ACOLYTE – (taper-bearer, altar boys) The follower of a priest; a person assisting the priest in church ceremonies or services. In the early Church, the acolytes were adults; today, however, his duties are performed by children. At one time there was a rank of minor clergy called the taper-bearer, responsible for bearing lights during processions and liturgical entrances; however, this rank has long ago been subsumed by that of the reader; the service for the ordination of a reader mentions both functions.