In Anglicanism, 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 clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

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, 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 Minor orders are ranks of church ministry. In the Catholic Church, the predominating Latin Church formerly distinguished between the major orders —priest (including bishop), deacon and subdeacon—and four minor orders—acolyte, exorcist, lec ...

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 churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

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 deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

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 (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

(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 ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the secon ...

. 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 of ...

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 ( gd, Eaglais Easbaigeach na h-Alba; sco, Scots Episcopal(ian) Kirk) is the ecclesiastical province of the Anglican Communion in Scotland. A continuation of the Church of Scotland as intended by King James VI, and ...

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 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 Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

or to the

diocese In 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 provinces were administratively associa ...

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 A reader is a person who reads. It may also refer to: Computing and technology * Adobe Reader (now Adobe Acrobat), a PDF reader * Bible Reader for Palm, a discontinued PDA application * A card reader, for extracting data from various forms of ...

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 prayer times#Christianity, fixed times of prayer at regular intervals. A book of hours, chiefly a breviary, normally contains a version of, or sel ...

(

Mattins The Daily Office in Anglican churches focuses the traditional canonical hours on daily services of Morning Prayer (also called Matins or Mattins, especially when chanted) and Evening Prayer (called Evensong, especially when celebrated chorally ...

Evensong Evensong is a church service traditionally held near sunset focused on singing psalms and other biblical canticles. In origin, it is identical to the canonical hour of vespers. Old English speakers translated the Latin word as , which became ...

, Compline) or other non-sacramental services *Reciting the

Litany Litany, in Christian worship and some forms of Judaic worship, is a form of prayer used in services and processions, and consisting of a number of petitions. The word comes through Latin '' litania'' from Ancient Greek λιτανεία (''lit ...

*Publishing banns of marriage * Preaching, teaching, and assisting in pastoral care *Distributing (though not presiding at) Holy Communion. *Participation at other services as requested by their incumbent *In some cases the role may include conducting funerals 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 Catholic heritage and identity of the various Anglican churches. The term was coined in the early 19th century, although movements emphasising the Catholic nature of Anglica ...

tradition a lay reader may vest and act as subdeacon at

Solemn Mass Solemn Mass ( la, missa solemnis) is the full ceremonial form of a Mass, predominantly associated with the Tridentine Mass where it is celebrated by a priest with a deacon and a subdeacon,"The essence of high Mass is not the music but the deacon ...

. 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 fed to the parochial church council (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 university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charte ...

and most candidates study for a CertEd 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 Christina Ann Baxter (born 8 March 1947) is a British theologian and an active member of the Church of England (C of E). From 1997 to 2012, she was Principal of St John's College, Nottingham, an Anglican theological college. Since 1979, she has ...

, British theologian and academic * Kendal Chavasse, decorated British Army officer *

Vernon Corea Vernon Corea (11 September 1927 – 23 September 2002) was a pioneer radio broadcaster with 45 years of public service broadcasting both in Sri Lanka and the UK. He joined Radio Ceylon, South Asia's oldest radio station, in 1956 and later the Sr ...

, 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 Philip John Fletcher, (2 May 1946 – 10 February 2022) was a British public servant. Career From 1968 to 1995, he was a career civil servant, mainly working in the Department of the Environment and rising to the rank of deputy secretary. He se ...

, 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. He was also a poet, actor in theater and films, playwright, and chess expert. With writers such as Rober ...

, American author * Ann Moss, British scholar of French literature * Alfred Owen, British industrialist * James R. Parsons, South Australian educator *

Ike Robin Ihakara Te Tuku Rapana (8 November 1886 – 21 June 1968), commonly known as Ike Robin, was a New Zealand sportsman, businessman, orator and member for the Māori Anglican Church. A champion sheep shearer and professional wrestler, he was the f ...

, New Zealand sportsman * H. W. F. Saggs, British Assyriologist * Robert Sands Schuyler, American architect *

Robert John Sholl Robert John Sholl (16 July 1819 – 19 June 1886) was a government administrator, magistrate, explorer, journalist, entrepreneur, harbourmaster, customs official, postmaster and lay reader in Western Australia (WA), during the colonial era. ...

, settler of Western Australia * Paraire Tomoana, Māori leader, journalist, historian, and sportsman *

Richard Wilbur Richard Purdy Wilbur (March 1, 1921 – October 14, 2017) was an American poet and literary translator. One of the foremost poets of his generation, Wilbur's work, composed primarily in traditional forms, was marked by its wit, charm, and gentle ...

, 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