minor orders

British  

plural noun

1. RC Church the four lower degrees of holy orders, namely porter, exorcist, lector, and acolyte Compare major orders

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

minor orders

To become a “sworn brother,” Bosch would have had to qualify as one of the four grades of minor orders, which were doorkeeper, reader, acolyte and exorcist.

From New York Times ● Apr. 27, 2016

He even took minor orders in the Roman Catholic Church in 1865, becoming an abbé but appropriately stopping short of the vow of chastity.

From New York Times ● Oct. 22, 2011

He went to Rome with his faithful Princess; in 1865, after he discovered they could not get married, he took minor orders in the Roman Church.

From Time Magazine Archive

But he also took minor orders, and, in 1236, although not yet a deacon, received the see of Worcester.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 2 "Camorra" to "Cape Colony" by Various

As applied to the Roman Catholic Church the word embraces the whole hierarchy, whether its clerici be in holy orders or merely in minor orders.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 4 "Cincinnatus" to "Cleruchy" by Various