Verger

A verger (or virger) assists in the ordering of religious services (particularly in Anglican churches). During the service itself, his or her main duty is to ceremonially precede the religious participants as they move about the church; they take no speaking part in the service itself. But although during a service, the verger's main pride might be said to be in his or her inconspicuousness, vergers often play an important role "backstage" in the planning of services as experts on protocol and ceremony.

The office's title comes from the ceremonial rod which a verger carries, a "virge" (from Latin virga; see virgule). In former times, a verger might have needed to use his virge to keep back an overenthusiastic crowd from the personage he was escorting.

In small churches today, the office of verger is often combined with that of sexton: the verger assisting at services and the sexton maintaining the church building the rest of the time are one and the same person.