Chair of Saint Peter St. Peter's Basilica. "Cathedra" is Latin for "chair" or "throne", and denominates the chair or seat of a bishop, hence "cathedral" denominates the Bishop's church in an episcopal see. The Popes formerly used the Chair. It is distinct from the Papal Cathedra in St. John Lateran Archbasilica, also in Rome, which is the actual cathedral church of the Pope. The relic itself is described as an oaken chair damaged by cuts and worms. The Chair has metal rings attached to each side, allowing use as a sedia gestatoria. The back and front of the chair are trimmed with carved ivory.
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