lay reader

American  

noun

Anglican Church.

1. a layperson authorized by a bishop to conduct certain parts of a service.

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lay reader British  

noun

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

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

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Etymology

Origin of lay reader

First recorded in 1745–55

Example Sentences

For the historian or biographer, such details are inescapably important; for the lay reader, they can become wearisome.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026

Graeber had mastered the art of pulling new research out of his home field and contextualizing it for the lay reader.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 21, 2023

Joy Gambardella, a lay reader at the city’s Emmanuel Church, said Al Swealmeen had been a “committed Christian”.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 17, 2021

It demands of the lay reader an ability to compartmentalize that may be difficult for some to maintain.

From Slate • Oct. 17, 2020

I had discarded an ecclesiastical title I possessed but never used; I became a lay reader in the Episcopal Church—the church of my youth—the church in which I was baptized and confirmed.

From From the Bottom Up The Life Story of Alexander Irvine by Irvine, Alexander