4/3/2023 0 Comments St. ostiarius![]() There are no special prayers or ceremonies for the ordination of the lower clergy in the oldest liturgical books of the Roman Church.įor the Gallican Rite, short statements concerning the ordination of the lower orders, among them that of the ostiaries, are found in the "Statuta ecclesiæ antiqua" a collection of canons which appeared at Arles about the beginning of the sixth century. The clergy of the three lower grades (minor orders) were united at Rome into the Schola cantorum (choir) and as such took part in the church ceremonies. ![]() In Rome itself this office attained to no particular development, as a large part of these duties, namely the actual work necessary in the church building, what is now probably the duty of the sexton, was at Rome performed by the mansionarii. In his letter of 11 March, 494, to the bishops of southern Italy and Sicily, Pope Gelasius says that for admission into the clergy it was necessary that the candidate could read (must, therefore, have a certain amount of education), for without this prerequisite an applicant could, at the most, only fill the office of an ostiary. In a law of 377 of the Codex Theodosianus intended for the Vicariate of Italy, the ostiaries are also mentioned among the clergy who have a right to personal immunity. ![]() In Western Europe the office of the ostiary was the lowest grade of the minor clergy. According to the statement of the Liber Pontificalis, an ostiary named Romanus suffered martyrdom in 258 at the same time as St. They are first referred to in the letter of Pope Cornelius to Bishop Fabius of Antioch written in 251., where it is said that there were then at Rome 46 priests, 7 deacons, 7 subdeacons, 42 acolytes, and 52 exorcists, lectors, and ostiaries, or doorkeepers. When, from the end of the second century, the Christian communities began to own houses for holding church services and for purposes of administration, church ostiaries are soon mentioned, at least for the larger cities. In the Roman period all houses of the better class had an ostiarius, or ostiary, whose duties were considered very inferior. Porter denoted among the Romans the slave whose duty it was to guard the entrance of the house. Like the other minor orders and the subdiaconate, it is retained in Indult Catholic societies such as the Priestly Fraternity of St. The porter was not a part of Holy Orders administering sacraments but simply a preparatory job on the way to the Major orders: subdiaconate (until its suppression, after the Second Vatican Council by Paul VI), diaconate and the priesthood. Later on, the Porter would also guard, open and close the doors of the Sacristy, Baptistry and elsewhere in the church. The porter had in ancient times the duty of opening and closing the church-door and of guarding the church especially of ensuring no unbaptised persons would enter during the Eucharist. This was the first order a seminarian was admitted to after receiving the tonsure. In the Roman Catholic Church, this 'porter' became the lowest of the four minor orders prescribed by the Council of Trent. For the profession of doorkeeper, see Doorman (profession).Īn ostiarius, a Latin word sometimes anglicized as ostiary but often literally translated as porter or doorman, originally was a servant or guard posted at the entrance of a building. To read more about Vergers, please see this page on our website."Porter (doorkeeper)" redirects here. ![]() Over time the same practical concerns appeared within Christianity and by the fourth century four “minor orders” of clergy had developed to provide assistance to Bishops and Priests one of these - the Ostiarius, or Doorkeeper - is the beginning of the Verger’s history in the Church. Others of them were appointed over the furniture, and over all the holy utensils, also over the fine flour, the wine, the oil, the incense, and the spices ( 1 Chronicles 9:17–29). Some of them had charge of the utensils of service, for they were required to count them when they were brought in and taken out. A Verger (sometimes “Virger”) is a specialized form of Sacristan therefore a Biblical origin for their office can be found in those members of the Priestly Tribe of Levi set aside by King David and the Prophet Samuel: The gatekeepers were…in charge of the gates of the house of the Lord…as guards…and they had charge of opening it every morning.
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