a small platform in a church that is like a box and is high above the ground, where a priest, etc. stands to speak to the people （教堂中的）小讲坛 - (figurative)
The policy has been widely condemned from the pulpit (= by priests and other church leaders). 这项政策曾受到牧师们的广泛谴责。 As soon as he mounted the pulpit half of the congregation usually left the church. 他登上讲台时，通常会众的一半就离开教堂。
Word OriginMiddle English: from Latin pulpitum ‘scaffold, platform’, in medieval Latin ‘pulpit’.- (figurative)