Porter (doorkeeper) - Definition and Overview

In the Roman Catholic Church, the porter (Latin ostiarius) was the lowest of the minor orders prescribed by the Council of Trent. This was the first order a seminarian was admitted to after receiving the tonsure. The porter had in ancient times the duty of opening and closing the church-door and of guarding the church. The porter was not a part of Holy Orders but simply a preparatory job on the way to the diaconate and the priesthood

The minor orders, along with the major order of subdeacon and the tonsure rite, were abolished for simplicity's sake after the Second Vatican Council by Paul VI.