Small table of wood, marble, or other suitable material placed in the sanctuary of a church, near the wall on the Epistle side, to hold the cruets, acolytes' candles, and other requirements for the celebration of Mass. At solemn Mass the chalice, paten, corporal and veil are placed here from the beginning of Mass until the Offertory. On solemn festivals it is covered with a linen cloth extending to the ground on all sides, on less solemn days the cover is shorter, and on ordinary days it merely covers the requisite part. In the Byzantine Rite the credence is a large table where the first part of the Liturgy is said.