Reader (minor orders)
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In some Christian churches, the Reader is responsible for reading aloud excerpts of the scripture at a liturgy. In early Christian times, the reader was of particular value, given the rarity of literacy.
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[edit] Roman Catholicism
In the Roman Catholic Church, the reader is known in Latin as a lector and is not permitted to read the Gospel during the Mass. The reading of the Gospel is reserved specifically to the deacon, or in the absence of a deacon, to the priest. The function of proclaiming the readings is ministerial, not presidential, and therefore should, if at all possible, be exercised by individuals other than the presider. (Presidential referring to acts to be performed by the presider, ministerial referring to duties performed by someone other than the presider. GIRM No. 59)
When there is no cantor, the lector may be charged with chanting or reciting the Responsorial Psalm. The lector may also be charged, in the absence of a deacon or cantor, to read the General Intentions/Prayers of the Faithful. The lector or lectors may participate in the entrance procession and the recessional; if a Book of the Gospels is carried in procession, it may be carried by a lector if no deacon is present.
In the medieval Catholic church, the lector was a junior-level cleric and one of the four Minor Orders as defined by the Council of Trent. However, as a minor order, the lector was not part of the sacrament of Holy Orders. The lector wore the alb or the surplice.
In 1972 Paul VI reformed the order of lector by making it a lay ministry: "the above-mentioned ministries should no longer be called minor orders; their conferral will not be called ordination, but institution. ... 3. Ministries may be assigned to lay Christians; hence they are no longer to be considered as reserved to candidates for the sacrament of orders. ... 7. In accordance with the ancient tradition of the Church, institution to the ministries of reader and acolyte is reserved to men. ..." From Motu Proprio Ministeria Quaedam. However, Indult Catholic priestly societies, such as the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, continue to ordain seminarians to the lectorate, with special papal permission.
In most modern parishes, the office of lector is not an instituted office. Rather, it is performed on a rotating basis by non-instituted lay individuals, either men or women.
Before ordination as a deacon, the Code of Canon Law requires individuals to be instituted as a lector and an acolyte, and to have performed these functions for at least six months (Canon 1035).
Formerly, a difference between an instituted lector and someone temporarily performing their role was the requirement to wear vestments: "During the celebration of Mass with a congregation ... an instituted reader must wear the distinctive vestment of their office when they go to the lectern to read the word of God. Those who carry out the ministry of reader just for the occasion or even regularly but without institution may go to the lectern in ordinary attire..." (1981 General Introduction to the Lectionary for Mass, n 54.) Currently, with Vatican approval, a Conference of Bishops can decide to make vestments optional for lectors (2002 General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 339). For example in 2003 approval was given for the USA GIRM: "339. In the dioceses of the United States of America ... lectors, and other lay ministers may wear the alb or other suitable vesture or other appropriate and dignified clothing."
The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops has decided that only candidates for the priesthood may be installed as lectors, but anyone may serve as a lay reader on an informal basis.
[edit] Orthodoxy
In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Reader (in Greek, ἀναγνώστης/anagnostis; in Church Slavonic, Чтец/Chtets) is the second highest of the minor orders of clergy. This order is higher than the Doorkeeper (now largely obsolete) and lower than the subdeacon. The reader's essential role is to read the Old Testament and Epistle lessons during the Divine Liturgy and other services, as well as to chant the Psalms and the verses of certain antiphons. There is a special service for the tonsuring of a reader, although in contemporary practice a layman may receive the priest's blessing to read on a particular occasion. The office of a reader subsumes that of a taper-bearer, and the service of tonsuring a reader mentions both functions.
Readers are permitted to(and should in accordance with his particular churches pactices)wear a cassock, although many do so only when attending services(again in accordance with particular church practices). Readers will generally not wear a clergy shirt, as they are not considered clergy and may not perform any of the duties reserved for a subdeacon, deacon, priest or bishop.
After being tonsured, the reader is vested in a short phelonion [1], which he wears while reading the Epistle for the first time. This short phelonion is then removed (and never worn thereafter) and replaced with a sticharion, which the reader wears thereafter whenever he reads the Epistle. This practice is not universal, however, and many bishops and priests will allow a reader to perform his function dressed only in a cassock or (if a monk) a riassa [2]. Often, a bishop will decree what vesting practice he wishes to be followed within his own diocese; for an example, see here, section VIII.
Byzantine icons often show readers and church singers wearing a sticharion-like garment (more loose and flowing than the modern sticharion) and a pointed hat with the brim pulled out to the sides (see here, lower left corner). This distinctive garb is now obsolete.
[edit] Anglicanism
Minor orders were discontinued in the reformed Church of England. The modern office of reader is that of a licenced lay minister. After a period of theological training (often three years of evening classes), a lay person is licenced to preach and lead public worship. A reader is not a member of the clergy, and cannot preside at the eucharist, baptize, perform marriages, absolve or bless. The reader is licenced to lead non-sacramental worship (including, in some cases, funerals), may assist in the leadership of eucharistic worship and may preach. An Anglican reader usually wears a blue tippet with choir dress. Reader Ministry in the Church of England.
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