Such roles were no longer to be seen exclusively as markers along the pathway to the priesthood. In reforming these offices, it seems that Pope Paul VI intended to open certain ministries to the laity, including the ministries of lector and acolyte. The conferring of these ministries was no longer to be called “ordination” but instead “installation.” The role of the subdeacon was subsumed by the role of acolyte. In 1972 Pope Paul VI suppressed the four minor orders and replaced them with the two “special offices” or ministries: minister of the word (lector) and minister of the altar (acolyte). The loss of these functions occasioned a revision of the orders after the Second Vatican Council. The orders, especially porter and exorcist, became symbolic. Yet over time, many of them lost their function. Together the orders constituted ministries of service that developed in the church according to need. Historically, as it signaled entry into major orders and proximate preparation for the priesthood, a seminarian made his promise of celibacy in receiving subdiaconate. The subdeacon assisted the deacon and priest by helping set the altar, among other duties. The lector was set apart to read the sacred Scriptures during the liturgy. He also accompanied the priest, bringing a candle near him so that he could read the proper prayers. The acolyte, in its original role, was responsible for lighting the candles around the altar. For instance, the porter was the doorkeeper, responsible for opening and closing the church and guarding the door during the celebration of Mass. The roles were varied but served a legitimate purpose in the early church, usually related to the Mass. Each order was received and its function performed for a suitable time before a man was ordained to the priesthood.
These orders over time became linked to preparation for the priesthood and were divided between “minor orders” (porter, exorcist, lector, and acolyte) and “major orders” (subdeacon, deacon, and priest). What is the theology behind these orders and why were they discontinued?Ī: As early as the third century, certain roles of service, including deacon, subdeacon, lector, and acolyte, were present in the church. Q: In the last 50 years, various orders in the church, including porter, exorcist, and subdeacon, have disappeared.
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