Papal regalia and insignia made of white ostrich-feathers. The "sedia gestatoria" was used for the Pope's solemn entrance into a church or hall and for his departure on the occasion of liturgical celebrations such as a papal Mass and for papal audiences. The use of the "flabella" was discontinued by Pope Paul VI, and that of the "sedia gestatoria" by Pope John Paul II. The Pope wears the Pallium over his chasuble when celebrating Mass. The pallium is a circular band of fabric about two inches wide, from which two twelve-inch-long pendants hang down, one in the front and one in back. It is
Religion in Algeria Ages onward. Each brotherhood had its own prescribed path to salvation, its own rituals, signs, symbols, and mysteries. The brotherhoods were prevalent in the rural and mountainous areas of Algeria and other parts of North Africa. Their leaders were often marabouts or shaykhs. The more orthodox Sunni Muslims dominated the urban centers, where traditionally trained men of religion, the ulema, conducted the religious and legal affairs of the Muslim community. Jews and Christians, whose religions Allah according to the Qur'an recognized as the precursors of Islam and who were called "people of the book" because of their holy scriptures, were