Laity: Difference between revisions

 

==Christian laity==

In many [[Christian denominations]], including the [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] and the [[Anglicanism|Anglican]] churches, anyone who is not ordained as a [[deacon]], [[priest]], or [[bishop]] is referred to as a layman or a laywoman.<ref name="Catholic laity"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://library.episcopalchurch.org/glossary/lay-order|title=Don S. Armentrout and Robert Boak Slocum, editors, "An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church, A User Friendly Reference for Episcopalians" (Church Publishing Incorporated, 2000), s.v. "Lay Order." Online at}}</ref> Non-ordained [[preachers]] or [[lay reader|readers]] are considered part of the laity. In many Catholic [[diocese]]s, due in part to the lack of ordained clergy, [[lay ecclesial ministers]] serve [[Parish (Catholic Church)|parishes]] and in the diocese as pastoral leaders, sometimes as ''de facto'' pastor in the absence of an ordained [[Priesthood (Catholic Church)|priest]].