Lay Order
The laity are the people of the church, those who have been baptized. The term “laity” generally refers to those who have not been ordained. In a vote “by orders” at a church convention, clergy and laity vote separately. An affirmative decision requires a majority of votes in each order to pass. See Lay Ministry.
Glossary definitions provided courtesy of Church Publishing Incorporated, New York, NY,(All Rights reserved) from “An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church, A User Friendly Reference for Episcopalians,” Don S. Armentrout and Robert Boak Slocum, editors.