Ostiaries

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Members of the lowest clerical order in early churches, whose duty was to guard the church doors and keep out the unworthy
2. Minor church attendants who were charged with opening and closing the doors and watching over the entrance to a sacred building
3. Lesser clergy from early Christian tradition who served as doorkeepers, controlling access to the church during services

Etymology: "Ostiaries" is the plural of "ostiary," which came into English from Latin "ostiarius," a doorkeeper, derived from "ostium," meaning "door" or "entrance." In the early Church, the ostiary was one of the minor orders, the lowest rung of clergy, whose job was to guard the church doors and keep out those who were not permitted to enter, such as catechumens and penitents during services. The word has a surprising cousin in English. "Usher," the familiar term for someone who shows people to their seats or guards a door, may be a doublet of "ostiary," meaning the two words descend from the same Latin source by different routes. The Latin root "ostium" also gave English words like "ostium," the technical term for the opening of a vessel or organ, which shows how a simple idea of a doorway has spread through the language.

Synonyms: doorkeeper, porter, gatekeeper