The Ministries of Acolyte and Lector
By Fr. Casmir Odundo The Church from the earliest times established certain ministries for the proper ordering of worship and for the service of God’s people as need arose. These ministries were entrusted to the lay people. The Church organised a liturgical celebration in which ministries were conferred following a particular rite, in which God’s blessings was invoked and which established the person designated in a special rank or class for the performance of some ecclesial function. Because some of these functions were closely connected with the liturgy they gradually came to be regarded as preparatory stages in the reception of Sacred Orders. So in the end the church found itself with the offices of Porter, Lector, Exorcist and Acolyte which were called the minor orders while the Subdiaconate, The Diaconate and the Priesthood made the Major orders. Later on therefore, as a general rule, these orders were reserved to seminarians to serve as preparatory stages on the way to the pri