Altar rails

The altar rail or communion rail is a low barrier, sometimes ornate and usually of made of stone, wood or metal in some combination, delimiting the chancel or the sanctuary and altar in a church from the nave and other parts that contain the congregation. Often a gate, or just a gap, at the centre divides the line into two parts. Rails are a very common, but not inevitable, feature of Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, and Methodist churches. Catholic usage prefers "Communion rail". They are usually about two feet 6 inches high, with a padded step at the bottom, and designed so that the wider top of the rail can support the forearms or elbows of a kneeling person.