Lay Reader

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A Lay Reader (or sometimes simply Reader) is a layperson authorized by a bishop of the Anglican church to read some parts of a service of worship. Anglican lay readers are licensed by the bishop to a particular parish or to the diocese at large. In the former case, in some areas, their tenure expires with the resignation of the parish priest. In the Anglican tradition, the role of licensed lay readers, whose prominence varies by region, is similar to that of a Methodist local preacher, and can involve:

Conducting Mattins, Evensong, and Compline
Reciting the Litany
Publishing banns of marriage
Preaching, teaching, and assisting in pastoral care
Conducting funerals (this often requires additional specific permission from the diocesan bishop, and the agreement of the family of the deceased)
Distributing (though not celebrating) Holy Communion.

Although in many parishes, these duties can be performed by any reasonably competent lay person who has been instructed how, the key to the Reader's license is that he or she is permitted to do them in the absence of a priest.