Sedia gestatoria Father, so passes the glory of the world). The custom of carrying the newly elected pope, and formerly in some countries, a newly elected bishop to his church, can be traced back centuries and is comparable with the Roman use of the "sella curulis", on which newly elected consuls were carried through the city. Magnus Felix Ennodius, Bishop of Pavia, records in his "Apologia pro Synodo", "Gestatoriam sellam apostolicae confessionis", alluding to the Cathedra S. Petri, still preserved in the choir of St. Peter's at Rome. This is a portable wooden armchair, inlaid with ivory, with two iron rings on
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