Holy Orders

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The term Holy Orders from the Latin Ordo (order) and the word Holy referring to the church. The order in Ordo refers historically to an established civil body or corporation with a hierarchy. From that definition, the term Holy order refers to a group with a hierarchy set apart for Ministry in the church. In this article however, the term is referring more specifically to the Holy Order as a Holy Sacrament/Mystery instituted by Jesus Christ as believed by the Roman Catholic Church, the Orthodox Church and the Anglican Church.

Origin

He ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils. Mark 3:14-15

Early in his ministry, Jesus Christ called some individuals, most of them fishermen to follow him and be his disciple, the Apostles. These were his assistants and close aids. They were given even the authority to perform miracles like casting out demons as Jesus did. Before living this world, Jesus send them to spread his gospel throughout the world, and to make new disciples (John 20:21) and be his representative on earth. As the Apostles started their mission, the need to get help and assistant and even to nurture successors arose. They needed to ordain new convert. The ordination ritual was characterized by the laying of hand on the appointee (Act 6:1-7). According to the theory of Apostolic succession, that ritual of appointing successors and assistant is the key element of the legitimacy of the Holy Order of each church. As a member of the Holy Order, you should have been ordained by someone who was himself ordained. That chain of ordination should link you back in time to one of the Apostle. Thus, there exist a historical and spiritual connection between each member of the Holy Order and the Apostles and the Christ.

The effect of being ordained

Being ordained in the Holy order allow one to partake in the special grace as God’s minister and to receive spiritual power. That power conferred at ordination is permanent and cannot be revoked, in contrast to the power given to office holder such as archbishop and dean that is revoked immediately as the person leaves office. In Roman Catholic, it is the doctrine of the sacramental character.

The hierarchy

Three levels are widely recognized as member of the Holy Order, the order of Bishop, the order of Priest and the order of Deacon. The Bishop occupies the highest rank and is said to have the 'fullness of order'. He is followed in the hierarchy by the priest also known as presbyter. The lowest in the hierarchy who has a mission of servant is the Deacon. These three levels are also known as the major order in the Catholics and Orthodox Church. The Orthodox Church recognizes another group of order known as the minor order. It is composed of the Reader and the Subdeacon.

Who can be ordained

The individual should have the vocation to serve for God’s honor and its own sanctification. Generally however, appointment in the Holy order is reserved for graduate of seminary. In the Roman Catholic Church, the graduate seminarian is ordained in his final year as deacon. They are also referred as “transitional deacon” to stress the fact that some of the Deacon will further look to be ordained as priest. In the Orthodox Church, before the entrance at the seminary, students are tonsured as Reader. They may later be ordained as Deacon or Subdeacon. In the Anglican Church, the graduate of the theological College is ordained as Deacon. It is important to note that as the leader and elder of the church, the Bishop, has the last say in any ordination and often will make further inquiries about the candidate life to ascertain its moral, intellectual and physical fitness.

The Priest

Priest comes from the Latin sacerdos, meaning sacrifice. Priest is a sacrifice ministry and is the official celebrant of the Eucharist, a rite following the commandment of Jesus at the Last Supper, “Do this in remembrance of me.” In ancient Israel, priests were chosen among the tribe of Levi. They were the one in charge of the altar and the temple. However, the actual priest who was allowed to give sacrifice, instruct the people about Moses law was male descendant from Aaron. This priesthood in Israel continued till the destruction of Jerusalem, in 70 AC, almost 40 years after the crucifixion of Jesus. From that time, the position of priest disappeared from Israel and Judaism. For Apostle Paul, the Christians are the priest of the new Israel. This is extended by the Roman catholics who indicate that even though all Christian are priest, however the one who are ordained, in the position of successor of the Apostle and steward of the Church have a higher status of priesthood and thus receive special grace. Starting 3rd century , the term priest will be given to bishops who were the celebrant of the Eucharist. In the 4th century, the term will be given to presbyter because of their new capacity to officiate the Eucharistic. In the Catholic Church, priest as the cooperator of the Bishop may confer all the sacraments except the sacrament of Holy order itself. In the Orthodox Church, the Priest serve at the pleasure of the Bishop who may confer him authority to minister in his diocese and withdraw it at its pleasure.

The Bishop

From the theory of Apostolic succession, the order of bishop has its root in apostolic time. Apostles appointed their successors as bishop through prayer and the laying of hands, giving them the apostolic authority and priority of rank. He has the fullness of order and can administer all of the sacrament/mysteries. They have the power to ordain Priest and Deacon. However the ordination of Bishop is usually made by three other Bishops and in some exceptional circumstances only one Bishop can ordain another Bishop. A Bishop is ordained for leadership, and has the spirit of governance. He is the Chief priest, ruler and teacher of one or a number of churches, usually in a specific geographic area. In the Roman Catholic and the Anglican Church, this area is called diocese and the place the Bishop is officiating from is called cathedral. In the Orthodox Church, a Bishop governs over an autocephalous (independent) Church. A notion connected to the Bishop and characteristics to the Roman Catholics is the peterine doctrine. It is argued by the Roman Catholics that Peter died martyr in Rome as a Bishop. That is why they explained the importance of the Roman church in the early days. For them the succeeding Bishop of Rome is the official spiritual successor of Peter and thus the head of the Church. The Bishop of Rome has the title of Pope, the head of the Roman Catholics Church. However, in the Orthodox Church as well as the Anglican Church, all Bishops are equals and patriarchs or synods of Bishops exercise only an “oversight of care” among the body of coequal Bishops. It is also interesting to note that while Bishops are appointed by the Pope in Roman Catholic Church, they are elected in the Orthodox and Anglican Communion. The Anglican Church of England however has his Bishop appointed by the Crown on the advice of the Prime Minister.

The Deacon

From Christian tradition, the order of deacon started when the apostles ordained 7 men to wait on table (Act 6 1-7) They are the assistant to the bishop and minister of service. In the early days, this meant taking care of the property of the property of the diocese. This function was terminated during the middle age. In the Roman Catholic, the liturgical function of the deacon consisted in helping and serving the celebrant. The protestant have kept the deacon as a lay office with no sacramental or liturgical function.

Holy orders and women

In some traditions women may theoretically be ordained to the same orders as men. In others women are restricted from certain offices. The Church of England (in the Anglican Communion), for example, does not permit the consecration of women as bishops, though the Episcopal Church USA (the United States denomination that is part of the Anglican Communion) does. In some denominations women can be ordained to be an elder or deacon. Some denominations allow for the ordination of women for certain religious orders. Within certain traditions, such as the Anglican and Lutheran, there is a diversity of theology and practice regarding ordination of women. The Roman Catholic Church, in accordance with its understanding of the theological tradition on the issue, and the definitive clarification of the issue found in the encyclical letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis (1994) written by Pope John Paul II in 1994, officially teaches that it has no authority to ordain women as priests and thus there is no possibility of female priests at any time in the future.

Holy orders and Marriage

Historically the issue of marriage was a matter of personnel choice. As exemplified by the letter of ST Paul, that choice is personal. Celibacy is not a sacrament, and St Peter was counted to be doing his mission along with his wife. Roman Catholics, in the council Vatican II restated the position of the Church on the issue of marriage for the priest and bishop. Celibacy was not demanded by the early Church and “It permanently exhorts all those who have received the priesthood and marriage to persevere in their holy vocation “. However, the Roman Catholic Church commends ecclesiastical celibacy. This turned into a requirement since the early time of the Latin Church. It is that requirement of the early time that is still practiced by the Priest and Bishop. In the Orthodox Church, marriage is allowed to member of the Deaconate and Priest but before they are ordained. However the Bishop is required to live in celibacy.

See also

• Ecumenical Council
• Papacy
• Sacrament
• Worship

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Campbell, Dennis M. The yoke of obedience: the meaning of ordination in Methodism. United Methodist studies. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1988. ISBN 9780687466603
• Oden, Thomas C. Pastoral theology: essentials of ministry. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1983. ISBN 9780060663537
• Willimon, William H. Calling & character: virtues of the ordained life. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2000. ISBN 9780687090334
• Willimon, William H. Pastor: the theology and practice of ordained ministry. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2002. ISBN 9780687045327

External links

• Old Catholic Vocations Website
• Priesthood - Catholic Sacrament of Holy Orders - Ordination
• Vatican II Council

Gallery

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  Catholic deacon candidates prostrate before the altar of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in city of Los Angeles during a 2004 diaconate ordination liturgy

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  Priestly Ordination, a popular devotional depiction of ordination in the Roman Catholic Church from the 1920s.

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  At priestly ordination the bishop imposes hands upon the deacon who is by that matter and the form of the consecratory preface ordained to the priesthood This is a photograph of the pre-Vatican II rite.

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