have been read to a congregation or gathering of Christians by one appointed to that task, usually referred to as the “reader” or “lector” (see Shiell 2004). The role of the reader was later institutionalized in the church in the form of the lector, a minor office in the church (see Tertullian, Praescr. 41; Hippolytus, Trad. ap. 1.12). We find references to “readers” and “public reading” in the various types of literature in the NT (Mark 13:14; 1 Tim 4:13; Rev 1:3; cf. Gamble 1995, 218–24). At the