J. Hector St. Jean de Crevecoeur's "Letters from an American Farmer"

pulpit

/ˈpʊlpət/ (n)
a. Christian Church. A raised, enclosed platform in a church or chapel (or sometimes on the outside of the building), sometimes with a canopy and usually with a desk, seat, etc., from which the preacher delivers a sermon, or from which (in some denominations) the officiating minister conducts the service.
OED