Lector

A ceremonial reader of scripture or sacred text.

"He was beside himself. The crisis was real, that much was clear. And what could be done to save her? New lectors came for the matins, and the abbot, who had been present through the night, started up at the fresh resonance and began intoning mystical formulas. His voice was hoarse with age, but it seemed to have in it a store of grace that was enough to bring hope even to this despairing household."

Murasaki Shikibu, The Tale of Genji (10th Century).

Translated by Edward G. Seidensticker.