LAYMEN ALLOWED TO PREACH

Although the ancient Fathers were very strict on the subject of preaching, and always insisted on having it entrusted to men of tried ability and worth among the higher grades of the hierarchy, still we find a little relaxation of this rigor in certain rare cases; for not only did members of the inferior orders of the clergy discharge this duty, but even those who were not ranked among the clergy at all. The celebrated Origen, as we learn from Eusebius, preached frequently in Jerusalem while yet a layman; and we are assured by the same author that this permission was also granted on certain occasions to Constantine the Great (De Vita Const., lib. iv. c. xxix.–xxxiv)