On the main altar of a Coptic church, and sometimes the side altars, there is a throne made of wood or stone that is supported with four pillars. It is also called a “ciborium,” which is derived from the Greek word, kyporion (κιποριον): the hollow seed casing of the Egyptian water lily. More widely, this term is now commonly employed in liturgical terminology to refer to the canopy covering the bishop’s throne, or the dome shaped vessel used to carry Holy Communion to the sick as it has a lid shaped like a vault,1213 or the canopy above the baptismal font as in the church of Dura, Syria.
The Coptic throne is generally rich in paintings, such as the icon of Christ surrounded by the Cherubim and the Seraphim. Icons of the four Evangelists are painted on the four pillars as though the entire world was sanctified by the word of the gospel. On top of the throne, there is a cross, or sometimes four crosses, one on each side.
1213 W. H. Freestone, The Sacrament Reserved (A. R. Mowbray & Co., 1917): pp. 207–208.