We hear the expression “judgment seat” used often in both Holy Scripture (“For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God” – Romans 14:10) and within the context of the Divine Liturgy itself (“…a good defense before the dread judgment seat of Christ”).

The Greek word to describe the place occupied by a judge is bema, which literally means, “step.”

Typically the bema was a raised platform, usually with steps leading up to it, with a seat mounted upon it. The bema can also be compared to the landing upon which a king’s throne was stationed, or the judge’s seat in our court rooms of today which, are still generally on a platform and elevated higher than any other chair in the courtroom.

Pilate sat on a this exact type of seat when he passed judgment upon our Lord, just as every believer must one day stand before the bema of Christ to be judged. The only difference being, Christ’s judgment is not only based upon law, truth, and righteousness, but upon mercy as well: “As I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of Him Who sent Me” (St. John 5:30).

The raised area in front of the Iconostas is known as the bema (or amvon in Russian).