LECTOR

also called Reader, in Christianity, a person chosen or set apart to read Holy Scripture in the church services. In the Eastern Orthodox churches lector is one of the minor orders in preparation for the priesthood. Although formerly a minor order in the Roman Catholic Church, the office was named a ministry by Pope Paul VI in a motu proprio (initiated by the Pope without advice, effective Jan. 1, 1973) and was opened to laymen. Officially this ministry is reserved to men, although in practice women may serve as lectors without being formally installed in the ministry. In Protestant churches the person who functions as a reader, either lay or clergy, is generally called a lector.