The third part of the description of the Silentiary is devoted to the ambo, the chief feature in Justinian’s reinstatement of the interior. It stood far out from the bema, on the central axis of the church. Germanus, Patriarch of Constantinople from 715-740 A.D., and Simeon of Thessalonica both speak of this as the right position for ambones; “the most holy bema should be towards the east, with the ambo in front of it, if there is room.”[83] The two flights of steps, by which the ambo--the name of which is derived from the Greek for ascending--was reached, were on the east and west sides. In the ambo the Gospel was read, and here was recited a prayer[84] at the conclusion of the liturgy, which seems to have been a compendium of those previously uttered in the sanctuary; the priest left the bema, ascended the ambo on the east side, and prayed with his face towards the west. Important offices in coronations were also performed here. Paulus’ description of the ambo opens with a preface of thirty iambic lines in praise of the emperor, who has added the “one thing needful to our all-glorious church.” The importance of this work is made an excuse for interrupting the “usual pursuits of his hearers even for a third time.” Twenty hexameter lines are devoted to an invocation to the apostles and saints, and then follows the description of the ambo. “Now in the central space of the wide temple, yet tending rather towards the east, rises a tower (_purgos_), fair to look upon, set apart for the reading of the sacred books. Upright it stands on steps, reached by two flights, one of which stretches towards the west, but the other towards the dawn. So are they opposite to one another, and both lead to a space formed like a circle. Now one stone curves round to form this circular space, though it is not altogether equal to a complete curve (_tornos_), but it agrees with it except where the edge of the stone is lengthened; for towards east and west a flight of steps is drawn out like a neck, projecting from the circled stone. [Illustration: FIG. 7.--Plan of the Ambo both above and below.] “And up to the height of a man’s girdle our godlike king has formed, with the help of silver, beauteous walls curving like crescents. He has not bent silver right round the stone, but a silver plaque (_plax_) is spread out in the centre, to adorn the circling wall. Thus has the skilful workman spread out two sure crescents and opened on either side a flight of steps.