Many people
think of a Cathedral as simply a large Church. What makes a
Cathedral special is a chair, in Latin the "Cathedra,"
or Bishop's chair. From this chair the Archbishop exercises
his leadership responsibilities of teaching, governing and sanctifying.
Unlike the
Cathedras in many Cathedrals that are very large, but not to
human scale, Jefferson Tortorelli designed a chair that fits
a human, but has the presence needed to fit the Cathedral. He
built a basic chair, then extended the two ebony arms outward
as if welcoming the assembly. He comments, "If you looked
to a friend, or if your children are coming to you, a lot of
times you will just kind of open your arms, spread them out
to embrace."
The back
of the chair is composed of linked crosses which float in the
framework. Each cross is made from different woods from around
the world, olive wood from Israel, carob wood from Lebanon,
coca bola from Central America, ebony from Africa, holly from
the United States, lacewood from Australia and buena burro from
Thailand. The woods symbolize the various communities and ethnic
backgrounds that compose the Los Angeles community.
