Anglicanism Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

, a licensed lay minister (LLM) or lay reader (in some jurisdictions simply reader) is a person authorised by a

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

to lead certain services of worship (or parts of the service), to preach and to carry out pastoral and teaching functions. They are formally trained and admitted to the office, but they remain part of the

laity In religious organizations, the laity () — individually a layperson, layman or laywoman — consists of all Church membership, members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-Ordination, ordained members of religious orders, e ...

, not of the

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

History

Ancient office of reader

From the third century the office of reader (or lector) became recognised as one of the minor orders of the clerical state. Candidates for ordained ministry (as

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

s and

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

s) were first admitted to the sequence of minor orders, including that of lector or reader. The minor orders have been largely absent from the Anglican Church since the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

(with some localised exceptions) and in the Roman Catholic Church they have also been suppressed. However, the "ministry of reader" (in the Roman Catholic Church) and the office of reader or lay reader (in the Anglican Church) represent a continuation of the reader tradition.

Modern revival

The office of Reader has existed in its present form since 1866. Reader ministry was originally restricted to men only. The first female readers were licensed during the First World War due to the shortage of men. The first group of women admitted were called " bishop's messengers" and they existed in 22 dioceses in England and one diocese in Canada. After the war there was a gap until 1969 when more female readers were appointed. There are now many thousands of readers in the Anglican churches, including around ten thousand in the Church of England and around 300 in the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...

. They are equally split between women and men.

Relationship to holy orders

In the Roman Catholic Church, candidates for ordination as a deacon must first have been admitted to the ministry of reader (Canon 1035). Whilst Anglican canon law has no such requirement, the canons of some provinces of the Anglican Communion allow for ordination candidates to be admitted as readers as part of their preparation for ordination as a deacon; this practice is common, for example, in the Church of Ireland where ordination candidates so admitted are known as student readers; the student reader's licence permits them to serve in any diocese rather than being bound (as in the case of diocesan readers) solely to the diocese of their licensing bishop.

Term

Following a Church of England working party report to the

General Synod The General Synod is the title of the governing body of some church organizations. Anglican Communion The General Synod of the Church of England, which was established in 1970 replacing the Church Assembly, is the legislative body of the Church ...

in 2009 most English dioceses have adopted the term "licensed lay minister". Where the terms "reader" and "lay reader" are still in common use, they are largely interchangeable. The original term in the Church of England was simply "reader", but "lay reader" is an early and common colloquialism, which has come to have official force in some parts of the Anglican Communion. In the Church of England the governing Canon E5 still references the office by the single word "reader". In the

Scottish Episcopal Church The Scottish Episcopal Church (; ) is a Christian denomination in Scotland. Scotland's third largest church, the Scottish Episcopal Church has 303 local congregations. It is also an Ecclesiastical province#Anglican Communion, ecclesiastical provi ...

the governing Canon 20 always refers to the office by the two-word term "lay reader". In the Church of Ireland the generic term used is "reader", but usually qualified as "diocesan reader" or, in the case of those admitted as part of their preparation for ordination, "student reader" (see above).

Admission

Following training (usually over several years) a candidate is publicly admitted as a licensed lay minister or reader by the bishop. Standards of training and forms of admission are regulated by the

Anglican Consultative Council The Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) is one of the four "Instruments of Communion" of the Anglican Communion. It was created by a resolution of the 1968 Lambeth Conference. The council, which includes Anglican bishops, other clergy, and lait ...

and by the Canons of each province. Lay readers are usually admitted during a celebration of the Eucharist. As part of the rite they are presented with a copy of the New Testament (CofE Canon E5 and a certificate of admission to the office of reader (CofE Canon E5 . In most provinces they are also clothed with a blue tippet over their cassock and surplice. Admission as a licensed lay minister is a once-only and permanent rite. However, like clergy, lay ministers must be relicensed if they move between parishes or dioceses (CofE Canon E6), but they are not again admitted to the office of lay minister as their original admission is a permanent act (CofE Canon E5 .

Role and duties

Anglican lay ministers are licensed by the bishop to a particular

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

or to the

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

at large. The vast majority of lay ministers are volunteers, although a small number are stipendiary ministers (paid to work full time) and the canons of the Church of England make provision for the terms of employment and service of a stipendiary lay minister. The role, whose prominence varies by region, bears many similarities to both the traditional liturgical role of reader in the historic Catholic rites of the church and the role of lay preacher found in many non-conformist denominations. The role can involve: *Conducting the

Daily Office In the practice of Christianity, canonical hours mark the divisions of the day in terms of fixed times of prayer at regular intervals. A book of hours, chiefly a breviary, normally contains a version of, or selection from, such prayers. In t ...

( Mattins,

Evensong Evensong is a church service traditionally held near sunset focused on singing psalms and other biblical canticles. It is loosely based on the canonical hours of vespers and compline. Old English speakers translated the Latin word as , which ...

Compline Compline ( ), also known as Complin, Night Prayer, or the Prayers at the End of the Day, is the final prayer liturgy (or office) of the day in the Christian tradition of canonical hours, which are prayed at fixed prayer times. The English wor ...

) or other non-sacramental services *Reciting the

Litany Litany, in Christian worship and some forms of Jewish worship, is a form of prayer used in services and processions, and consisting of a number of petitions. The word comes through Latin ''wikt:litania, litania'' from Ancient Greek wikt:λιτα ...

*Publishing

banns of marriage The banns of marriage, commonly known simply as the "banns" or "bans" (from a Middle English word meaning "proclamation", rooted in Frankish and thence in Old French), are the public announcement in a Christian parish church, or in the town cou ...

Preaching A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. E ...

, teaching, and assisting in

pastoral care ''The Book of Pastoral Rule'' (Latin: ''Liber Regulae Pastoralis'', ''Regula Pastoralis'' or ''Cura Pastoralis'' — sometimes translated into English ''Pastoral Care'') is a treatise on the responsibilities of the clergy written by Pope Greg ...

*Distributing (though not presiding at)

Holy Communion The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an ordinance in others. Christians believe that the rite was instituted by J ...

. *Participation at other services as requested by their incumbent *In some cases the role may include conducting

funeral A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...

s In many parishes a lay reader may carry out liturgical functions at the Eucharist similar to the role of the liturgical deacon; in parishes of

Anglo-Catholic Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholicism, Catholic heritage (especially pre-English Reformation, Reformation roots) and identity of the Church of England and various churches within Anglicanism. Anglo-Ca ...

tradition a lay reader may vest and act as

subdeacon Subdeacon is a minor orders, minor order of ministry for men or women in various branches of Christianity. The subdeacon has a specific liturgical role and is placed below the deacon and above the acolyte in the order of precedence. Subdeacons in ...

at Solemn Mass. Many of these duties can be performed by any reasonably competent lay person who has been properly instructed, but a lay reader is licensed to perform them as part of a wider leadership role, following extensive training. This training and licensing elevates the reader to a particular ministerial role and function recognised as being distinct from the parish-based lay leadership of local congregational volunteers. Their theological training enables them to preach, teach, and lead worship, and they are also able to assist in pastoral, evangelistic and liturgical work.

Training

Training to become a reader is rigorous and follows a period of testing and preparation. In many dioceses this involves some form of access training that introduces the concept of theological reflection as well as the nature of ministry. All potential readers attend a diocesan advisory panel to test their calling and assess their suitability for the role. The recommendations from this are communicated to the

parochial church council A parochial church council (PCC) is the executive committee of a Church of England parish and consists of clergy and churchwardens of the parish, together with representatives of the laity. It has its origins in the vestry committee, which looke ...

(PCC) in the candidate's own parish, which must confirm that it will support the candidate during training and will agree to the candidate going forward for licensing. Training takes place over one to three years (depending on prior theological training) at a local theological college and is often shared with ordinands and those preparing for other types of ministry. Reader training in the Church of England is overseen by the

University of Durham Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charter in 1837. It was the first recognised university to ...

and most candidates study for a Cert Ed or diploma in theology. All readers will have a working agreement in place which is agreed with their incumbent. This outlines their duties and aims to promote a balance between their work and family commitments. Candidates may undergo a placement in a parish other than their home parish to gain broader experience. Reader training usually incorporates a selection of the following and this can vary across training colleges * Old Testament * New Testament * Christian theology * Liturgy and worship * Pastoral care * Study of local context * Mission * Spirituality * Ethics * The nature of Christian salvation * Church history * Leadership skills and self-awareness (usually a Myers Briggs workshop) * Ministry to the dying and bereaved * Preaching skills As well as this there are also practical skills that are learnt within the home parish such as leading worship and preaching. At the end of training the PCC has to agree to the candidate going forward for licensing. The candidate is licensed as well as admitted to the Order of Readers at a service in their local cathedral. The following day their licence is read in their home church and the new reader preaches at that service.

Notable lay readers

* Arthur Addison, Australian politician * Cass Ballenger, American politician * Christina Baxter, British theologian and academic *

Ronald Blythe Ronald George Blythe (6 November 1922 – 14 January 2023) was a British writer, essayist and editor, best known for his work ''Akenfield'' (1969), an account of agricultural life in Suffolk from the Fin de siècle, turn of the century to the ...

, British writer and centenarian * Kendal Chavasse, decorated British Army officer * Vernon Corea, Sri Lankan-British radio broadcaster * Major General Tim Cross, British Army officer * Sir William Fittall, Secretary-General of the General Synod of the Church of England * Philip Fletcher, British public servant * Sydney Gedge, British politician * Paula Gooder, British theologian * Edwin Ray Guthrie, American behavioural psychologist * Ihaka Hakuene, Māori leader * John Wodehouse, 5th Earl of Kimberley, British peer * Christopher C. Kraft Jr., American aerospace engineer and NASA engineer * Sir Ted Leather, Governor of Bermuda *

Fritz Leiber Fritz Reuter Leiber Jr. ( ; December 24, 1910 – September 5, 1992) was an American writer of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. Along with Robert E. Howard and Michael Moorcock, Leiber is one of the fathers of sword and sorcery. Life ...

, American author * Ann Moss, British scholar of French literature * Alfred Owen, British industrialist * James R. Parsons, South Australian educator * Ike Robin, New Zealand sportsman * H. W. F. Saggs, British Assyriologist * Robert Sands Schuyler, American architect * Robert John Sholl, settler of Western Australia * Paraire Tomoana, Māori leader, journalist, historian, and sportsman * Richard Wilbur, American poet

References

{{reflist

External links

Central Readers' Council in the British Isles and EuropeCollege of Readers in the British IslesLay Reader, Episcopal Church, USA
Anglican ecclesiastical offices