A censer is used to burn incense, a mixture of gum arabic (resin from an acacia tree) and fragrance. Incense has been used since ancient times to symbolise the prayers of the faithful rising to God. It is placed on hot charcoal in the bowl of the censer, and as the censer is swung to and fro on chains, the smoke billows outwards and upwards to perfume the whole church. This censer comes from an Ethiopian Orthodox church and the bells which sound as it moves symbolise the Elders surrounding God in the Revelation of St John, the final book in the Bible. The importance of the symbolism of the cross in Ethiopian Church art is reflected in the cross-shaped piercings that release the fragrant smoke. The cross on the top of the censer sits on a cube-shaped base, a distinctive feature of Ethiopian representations of the cross. The distinctive shape arguably symbolises the connection made in the New Testament Book of Romans between Adam (the first man, who brought sin to all mankind), and Christ (whose sacrifice on the cross redeems all mankind). The rectangular base would therefore represent Adam's tomb, on which the cross of Christ was also said to have been planted.