Lecturer (Roman rite)
Lector (Latin for (pre-) reader) is the office of the reader in worship in the Roman Catholic Church .
history
The office has not yet been attested in New Testament times. News about editors can be found from the 2nd century onwards. The 3rd century is in the letters of Cyprian of Carthagetestifies to the establishment of the office by the bishop. From the middle of the 3rd century the lecturers were counted among the clergy. They were obliged by the church ordinances to lead a clerical way of life and were only allowed to be married once (ban on digamy). However, the prohibition of digamy was handled differently, and in the east of the empire it was not generally applicable. Lecturers were also used as messengers and attended synods to accompany the bishops. In the old church, it was also common for minors to be accepted into the lector. Parents gave their children to this booth from the age of five in order to prepare them for a clerical career. The editing was considered the entry point for such a career. In the 6th century, Emperor Justinian I.set a minimum age of eight years; the lecturers were allowed a second marriage, but a church career was then excluded.
present
The main task of the lecturer is to read the scriptures scheduled for the day . The Gospel of Holy Mass, on the other hand, is presented by a deacon or priest . The tasks of the lecturer can be performed by men and women who are confirmed and at least 16 years old. The service of the lecturer is an independent service, that is, the lecturer should also speak when other clerics are present besides the celebrant . In some places the lecturer also takes on other liturgical roles; he can recite the intercessions , the opening verse and, if no cantor is present, the response psalm or take part in the divine service as a communion helper .
There is a special church commission in liturgical form for the service of adult men as lecturers . This is actually only given as part of the training for ordination as deacon and priest. The permanent or temporary appointment as a lecturer replaces the corresponding minor ordinations customary before the liturgical reform , which among other things belonged to the lecturer and the acolyte (can. 230 CIC ). The reorganization of this earlier minor consecration is described in the Apostolic Letter Ministeria quaedam of Pope Paul VI. executed.
literature
- Bernhard Domagalski: Ordines minores. In: Real Lexicon for Antiquity and Christianity . Volume 26, Hiersemann, Stuttgart 2015, ISBN 978-3-7772-1509-9 , Sp. 398–459, here: 432–441
