Cross-Bearer
Charles Buck Theological Dictionary [1]
In the Romish church, the chaplain of an archbishop, who bears a cross before him on solemn occasions. Cross-bearers also denote certain officers in the Inquisition, who make a vow before the Inquisitors, or their vicars, to defend the Catholic faith, though with the loss of fortune and life. Their business is also to provide the Inquisitors with necessaries.
Webster's Dictionary [2]
(n.) A subdeacon who bears a cross before an archbishop or primate on solemn occasions.
Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature [3]
(cruciger).
1. In the Romish Church, the designation of the chaplain of an archbishop, or a primate, who bears a cross before him on solemn occasions. The pope has the cross borne before him everywhere; a patriarch anywhere out of Rome; and primates, metropolitans, and those who have a right to the pallium, throughout their respective jurisdictions. A prelate wears a single cross, a patriarch a double cross, and the pope a triple cross on his arms.
2. The name Cross-Bearers ("cruciferi") was also applied to the Flagellants in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. (See Flagellants).
