Minor orders are ranks of church ministry lower than major orders.
The Roman Catholic Church in its Latin Rite traditionally distinguished between the major orders (holy orders) of bishop, priest, deacon and subdeacon, and four minor orders, that of acolyte, exorcist, lector and porter (in descending sequence).
In 1972, the minor orders were renamed "ministries", with those of lector and acolyte being kept throughout the Latin Church. All four minor orders are still conferred on members of some Roman Catholic religious institutes and societies of apostolic life authorized to observe the 1962 form of the Roman Rite.
In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the three minor orders in use are those of subdeacon, cantor and lector.
Read more about Minor Orders: Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Christianity
Famous quotes containing the words minor and/or orders:
“A certain minor light may still
Leap incandescent
Out of kitchen table or chair
As if a celestial burning took
Possession of the most obtuse objects now and then—”
—Sylvia Plath (1932–1963)
“He was thoughtful and grave—but the orders he gave
Were enough to bewilder a crew.
When he cried “Steer to starboard, but keep her head larboard!”
What on earth was the helmsman to do?”
—Lewis Carroll [Charles Lutwidge Dodgson] (1832–1898)