Holy Orders Totally Explained

Everything about Holy Orders totally explained

In a general sense, the term Holy Orders refers to those in the Christian religion who have been ordained in Apostolic Succession. As a more theologically technical term in the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Anglican, Old Catholic, Independent Catholic and Assyrian churches, it's a Sacrament in which the candidate is ordained as a bishop, priest or deacon.
Historically, the word "order" (Latin ) designated an established civil body or corporation with a hierarchy, and meant legal incorporation into an ordo. The word "holy" refers to the Church. In context, therefore, a holy order is simply a group with a hierarchy that's set apart for ministry in the Church.

Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Eastern Orthodox perspectives

ť :Main articles: Priesthood (Catholic Church) and Bishop (Catholic Church)

The Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Churches number Holy Orders, which is the Sacrament that confers ordination as bishops, priests, and deacons of the church, among three sacraments that create an indelible mark called a sacramental character on the recipient's soul (the other two are baptism and confirmation).
   The purpose of the Sacrament is to constitute a person as a minister within the Church.
   Deacons are ministers of service, delegated to act in the name of the Church and therefore are able to witness marriages (the Sacrament of Matrimony is actually conferred by the couple on each other, with the deacon as witness), to baptize solemnly (any human being may baptize in an emergency but a deacon may do so on ordinary occasions with full ceremony), and to preach.
   Bishops receive the "Spirit of governance" and are the successors of the Apostles, as a group (that is, the "college" or body of bishops is the successor body to the college of apostles; in Roman Catholic theology, there's a belief that the apostle Peter had a role of leadership in the college of apostles, which the pope retains today among the bishops, but this isn't accepted by the Orthodox churches; sacramentally the pope is a bishop). Bishops, since they've the "fullness of orders," therefore may confer all seven of the sacraments. Bishops are governors of the church to the point where a bishop in the Catholic Church, even if not given authority over a functional diocese, will be given a "titular" or honorary diocese (a diocese that no longer exists) as a gesture toward the notion that a bishop is ordained for leadership.
   Priests, as cooperators of the bishops in their sacramental ministry, may confect all of the sacraments except Holy Orders, the sacrament of governance, itself.
   Until 1972 the Catholic Church also had four minor orders leading up to the major order of subdeacon, which were conferred on seminarians pro forma before they became deacons. The minor orders and the subdiaconate were not considered sacraments and, for simplicity, were suppressed under Pope Paul VI as part of the implementation of the Second Vatican Council. They were, however, retained by the Eastern Catholic Churches and by Traditionalist Catholics, including papally-approved Indult priestly associations. Only the sacramental orders (deacon, priest, bishop) were retained in the Latin Rite, but seminarians are "instituted" in "ministries" called acolyte and reader or lector, which replace the former "minor orders."
   The Eastern Orthodox Church has two minor orders, those of reader and subdeacon. Altar servers are normally not invested with a special service, though the rank of "taper-bearer" has been incorporated into the rite of blessing for readers. Candidates for ordination receive the clerical tonsure prior to being ordained by the laying on of hands to these minor orders. There is a distinction between the laying on of hands for minor orders (chirothesis) and that for major orders (chirotony). Those in these lesser orders are not considered clergy in the same sense as those in major orders.
   Other offices such as Pope, Cardinal, Monsignor, Archbishop, Archimandrite, Archpriest, Protopresbyter etc., are not sacramental orders. These are simply offices and titles and thus, though they're usually imparted with a blessing of some sort, their reception isn't an instance of the sacrament of holy orders.

Lutheranism

One of the central differences between the Lutheran churches on the one hand and the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches on the other has been their understanding of the Eucharist. Lutheran theology doesn't hold that the Eucharist is a "sacrifice," though it holds a theology of a "real physical, not just spiritual, presence" of Christ in Communion. This difference over the understanding of the sacrificial nature of the Eucharist is an essential component of the differentiation between the denominations of their theology of Holy Orders.

Process and sequence

The arrangement given above, "bishops, priests, and deacons" is in the reverse order of ordination. For Catholics, it's typically in the last year of seminary training that a man will be ordained to the diaconate, called by Catholics in recent times the "transitional diaconate" to distinguish men bound for priesthood from those who have entered the "permanent diaconate" and don't intend to seek further ordination. Deacons, whether transitional or permanent, are licensed to preach sermons (under certain circumstances a permanent deacon may not receive faculties to preach), to perform baptisms, and to witness Catholic marriages, but to perform no other sacraments. They assist at the Eucharist or the Mass, but are not able to consecrate the bread and wine.
   After six months or more as a transitional deacon a man will be ordained to the priesthood. Priests are able to preach, perform baptisms, confirm, witness marriages, hear confessions and give absolutions, anoint the sick, and celebrate the Eucharist or the Mass.
   Orthodox seminarians are typically tonsured as readers before entering seminary, and may later be made subdeacons or deacons; customs vary between seminaries and between Orthodox jurisdictions. Orthodoxy has two types of clergy: married and monastic. Orthodox clergy must either marry or be tonsured as monks prior to ordination to the diaconate (according to some jurisdictions, before the subdiaconate), though some bishops may make economia (dispensation) to allow a candidate to marry after his ordination to the diaconate. But once a man has been ordained a priest he may not marry. If his wife dies, he may not remarry. Orthodox bishops are taken from among the monks.
   For Anglicans, a person is ordained a deacon once they've completed their training at a theological college. They then typically serve as a curate and may be ordained as a priest, at the discretion of the bishop, following a period of time. Other deacons may choose to remain in this order. Anglican deacons can preach sermons, perform baptisms and conduct funerals, but, unlike priests, can't conduct marriages or celebrate the Eucharist. In most branches of the Anglican church, women can be ordained as priests, and in some, can be ordained a bishop. Bishops are chosen from among the priests in churches that adhere to Catholic usage. In the Roman Catholic church, bishops, like priests, are celibate and thus unmarried; further, a bishop is said to possess the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders, empowering him to ordain deacons, priests, and- with papal consent-other bishops. If a bishop, especially one acting as an ordinary- a head of a diocese or archdiocese- is to be ordained, three bishops must usually co-consecrate him with one bishop, usually an archbishop or the bishop of the place, being the chief consecrating prelate.
   Among Eastern Rite Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, which permit married priests, bishops must either be unmarried or agree to abstain from contact with their wives. It is a common misconception that all such bishops come from religious orders; while this is generally true, it isn't an absolute rule. In the case of both Catholics- (Western and) Eastern Catholic, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox, they're usually leaders of territorial units called dioceses (or its equivalent in the east, an eparchy). Only bishops can validly administer the sacrament of holy orders.

Recognition of other churches' orders

There is mutual recognition of the validity of holy orders among the Eastern Orthodox, Polish National, Oriental Orthodox, and Old Catholic churches and the Assyrian Church of the East as they've maintained the apostolic succession of bishops, for example, their bishops claim to be in a line of succession dating back to the Apostles, just as Catholic and Anglican bishops do. Consequently, if a priest of these Churches converts to another, he's generally received as a priest without need for re-ordination. Similarly the Roman Catholic Church unconditionally recognizes the validity of ordinations in the aforementioned Eastern churches. Eastern Orthodox bishops can, and frequently do, grant recognition to the holy orders of converts who were earlier ordained in the Catholic Church (though there's much debate in Eastern Orthodoxy about this); that's part of the policy called church economy. Anglican churches, unlike Protestant churches, claim to maintain apostolic succession. The succession of Anglican bishops is however, not universally recognized. The Roman Catholic Church judged Anglican orders invalid when Pope Leo XIII in 1896, wrote in Apostolicae Curae that Anglican orders lack validity because the rite by which priests were ordained wasn't correctly performed from 1547 to 1553 and from 1558 to the time of Archbishop William Laud, thus causing a break of continuity in apostolic succession. Eastern Orthodox bishops have, on occasion, granted "economy" when Anglican priests convert to Orthodoxy. Changes in the Anglican Ordinal since King Edward VI, and a fuller appreciation of the pre-Reformation ordinals suggest that the correctness of the enduring dismissal of Anglican Orders may be questioned. In order to reduce doubt concerning Anglican apostolic succession, since the 1930 Bonn agreement many Anglican bishops have been consecrated by bishops of the Old Catholic Church whose holy orders are recognised by the Holy See.
   Neither Roman Catholics nor Anglicans recognize the validity of ordinations of ministers in Protestant churches that don't maintain the apostolic succession. Rome also doesn't recognize the apostolic succession of (high church) Lutheran Protestant denominations.
   Anglicans accept the ordinations of those denominations in full communion with the Anglican Communion such as some Lutheran denominations. They may preside at services requiring a priest if one isn't available.
   The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) accepts the legal authority of clergy to perform marriages but doesn't recognize any other sacraments performed by ministers not ordained to the Latter-day Saint priesthood. Although the Latter-day Saints, who developed from private revelations and Protestantism, do claim a doctrine of a certain spiritual apostolic succession, it's significantly different from that claimed by Catholics and isn't recognized by the Holy See.

Marriage and holy orders

The rules discussed in this section are not considered to be among the infallible dogmas of the Catholic Church, but are mutable rules of discipline. See clerical celibacy for a more detailed discussion.
   Married men may be ordained to the diaconate as Permanent Deacons, but in the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church generally may not be ordained to the priesthood. In the Eastern Catholic Churches and in the Eastern Orthodox Church married deacons may be ordained priests, but may not become bishops. Bishops in the Eastern Rites and the Eastern Orthodox churches are almost always drawn from among monks, who have taken a vow of celibacy. They may be widowers, though; it isn't required of them never to have been married.
   In some cases widowed permanent deacons have been ordained to the priesthood. There have been some situations in which men previously married and ordained to the priesthood in an Anglican church or in a Lutheran Protestant church have been ordained to the Catholic priesthood - never sub conditione (conditionally), as there's no recognised true priesthood in the Protestant denominations - and allowed to function much as an Eastern Rite priest but in a Latin Rite setting; however, this may only happen with the approval of the priest's Bishop and a special permission by the Pope.
   Anglican clergy may be married and may marry after ordination.

Other concepts of ordination

Ordination ritual and procedures vary by denomination. Different churches and denominations specify more or less rigorous requirements for entering into office, and while the process of ordination is likewise given more or less ceremonial pomp depending on the group. Many Protestants still communicate authority and ordain to office by having the existing overseers physically lay hands on the candidates for office over them.

Methodist churches

The American Methodist model an is episcopal system loosely based Anglican model and was first devised under the leadership of Bishops Thomas Coke and Francis Asbury of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the late 18th century. In this approach, an elder (or "presbyter") is ordained to word (preaching and teaching), sacrament (administering Baptism and the Lord's Supper), order (administering the life of the church and, in the case of bishops, ordaining others for mission and ministry), and service; a deacon is someone who is ordained to word and service.
In the United Methodist Church, for instance, seminary graduates are examined and approved by the Conference Board of Ordained Ministry and then the Clergy Session, at which time they're accepted as "probationary members of the conference" and then commissioned by the resident Bishop to full time ministry. This is referred to as receiving "deacon's orders", and probationary ministers hold the title of deacon. (Before 1996, the graduate was ordained as a transitional deacon at this point, a provisional role which has since been done away with; the order of deacon is now a separate and distinct clergy office in the United Methodist Church.) After serving the probationary period consisting of a minimum of two years, the probationer is then examined again and either continued on probation, discontinued altogether, or approved for ordination. Upon final approval by the Clergy Session of the Conference, the probationer becomes a full member of the Conference and is then ordained as an elder or deacon by the resident Bishop. This commonly known as receiving "elder's orders;" and probationer is known as an elder minister.
At the present time, the British Methodist Conference doesn't have bishops but just the two distinct orders of presbyter and deacon.

Presbyterian churches

Presbyterian churches, following their Scottish forebears, reject the traditions surrounding overseers and instead identify the offices of bishop (episkopos in Greek) and elder (presbuteros in Greek, from which the term "presbyterian" comes) because the two terms seem to be used interchangeably in the Bible (compare Titus 1.5-9

and I Tim. 3.2-7

). Their form of church governance is known as presbyterian polity. While there's an increasing authority with each level of gathering of elders ('Session' over a congregation or parish, then presbytery, then possibly a synod, then the General Assembly), there's no hierarchy of elders, and each elder has an equal vote at the court on which they stand.
   Elders are usually chosen at their local level, either elected by the congregation and approved by the Session, or appointed directly by the Session. Some churches place limits on the term that the elders serve, while others ordain elders for life.
   Presbyterians also ordain (by laying on of hands) ministers of Word and Sacrament (sometimes known as 'teaching elders'). These ministers are regarded simply as Presbyters ordained to a different function, but in practice provide the leadership for local Session.
   Some Presbyterians identify those appointed (by the laying on of hands) to serve in practical ways (Acts 6.1-7

) as deacons (diakonos in Greek, meaning "servant"). In many congregations, a group of men or women is thus set aside to deal with matters such as congregational fabric and finance, releasing elders for more 'spiritual' work. These persons may be known as 'deacons', 'board members' or 'managers', depending on the local tradition. Unlike elders and minister, they're not usually 'ordained', and are often elected by the congregation for a set period of time.
Other Presbyterians have used an 'order of deacons' as full-time servants of the wider Church - but who, unlike ministers, don't administer sacraments or routinely preach. The Church of Scotland has recently begun ordaining deacons to this role.
Unlike the Episcopalian schemes, but similar to the United Methodist scheme described above, the two Presbyterian offices are different in kind rather than in degree since one need not be a deacon before becoming an elder. Since there's no hierarchy, the two offices don't make up an "order" in the technical sense, but the terminology of Holy Orders is sometimes still developed.

Congregationalist churches

Congregationalist churches implement different schemes, but the officers usually have less authority than in the presbyterian or episcopalian forms. Some ordain only ministers and rotate members on an advisory board (sometimes called a board of elders or a board of deacons). Because the positions are by comparison less powerful, there's usually less rigor or fanfare in how officers are ordained.

Latter Day Saint Movement

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a relatively open priesthood, ordaining nearly all adult males and boys of the age of twelve and older. Latter-day Saint priesthood consists of two orders: the Melchizedek and Aaronic. The offices, or ranks, of the Melchizedek order (in roughly descending order) include apostle, seventy, patriarch, high priest, and elder. The offices of the Aaronic order are bishop, priest, teacher, and deacon. The manner of ordination consists of the laying on of hands by one or more men holding at least the office being conferred while one acts as voice in conferring the priesthood and/or office and usually pronounces a blessing upon the recipient. Teachers and deacons don't have the authority to ordain others to the priesthood. All church members are authorized to teach and preach regardless of priesthood ordination so long as they maintain good standing within the church. The church doesn't use the term "holy orders."

Community of Christ

Non-traditional organizations The non-authoritarian religious denominations, such as the Universal Life Church, prefer to empower their clergy by minimizing the impediments to those that feel the calling to make a spiritual connection to the cosmos. Reducing the barriers to performing religious ceremonies these denominations encourage those who within the general population to realize spiritual experience. By enabling friends or relatives to perform ceremonies like marriages, organizations that offer online ordination demystify and integrate religious understanding into lives of the otherwise nonreligious public.
Other unaffiliated religious organizations, such as Rose Ministries, feel that everyone has the right to the distinction of being ordained who show a willingness to pursue and share the truth. Their ordination process is one way of accommodating this belief.
Still others, such as Spiritual Humanism, believe that religion must be able to adapt to new knowledge about the universe without rejecting the deep spiritual connections to human history and the natural world that we're a part of, and that all humans have an inalienable right and duty to practice their own religious traditions.

Ordination of women

The Roman Catholic Church doesn't ordain women to any of the orders and has officially declared that it doesn't have authority to ordain women as priests or bishops. Ordaining women as deacons, however, appears to remain a possibility, but not in any sacramental sense of the diaconate. Many Orthodox, Old Catholic, Anglican and Protestant churches ordain women, but in many cases, only to the office of deacon or deaconess. Whether the Catholic Church historically ordained, or simply "set apart", women as deaconesses is a matter of theological and historical investigation. Various branches of the Orthodox churches, including the Greek Orthodox, currently ordain woman as deaconesses. Some churches are internally divided on whether it's scripturally permissible to ordain women. When one considers the relative size of the churches (1.1 billion Roman Catholics, 300 million Orthodox, 590 million Anglicans and Protestants), it's a minority of Christian churches that ordain women. Protestants constitute about 27 percent of Christians worldwide and most which do ordain women have only done so within the past century.
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, doesn't permit the consecration of women as bishops, though the Episcopal Church USA (the United States denomination that's part of the Anglican Communion) does. Similarly, in some Protestant denominations, women may serve as assistant pastors but not as pastors in charge of congregations. 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's 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's no possibility of female priests at any time in the future.

Ordination of homosexuals

ť See also Homosexuality in the Roman Catholic priesthood and Homosexuality and Christianity

The Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches is the most prominent American denomination with an official stance allowing non-celibate gays and lesbians to be ordained. Smaller denominations, like the Liberal Catholic Church, the Swedenborgian Church of North America and the Apostolic Johannite Church also do so. The United Church of Christ, because of its decentralized model, allows such ordinations out of default since there are no official denomination-wide stances on doctrine. In the Episcopal Church USA bishops in some dioceses ordain non-celibate gays and lesbians, while those in others do not; the ordination of homosexuals is highly controversial in the wider Anglican Communion. Most of the mainline Protestant denominations, such as the Presbyterian Church USA, the Moravian Church, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELCA), are openly discussing the issue. The United Church of Canada and the Uniting Church in Australia already welcome gays and lesbians in permanent partnerships in the ordained ministry. The United Methodist Church has also been discussing the issue for many years, but its official position continues to deny ordination to "Self-Avowed Practicing Homosexuals." In theory, a homosexual who is celibate is a fit candidate for ordination within the United Methodist Church, but in practice this rarely happens.
   Controversy associated with the consecration of Gene Robinson to the order of bishop in the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire, and the planned consecration of Jeffrey John (who was to be ordained Bishop of Reading) in the Church of England, led to the formation of the Eames Commission by the Archbishop of Canterbury, spiritual head of the Anglican Communion. Its findings, published as the Windsor Report, recommended that the consecration of individuals in same-sex relationships as bishops cease, although it conspicuosly avoided discussing gays and lesbians ordered as priests and deacons. In response, the Episcopal Church placed a moratorium on confirming the consecrations of all bishops.
   The ordination of gays and lesbians isn't a new thing, but their open ordination has come to light. In the past, ordinands who were gay or lesbian didn't admit their sexuality, and were ordained. Upon the ordination of Gene Robinson, Episcopal Bishop J. Neil Alexander of the Diocese of Atlanta said he voted for the ordination because Robinson was open about his sexuality and honest, whereas in the past known gay clergy were ordained to the episcopate only because they lied about it.
   In many churches this is a very volatile issue, as is the ordination of women in many churches. It isn't likely that a resolution will be swift. Within mainline churches the Confessing Movement has been a vehicle for the opposition to the ordination of non-celibate gays and lesbians.
   The Roman Catholic Church allows the ordination of men who have, in the past, experienced same sex attraction, but only on the condition that they've lived without engaging in homosexual culture or acts for several years and can be psychologically verfied as having their same-sex attraction under control. Previously ordination of these homosexually inclined males was strictly forbidden, even though this discipline was often not observed by local bishops after the 1960s. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints only ordains men to the priesthood that have covenanted not to have sex with anyone besides their wife. Some gay men have chosen to remain celibate, while others have chosen to get married. However, a man must be married in order to become a bishop, regardless of orientation. Transgendered persons who were born men may only receive the priesthood if they've not had, and are not planning to have an operation.(1999 Church handbook.) Women are not ordained to the priesthood.

Footnotes

Print resources

Campbell, Dennis. Yoke of Obedience, 1988. ISBN 0-687-46660-1
Oden, Thomas. Pastoral Theology: Essentials of Ministry, 1983. ISBN 0-06-066353-7
Willimon, William. Calling & Character: Virtues of the Ordained Life, 2000. ISBN 0-687-09033-4
Willimon, William. Pastor: The Theology and Practice of Ordained Ministry, 2002. ISBN 0-687-04532-0

Further Information

Get more info on 'Holy Orders'.

External Link Exchanges

Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:

<a href="http://holy_orders.totallyexplained.com">Holy Orders Totally Explained</a>

Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned.