Layman

Last evening in the bar, one of my pals had the temerity to suggest that my recent posts were all based on double-entendres. I think it says more about his mind than my choice of words, but still. Following a particularly awful gag about the Arsenal goalkeeper (Jens Lehmann, for the uninitiated), I promised to write up ‘layman’ today. Lay + man, eh? It was funnier in the bar. Anyhow:

Layman comes originally from Greek laos (people) then laikos (one of the people). They are referred to collectively as the laity. Layman (or layperson, to be a little more politically correct) refers to different things, depending upon one’s religion. In the Anglican and Episcopal churches, layman refers to anyone acting as a preacher or missionary who has not been officially ordained by the church. In the Buddhist religion, lay people (upasaka for men, upasika for women) are followers of Buddha who are neither monks, nuns nor novices. The Catholic church makes the rules a little more tricky, as there are two types of layperson. The first is taken to mean anyone who has not received Holy Orders (that is, having been ordained as a priest, deacon or bishop). The second means anyone who has received Holy Orders, but does not live in a religious order, such as an abbey or convent. This is where the “of the people” comes in.

Sometimes, if an ordained person does something particularly heinous, he or she can be ‘defrocked’ – meaning that they have all the rights, responsibilities and privileges associated with their position removed. This process can also be know as laicization, to make lay.

It may come as a surprise that St Paul was a layman. Maybe you remember him from the “Road to Damascus” story. Originally a Talmudic student named “Saul the Jew”, he persecuted and stoned christians to death. On his way to Damascus to get more of them to kill, he heard the voice of God. He was baptised shortly afterwards and became a christian. He was eventually beheaded in AD 65 in Rome for being christian, and became a martyr. Not bad going for someone who hadn’t been ordained.

In non-religious terms, layman is used chiefly to differentiate between professional people and those who are not experts. The phrase “in layman’s terms” is often used to explain something complicated to a person who has no expertise in the subject being discussed. You may also notice books titled “A Layman’s Guide to..” wherein the concepts discussed are put forward in a direct and easy-to-understand manner.

Well, that’s that – a lot more involved than I expected and not a rude word in sight!