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[German Version] (Gk ἄψις, “rounding”), niche-like, mostly vaulted area with a semicircular or polygonal outline. Common in Roman sacred and profane architecture as the place of the tribunal, throne, imperial or cultic image; in early Christian church architecture (Basilica), of the bishop's throne (cathedra; Church architecture: II). Preferred place for Christian …

[German Version] I. Architecture – II. Liturgy and Practice I. Architecture A simple or throne-like, originally open, seat in the church as seating for the father confessor and the person making confession, the place for individual confession (Confession). Beginning in the 16th century, especially after the Council of Trent and the Instructiones of ¶ C. Borromeo, the originally simple wooden armchair underwent rich development. In general, from the early 17th century on, one finds the symmetrical three-part confessional, the central…