Lay Preaching

Although there were many lay preachers in the early church, their style of preaching quickly fell into disuse as the pulpit became dominated by the ordained clergy. The new code of the Canon Law of the Roman church now allows lay people to preach once again under special circumstances. This article summarizes the value of lay preaching in the Roman Catholic Church. The Restoration of Lay Preaching in the Roman Catholic Church With the advent of the new Code of Canon Law, the prohibition against lay preaching in church has been lifted. Much of the groundwork for this welcoming of lay preaching (and it is a welcoming, for the laity may be allowed to preach not only when it is necessary, but in those cases where it would be advantageous) was laid in the dioceses of West Germany in the 1970s. There, in virtue of a special rescript that the German bishops requested of Rome, lay preaching was permitted in church and at Mass. In presenting their request for the approval of lay preaching,…