Ostiarii (door-keepeirs), the lowest of the minor orders in the Western Church. They are spoken of by Church writers of the 3d or 4th century. The fourth Council of Carthage prescribed as the form for their admission to office the delivery of the church-key to them by the bishop, with the words: "Behave thyself as one who must render account to God of the things locked under these keys." They arranged catechumens in their places, announced the hours of service, and had charge of the church. From this word ostiarius are derived the words huissier and usher. The second master of Winchester is called hostiariuis. The Greek Church only partially adopted the institution of porters, and soon let it die out. In the West they always lived near the church. See Walcott, Sacred Archaeology, p. 418; Riddle, Christian Antiquities (see Index); Mosheim, Eccles. Hist. vol. iii; Westrop, Handb. of Archaeology, p. 72; Coleman, Anc. Christianity, p. 127, 185. SEE DOOR-KEEPERS.
The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature was edited by John McClintock and James Strong. It contains nearly 50,000 articles pertaining to Biblical and other religious literature, people, creeds, etc. It is a fantastic research tool for broad Christian study.
John McClintock was born October 27, 1814 in Philadelphia to Irish immigrants, John and Martha McClintock. He began as a clerk in his father's store, and then became a bookkeeper in the Methodist Book Concern in New York. Here he converted to Methodism and considered joining the ministry. McClintock entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1832 and graduated with high honors three years later. Subsequently, he was awarded a doctorate of divinity degree from the same institution in 1848.WikipediaRead More