for an altar with two candlesticks upon it is more majestic and more beautiful than an altar with more than two. Furthermore, a row of candles hides the reredos or upper frontal, which ought to be one of the richest and most lovely things in the church He points out, however, that English and north European sanctions the use of other candles near the altar, e.g., there were "very often two Standards on the pavement" and "one very beautiful method was to have sconces for candles on the top of the four poles that sometimes stood at the four corners of the altar to carry the riddels." He concludes: A church may therefore have (1) two lights on the altar; (2) two standards on the pavement, or four if the sanctuary is large enough (as is seldom the case) for their comely arrangement without overcrowding; (3) other lights near but not behind the altar (preferably two or four on the rods or pillars for the riddels) for use on the principal feasts; (4) others hanging from the roof in candelabra." In the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, churches typically use two candles in the following manner: Altar candles are tall, thin candles made of beeswax and stearine. They are topped with a brass or glass candle follower, which helps keep wax from spilling on the altar linens. Altar candles are lit using a taper, which is a lit wick attached to a long handle. They are lit and extinguished in a particular order so that the Gospel side candle is never burning alone. The Gospel side of the church is the left side as you are facing the front. So the candles are lit from right to left and extinguished from left to right. Methodism Methodist churches typically use (normally two) candles in a manner similar to the Anglican way. Many congregations use two candles on the altar to point out that Jesus was both a human being and God. At the end of the service, the light is carried out into the world to show that Jesus Christ is for all people everywhere [...] The acolyte leaves the worship service at the pastor's direction, carrying out the lighted candlelighter. This symbolizes the light of Jesus Christ going out into the world where believers are to serve. Other religions Taoism In the Taoist religion, a central