Churches
Among other maces (more correctly described as staves) in use today are those carried before ecclesiastical dignitaries and clergy in cathedrals and some parish churches. The ecclesiastical equivalent of the mace-bearer, the dodsman, appears in church contexts. Other churches, particularly churches of the Anglican Communion, a verger ceremoniously precedes processions.
In the Roman Catholic Church maces used to be carried before Popes and Cardinals.
Read more about this topic: Ceremonial Mace
Famous quotes containing the word churches:
“Political organizations have slowly substituted themselves for the Churches as the places for believing practices.... Politics has once again become religious.”
—Michel de Certeau (1925–1986)
“Science is neither a single tradition, nor the best tradition there is, except for people who have become accustomed to its presence, its benefits and its disadvantages. In a democracy it should be separated from the state just as churches are now separated from the state.”
—Paul Feyerabend (1924–1994)