Lector (Catholic Encyclopedia article)
Adrian Fortescue · 1913
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Description
A lector, or reader, in the West holds the second of the four minor orders, and Eastern Churches likewise ordain readers to a minor order before the diaconate. The office arose from sheer need for educated persons able to read books aloud in church, continuing the Jewish practice of public Scripture reading.
Justin Martyr about 165 first mentions a Christian liturgical reader, and the homily called Second Clement also names one. The post was honourable and demanded schooling above most offices, and readers often went on to expound what they read, though Justin assigns preaching to the bishop. Readers were blessed and set apart by prayer and ceremony, like grave-diggers, registrars, and widows. In early centuries lectors read all lessons, Epistle and Gospel included, and Rome under Cornelius counted readers among its fifty-two exorcists, readers, and doorkeepers.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Adrian Fortescue |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 1913 |
| COLLECTION | REFERENCE |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 4 KB |
| LICENSE | PUBLIC_DOMAIN |
| RIGHTS | PUBLIC DOMAIN |
| SOURCE | New Advent — Catholic Encyclopedia (1913) |