The leading edge of the steps should in various situations have the abrasive 'grip strips' added. Now wide altar steps are an 'architectural feature' and may be dealt with differently under some building codes than 'normal steps for normal traffic'.

Please stop playing with amateurs - pay a qualified professional to give professional advice for a place frequented by the public - who can then be sued if their bad or wrong advice results in injuries - it's also cheaper in the long run - false economies are often caused by good meaning ignorant people (amateurs) trying to pinch pennies.