LECTOR, or READER

This article appears in Volume V16, Page 358 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: LAP-LEO

LECTOR, or READER , a

minor

office-bearer in the Christian

Church

. From an early period men have been set apart, under the title of anagnostae, lectores, or readers, for the purpose of

reading

READING

Holy Scripture in

church

. We do not know what the custom of the Church was in the first two centuries, the earliest reference to readers, as an order, occurring in the writings of Tertullian (De praescript. haeret. cap. 41); there are frequent allusions to them in the writings of St Cyprian and afterwards. Cornelius,

bishop

of Rome in A.D. 251-252, in a well-known

letter

LETTER (through Fr. lettre from Lat. littera or litera, letter of the
alphabet
- ALPHABET (see also WRITING)
; the origin of the Latin word is obscure; it has probably no connexion with the root of linere, to smear, i.e. with wax, for an inscription with a stilus)

mentions readers among the various church orders then existing at Rome. In the Apostolic Church Order (canon 19), mentionis made of the qualifications and duties of a reader, but no reference is made to their method of ordination. In the Apostolic Didascalia there is recognition of three

minor

orders of men, subdeacons, readers and singers, in addition to two orders of women, deaconesses and widows. A century later, in the Apostolic Constitutions, we find not only a recognition of readers, but also a form of admission provided for them, consisting of the

imposition

IMPOSITION (from Lat. imponere, to place or lay upon)

of hands and

prayer

(lib. viii. cap. 22). In Africa the

imposition

IMPOSITION (from Lat. imponere, to place or lay upon)

of hands was not in use, but a Bible was handed to the newly appointed reader with words of commission to read it, followed by a

prayer

and a benediction (Fourth Council of Carthage, can. 8). This is the ritual of the Roman Church of to-day. With regard to age, the novels of Justinian (No. 123) forbade any one to be admitted to the office of reader under the age of eighteen. (F. E. \V.)

End of Article: LECTOR, or READER

If you wish, you can link directly to this article.

<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/LAP_LEO/LECTOR_or_READER.html">
LECTOR, or READER
</a>

(Previous)
LECTISTERNIUM (from Lat. lectum sternere, "to s...

(Next)
LECTOURE

JCSM was founded in 1997 and exists to help the community and bring people into a life-changing and productive relationship with Jesus Christ. JCSM offers over 200,000 free web pages, including its weekly inspirational emails that were sent continuously for over a decade.

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries
P.O. Box 9297
San Diego, CA 92169
1-888-887-0417 or Email

Sponsored Advertisements

Online First Aid and CPR Certification . DHA Solutions . PB Happy Hour Specials . Improvising Made Easy For Guitar and Bass . The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained . Home Equity Loans . First Aid and CPR Online . San Diego Music Lessons . 10,000 Wise Quotes and Spiritual Sayings . Blow Up Your Site (For Free!) . San Diego DUI Lawyers . Jason Gastrich . Jordan Faith Gastrich . Divorce Secrets Revealed . Post Your Ad Link Free . San Diego Soccer Training . JCSM . Download Sermons . Custom Religious Banners, Build A Sign . Christian Singles Dating . Christian T-Shirts . Healing Christian Prayer . Bumper Authority . Personalized Blogs and Email . San Diego Haircuts . The Do the Math Diet . Stop Twitter Spam . Christian Conservative Work at Home Network . The Website of the Lord