Papal coronation him, approaching one by one and kissing his hand. Then the archbishops and bishops approached and kissed his feet. Following this, at least from the beginning of the 16th century, the newly elected pope was carried in state through St. Peter's Basilica on the "sedia gestatoria", under a white canopy, with the papal flabella (ceremonial fans) to either side. Instead of the papal tiara, he wore a jewelled mitre (the episcopal "mitra pretiosa"). Three times, the procession was stopped, and a bundle of flax lashed to a gilded staff was burnt before the newly elected pontiff, while a master of
Religion in Belarus Religion in Belarus Religion in Belarus has been traditionally Orthodox Christianity although there is also a sizeable Catholic minority. The legacy of the state atheism of the Soviet era is evident in the fact that a large part of the Belarusians are not religious. Moreover, other non-traditional and new religions have sprung up in the country after the end of the Soviet Union. According to the most recent data published in 2011 by the Ministry of the Interior, 48.3% of the Belarusians are Orthodox Christians, 41.1% are irreligious (atheists and agnostics), 7.1% are Catholics, and 3.5% are members of other