Theunder-sacristan orcustos was a Roman Catholic office.
The office is mentioned in theDecretals.[1] He was the assistant of thesacristan, was subject to thearchdeacon, and discharged duties very similar to those of thesacristan. By the early twentieth century the office was hardly ever attached to a benefice and so usually a salaried position. TheCouncil of Trent desired that, according to the old canons,clerics should hold such offices; but in most churches, on account of the difficulty or impossibility of obtaining clerics, laymen perform many of the duties of the sacristan and under-sacristan.
In some European medieval contexts, acustos was given the more important roles of keeping the safety of the church, its relics, its treasure, and its archives, but was also responsible for the perception ofcapitationes, symbolic head-taxes that associated freemen with a religious institution.[2]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Sacristan".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. | ThisCatholic Church–related article is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |