Noble Guard (Vatican) of Hereditary Standard-Bearer, who was responsible for carrying the standard of the Catholic Church. After 1870, the Noble Guard, now reduced to a force of fewer than 70 men, performed mainly ceremonial duties as an honor guard. Guardsmen most commonly appeared in public when the pope presided over ceremonies in Saint Peter's Basilica. When the pope was carried in the sedia gestatoria, Noble Guards walked alongside the papal chair. During the hours reserved for papal audiences, guardsmen also stood in the antechamber of the papal apartments and, on formal occasions, on either side of the papal throne. During the Second
Religion in Belarus Jewish organizations active in Belarus, half of which were country-wide. Muslims in Belarus are represented by small communities of ethnic Tatars. All of them are followers of Sunni Islam. Some of these Tatars are descendants of emigrants and prisoners of war who settled in Belarus, from the Volga Region, after the 11th century. In 1997 there were 23 Muslim communities, including 19 of those in the Western regions of Belarus. Paganism in Belarus is mostly represented by Rodnovery, the Slavic neopaganism. Uladzimir Sacevič is a Rodnover leader. Religion in Belarus Religion in Belarus has been traditionally Orthodox Christianity although there