Laity
(pl. λαϊκοί from laos, people), term denoting the nonclerical element of the Christian community, in contrast to its clergy. Unknown in the New Testament, the term was used by Clement of Alexandria, and in the 3rd C. the laity was differentiated not only from the clergy but also from the ordinary faithful: they formed an elite of males married only once who were allowed to baptize and officiate in the absence of clergy. When the monastic movement started, the monks were at first considered laymen. Some ministerial functions (esp. those of ... ...
Access to the complete content on Oxford Reference requires a subscription or purchase. Public users are able to search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter without a subscription.
Please subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you have purchased a print title that contains an access token, please see the token for information about how to register your code.
For questions on access or troubleshooting, please check our FAQs, and if you can''t find the answer there, please contact us.
