. They even speak of the Advantage of Having No Pews as this article from St Basil’s Ukrainian Catholic Mission describes.

Many who visit St. Basil comment on how friendly the mission is to families with young children, particularly parents and grandparents. This, I am convinced, is one of the greatest benefits of our having no pews.

The mention of being family friendly resonates with me. I spend the average sung Mass standing up the back of the church pretty much the whole time—whether singing or keeping a baby quiet, standing is easier than sitting.

A quiet Low Mass, although shorter, works out more difficult to stay inside for. A baby takes the resonant quiet space as an invitation to make a joyful noise. Take a teething ring and a pew and you have a good percussion backing for your vocals.

My earliest memories of attending Mass are of hanging upside down off the railing in front of our pew. The priest was a remote oddity—exploring the gymnastic possibilities of the seating was my main focus.

Though I can’t see any of my local churches taking the bold step of removing seats, the idea is reassuring. We are in an imperfect world, the culmination of many struggles and compromises, as long as we keep struggling in the right direction it should work out well in the end.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Veronica Brandt

Veronica Brandt holds a Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering. She lives near Sydney, Australia, with her husband and six children.—(Read full biography).

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Quick Thoughts

Alabama Assessment!

We received this evaluation of Symposium 2022 from an Alabama participant:

“Oh, how the Symposium echoed the words of Cardinal Merry Del Val: …choosing only what is most conformed to Thy glory, which is my final aim. In one short and fast paced week, the faculty and attendees showed me the hand of God and our Lady working in our lives. The wide range of education—from Gregorian Chant, jazz modes in organ improvisation, to ‘staying sane’ while leading a choir—were certainly first-class knowledge from the best teachers of the art. However, the most powerful lesson was learning how to pray as a choir. The sacrifice of putting songs together, taking time to learn the sacred text, meditating on the church teaching through the chants, and gaining the virtues required to persevere in these duties were not only qualities of a choir but of a saint. The sanctification of the lives of the attendees was a beautiful outcome of this event … and that in itself is worth more than a beautifully-sung Solesmes style chant!”

—Jeff Ostrowski
PDF Download • Trinity Sunday (22 pages)

Feel free to download this Organ Accompaniment Booklet for Trinity Sunday (Second Vespers). Notice how the modes progress by number. Psalm 1 is mode 1; Psalm 2 is mode 2; Psalm 3 is mode 3; Psalm 4 is mode 4; Psalm 5 is mode 5. I am told by an expert that other feasts (such as Corpus Christi) are likewise organized by mode, and it’s called a “numerical office.”

—Jeff Ostrowski
10 June 2022 • “Official” rhythm of plainsong

I continue to search for the most beautiful way to present the “pure” Editio Vaticana scores. (Technically, the “pure” rhythm of the official edition is what everyone is supposed to use.) You can download my latest attempt, which is the Introit for this coming Sunday: Feast of the Most Holy Trinity. Because this is not an ancient feast, the Introit had to be adapted (perhaps around 750AD). Prior Johner says the adaptation is “not an entirely happy one.”

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“The following few hints on the selection of voices may be useful: (1) Reject all boys who speak roughly, or sing coarsely; (2) Choose bright, intelligent-looking boys, provided they have a good ear; they will much more readily respond to the choirmaster’s efforts than boys who possess a voice and nothing more; therefore, (3) Reject dull, sulky, or scatter-brained boys, since it is hard to say which of the three has the most demoralizing effect on his more willing companions.”

— Sir Richard Runciman Terry (1912)

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