Since the suppression of the subdiaconate and minor orders in 1972, the Church has retained only two instituted ministries for laymen: Acolyte and Reader. The Latin Mass rubrics still assume the older structure of major and minor clerics, including the restrictions on a minor cleric serving as a straw subdeacon. That clerical system no longer exists outside of former Ecclesia Dei communities.
At our parish, the role of the subdeacon is usually filled by an instituted acolyte. The rubrics written for minor clerics acting as straw subdeacons prohibit him from touching the chalice after the offertory except to dress it when the priest is finished with the ablutions. He cannot cover or uncover the chalice with the pall, and he cannot wipe the vessels. These functions were historically reserved to major orders.
In the Novus Ordo, however, the instituted acolyte is explicitly given the opposite set of duties. The GIRM states that he may carry, purify, wipe, and arrange the sacred vessels, and may do so even without a deacon present. These are his primary functions in the current universal discipline of the Church.
That creates a practical disconnect at the Latin Mass. Visiting priests understandably sometimes forget that an instituted acolyte cannot perform the full subdeacon role. On more than one occasion, a visiting priest has purified the chalice and handed it to me expecting me to wipe and arrange it. Explaining on the spot that the TLM rubrics forbid me to do so is awkward for everyone involved.
Allowing an instituted acolyte to cover and uncover the chalice and to wipe the vessels at the Latin Mass would bring the practice into alignment with the Church’s current understanding of the acolyte’s role. It would also remove confusion at the altar and avoid unnecessary interruptions during the sacred rites.
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