lay reader

A layperson in the Anglican or Roman Catholic church authorized by a bishop to read some parts of the service.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

lay reader

1. (Anglicanism) Church of England a person licensed by a bishop to conduct religious services other than the Eucharist

2. (Roman Catholic Church) RC Church a layman chosen from among the congregation to read the epistle at Mass and sometimes other prayers

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

lay′ read`er

a layperson authorized by an Anglican bishop to conduct parts of a service.

[1745–55]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

lay reader - a layman who is authorized by the bishop to read parts of the service in an Anglican or Episcopal church

layman, layperson, secular - someone who is not a clergyman or a professional person

Mentioned in

References in periodicals archive

Frank Noakes, who was secretary for the Parents' Association at Blue Coat CE while William was headteacher, said: "William James Grimes was a much respected member of the church and a lay reader. Many of us were there to remember him as the first headteacher of Blue Coat CE when there were just under 100 pupils."

School's first head dies at age of 92; InBrief

AFTER 50 years at Holy Trinity Church, Holmfirth, as a choir member, sometime secretary of the PCC and lay reader emeritus, Stanley Benn is leaving the church for his new home in Lindley.

Church farewell

Cardigan lay reader Christine Watts said the Anglican Church would have to rely heavily on its lay readers given the problems.

When this vicar retires in August there will be just two to cover 27 churches; Clergy crisis in West Wales

Atkins' elegant exposition will appeal to the lay reader with a serious interest in physics.

Four Laws that Drive the Universe

McGrady (French and Italian, Tulane U.) explores the construction of the lay reader and the lay reading experience in late medieval vernacular art and literature through a case study of Guillaume (1300-77).

Controlling readers; Guillaume de Machaut and his late medieval audience

The former lay reader was found guilty of five charges of raping the boy between June 2005 and January this year.

Boy's rapist sentencing

The author writes easily and fluently, as much for the lay reader as for the professional historian.

Campbell, Jacqueline Glass. When Sherman Marched North from the Sea: Resistance on the Confederate Home Front

Her discussion is straight forward enough for the lay reader with limited scientific background to easily understand.

Design or By Chance? The Growing Controversy on the Origins of Life in the Universe

The book is pitched at the intelligent lay reader but offers special appeal to those with interest in mining and geology.

New Owners in their Own Land

The award, open to art books published in the UK during 2002 and 2003, has a preferred emphasis on works that 'illuminate art for the intelligent lay reader.'

The Authors' Club welcome submissions for 2004 Sir Banister Fletcher award

In a sense, the information and analyses provided in Part II are more well-known to the lay reader, although the historical research and the intricacies of the debates on issues like homosexuality and environmentalism are not.

Robert Wuthnow and John H. Evans, The Quiet Hand of God: Faith-based Activism and the Public Role of Mainline Protestantism

Eminently readable it provides the lay reader with a thoughtful, dispassionate account of the dally life of a battalion commander in a long year of battle.

D Butler, A Argent & J Shelton. The Fight Leaders: Australian Battlefield Leadership--3RAR