Ordination

Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform various religious rites and ceremonies.^[1] The process and ceremonies of ordination vary by religion and denomination. One who is in preparation for, or who is undergoing the process of ordination is sometimes called an ordinand. The liturgy used at an ordination is commonly found in a book known as an Ordinal which provides the ordo (ritual and rubrics) for celebrations.

Christianity

Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran and Anglican churches

There are three ordinations in Holy Orders: deacon, presbyter, and bishop. Both bishops and presbyters are priests and have authority to celebrate the Eucharist. In common use, however, the term priest, when unqualified, refers to the order of presbyter, whereas presbyter is mainly used in rites of ordination and other places where a technical and precise term is required.

Ordination of a bishop is performed by several bishops; ordination of a priest or deacon is performed by a single bishop. The ordination of a new bishop is also called a

Only a person ordained to the priesthood may administer certain sacraments (most especially, hear confessions, anointing the sick – unction – or celebrating any Mass – the Eucharist).

Details peculiar to the various denominations

The Roman Catholic Church teaches that one bishop is sufficient to consecrate a new bishop validly (that is, for an episcopal ordination actually to take place). In most Christian denominations that retain the practice of ordination, only an already ordained (consecrated) bishop or the equivalent may ordain bishops, priests, and deacons.^[8] However, Canon Law requires that bishops always be consecrated with the mandate (approval) of the Roman Pontiff, as the guarantor of the Church's unity.^[9] Moreover, at least three bishops are to perform the consecration, although the Apostolic See may dispense from this requirement in extraordinary circumstances (for example, in missionary settings or times of persecution).^[10]

In the Roman Catholic Church, those deacons destined to be ordained priests are often termed transitional deacons; those deacons who are married before being ordained, as well as any unmarried deacons who chose not to be ordained priests, are called permanent deacons. Those married deacons who become widowers have the possibility of seeking ordination to the priesthood in exceptional cases.^[11]

While some Eastern churches have in the past recognized Anglican ordinations as valid,^[12] the current Anglican practice, in many provinces, of ordaining women to the priesthood—and, in some cases, to the episcopate—has caused the Orthodox generally to question earlier declarations of validity and hopes for union.^[13] The Roman Catholic Church has never recognized Anglican orders as valid.^[14] Anglicanism recognizes Roman Catholic and Orthodox ordinations; hence, clergy converting to Anglicanism are not "re-ordained".

With respect to

• There have long existed orders of clergy below that of deacon. In the Eastern Orthodox and
  minor orders prior to being ordained a deacon. Although a person may be said to be ordained to these orders, such ordinations are not reckoned as part of the sacrament of Holy Orders; in the Eastern Orthodox, the term Cheirothesia ("imposition of hands")^[17]
  is used for such ordinations in contrast to Cheirotonia ("laying on of hands") for ordinations of deacons, presbyters, and bishops.
• The following are positions that are not acquired by ordination:
  • Becoming a monk or nun or, generally, a member of a religious order, which is open to men and women; men in religious orders may or may not be ordained. Anglican nuns may, like their male counterparts, be ordained as well.
  • Offices and titles such as pope, patriarch, archbishop, archpriest, archimandrite, archdeacon, etc., which are given to ordained persons for sundry reasons, e.g., to rank them or honor them.
  • several are priests, having been granted a dispensation from being ordained a bishop by the Pope (most of these were elevated by the Pope for services to the Church, and are over 80, thus not having the right to elect a pope or have active voting memberships in Vatican departments). As recently as 1899 there was a cardinal who was a deacon when he died, having been a cardinal for 41 years (Teodolfo Mertel). There have even been noble lay men, or men who only possessed minor orders (now called ministries, and carried out by seminarians and laypeople) who at one time were made cardinals. Cardinals are considered princes in diplomatic protocol and by the Church, and even if they are not ordained bishops and cannot perform episcopal functions such as ordination, they have both real and ceremonial precedence over all non-cardinal patriarchs, archbishops, and bishops. Some have discussed the possibility in Catholicism of having women serve as cardinals or, more realistically in the short-term, as sub-deacons, since they cannot be ordained^{[citation needed}
    ].
• In the Church of England, the priest of the diocese who oversees the process of discernment, selection and training of ordinands is usually called the "Diocesan Director of Ordinands", commonly shortened to "DDO". He or she may have a team of assistants, who may be called Assistant DDOs or Vocations Advisers.

Reformed, Methodist and Pentecostal churches

In most Protestant churches, ordination is the rite by which their various churches:

• recognize and confirm that an individual has been called by God to ministry,
• acknowledge that the individual has gone through a period of discernment and training related to this call (e.g. having graduated from a seminary), and
• authorize that individual to take on the office of ministry.

For the sake of authorization and church order, and not for reason of 'powers' or 'ability', individuals in most

• most
  elder comprises lay persons ordained to the ministries of church order and spiritual care (for example, elders form the governing bodies of congregations and are responsible for a congregation's worship life). In many Presbyterian churches, the pastor or minister is seen as a "teaching elder" and is equal to the other elders in the session. The order of deacon
  comprises lay persons ordained to ministries of service and pastoral care. Those who fill this position may be known as "ruling elders".
• Deacons are also ordained in the
  Baptist traditions.^[20]

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a rite of ordination is performed to bestow either the Aaronic or Melchizedek priesthood (Hebrews 5:4–6) upon a worthy male member. As in the Anglican, Roman Catholic and Orthodox traditions, great care is taken to assure that the candidate for priesthood is ordained by those with proper authority and ordained properly and validly; thorough records of priesthood ordination are kept by the church. Ordination is performed by the laying on of hands. Ordination to the office of priest in the Aaronic priesthood gives the ordained person the authority to:

• baptize converts and children over the age of 8 into the church
• bless and administer the sacrament (the Lord's Supper)
• participate in, or perform, ordinations of others to the Aaronic Priesthood or its offices
• collect
  Teachers
  perform this)

Ordination to the Melchizedek priesthood includes the authority to perform all the duties of the Aaronic priesthood, as well as ordain others to the Melchizedek or Aaronic priesthood, perform confirmations, bless and anoint the sick with oil, bless and dedicate graves, and other such rites. There are five offices within the Melchizedek Priesthood to which one could potentially be ordained:

• Elder
• High Priest
• Patriarch
• Seventy
• Apostle

"Ordination to an office in the Aaronic Priesthood is done by or under the direction of the bishop or branch president. Ordination to an office in the Melchizedek Priesthood is done by or under the direction of the stake or mission president. To perform a priesthood ordination, one or more authorized priesthood holders place their hands lightly on the person's head."^[30]

Latter-day Saints believe in a line of priesthood authority that traces back to Jesus Christ and his

Muslims do not formally ordain religious leaders. Ordination is viewed as a distinct aspect of other religions and is rejected. Islam does not have a formal and separated clergy.

Religious leaders are usually called

The ordination of a rabbi within Judaism is referred to as Semikhah (Hebrew: סמיכה, "leaning [of the hands]", or semicha lerabanim Hebrew: סמיכה לרבנות, "rabbinical ordination"). The term is derived from a Hebrew word which means to "rely on", in the sense of "lean on", and hence "to be authorized".

While the Hebrew word semikhah is rendered as "ordination" in English, a rabbi is not

Recently, in some denominations, Semikhah, or semicha lehazzanut, may refer to the ordination of a hazzan (cantor); while others use the term "investiture" to describe the conferral of cantorial authority.

Buddhism

The tradition of the ordained

• Dharmaguptaka Lineage
• Mulasarvastivadin
  Lineage
• Theravada
  Lineage

Mahayana

Pabbajja is an ordination procedure for novice Buddhist monks in the Theravada tradition.

Fully ordained nuns

The legitimacy of fully ordained nuns (bhikkhuni/bhiksuni) has become a significant topic of discussion in recent years. Texts passed down in every Buddhist tradition record that Gautama Buddha created an order of fully ordained nuns, but the tradition has died out in some Buddhist traditions such as Theravada Buddhism, while remaining strong in others such as

In Medieval Sōtō Zen, a tradition of posthumous ordination was developed to give the laity access to Zen funeral rites. Chinese Ch’an monastic codes, from which Japanese Sōtō practices were derived, contain only monastic funeral rites; there were no provisions made for funerals for lay believers. To solve this problem, the Sōtō school developed the practice of ordaining laypeople after death, thus allowing monastic funeral rites to be used for them as well.^[36]

New Kadampa Tradition

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The Buddhist ordination tradition of the

There are also no formal instructions and guidelines for the behaviour of monks and nuns within the NKT. Because the behaviour of monks and nuns is not clearly defined "each Resident Teacher developed his or her own way of 'disciplining' monks and nuns at their centres ...".[40]

Kelsang Gyatso's ordination has been publicly criticised by Geshe Tashi Tsering as going against the core teachings of Buddhism and against the teachings of Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelugpa school from which Kelsang Gyatso was expelled^[41][42][43]

Unitarian Universalism

As

In the Unitarian Universalist Association, candidates for "ministerial fellowship" with the denomination (usually third-year divinity school students) are reviewed, interviewed, and approved (or rejected) by the UUA Ministerial Fellowship Committee (MFC). However, given the fundamental principle of congregational polity, individual UU congregations make their own determination on ordination of ministers, and congregations may sometimes even hire or ordain persons who have not received UUA ministerial fellowship, and may or may not serve the congregation as its principal minister/pastor.

Ordination of women

The ordination of women is often a controversial issue in religions where either the office of ordination, or the role that an ordained person fulfills, is traditionally restricted to men, for various theological reasons.

In Christianity

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The Christian priesthood has traditionally been reserved to men. Some^[who?] claim that women were ordained deacons in the first millennium of Christianity, but their claims are disputed. After the Protestant Reformation and the loosening of authority structures within many denominations, most Protestant groups re-envisioned the role of the ordained priesthood. Many did away with it altogether. Others altered it in fundamental ways, often favoring a rabbinical-type married minister of teaching (word) and discarding any notion of a sacrificial priesthood. A common epithet used by Protestants (especially Anglicans) against Catholics was that Catholics were a 'priest-ridden' people. Hatred for priests was a common element of anti-Catholicism and pogroms against Catholics focused on expelling, killing, or forcefully 'laicizing' priests.^{[citation needed]}

Beginning in the twentieth century, many Protestant denominations began re-evaluating the roles of women in their churches. Many now ordain women.^[

]

The Catholic Church has not changed its view or practice on the ordination or women, and neither have any of the Orthodox churches; these churches represent approximately 65% of all Christians worldwide. In response to the growing call for the ordination of women, Pope John Paul II issued the statement Ordinatio sacerdotalis in 1995. In it, he gave reasons why women cannot be ordained, and defined that the Holy Spirit had not conferred the power to ordain women upon the Church. In the wake of this definitive statement, many theologians considered the issue settled, but many continue to push for the ordination of women in the Catholic Church. Some have even begun protest churches.^{[citation needed]}

In Judaism

Main article: Women in Judaism

Policy regarding the ordination of women differs among the different

denominations of Judaism

. Most Orthodox congregations do not allow female rabbis, while more liberal congregations began allowing female rabbis by the middle of the twentieth century.

Ordination of LGBT persons

Main article:

Ordination of LGBT Christian clergy

Most

Abrahamic religions condemn the practice of homosexuality and the Bible has been interpreted that in Romans 1 that homosexuals are "worthy of death". Interpretation of this passage, as with others potentially condemning homosexuality varies greatly between and within different denominations. Beginning in the late 20th century, and more so in the early 21st century, several mainline denominational sects of Christianity and Judaism in the US and Europe endorsed the ordination of openly LGBT persons. See LGBT clergy in Christianity

.

The United Church of Christ ordained openly gay Bill Johnson in 1972, and lesbian Anne Holmes in 1977.[46]

While Buddhist ordinations of openly LGBT monks have occurred, more notable ordinations of openly LGBT novitiates have taken place in Western Buddhism.

See also

• Ordination exams
• Ordination (statistics)

References

1. ISSN 2077-1444
   .
2. ^ "Sacrament of the Holy Priesthood". Archived from the original on 17 December 2005. Retrieved 3 August 2011. "The Orthodox Faith — The Sacrament of the Holy Priesthood", Retrieved 3 August 2011
3. ISBN 9783631609453
   . Having said that, Lutheran bishops in Sweden or Finland, which retained apostolic succession, or other parts of the world, such as Africa or Asia, which gained it from Scandinavia, could easily be engaged to do something similar in Australia, as has been done in the United States, without reliance on Anglicans.
4. ISBN 9780878086085
   . A number of large episcopal churches (e.g. United Methodist Church, USA) have maintained a succession over 200 years but are not concerned to claim that the succession goes back in unbroken line to the time of the first Apostles. Very many other major episcopal churches, such as the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Old Catholic, Anglican, and Scandinavian Lutheran, make this claim and contend that a bishop cannot have regular or valid orders unless he has been consecrated in this apostolic succession.
5. ^ [1] Archived 14 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine, "Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers — The Seven Ecumenical Councils, p641", Retrieved 3 August 2011
6. ^ [2] Archived 14 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine, "Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers — The Seven Ecumenical Councils, p839", Retrieved 3 August 2011
7. ^ [3] Archived 5 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine, "Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers — The Seven Ecumenical Councils, P790", Retrieved 3 August 2011
8. ^ Pius XII. "Episcopali consecrationis". Archived from the original on 2 March 2013. Retrieved 20 September 2013. Episcopalis Consecrationis Ministrum esse Episcopum et ad huius Consecrationis validitatem unum solum sufficere Episcopum, qui cum debita mentis intentione essentiales ritus perficiat, extra omne dubium est diuturnaque praxi comprobatum. [That the minister of episcopal consecration is a bishop, and that only one bishop–who performs the act with the necessary intention of the mind performs the essential rites—is necessary for the validity of that consecration, is proved beyond all doubt and by long practice.]
9. ^ "Code of Canon Law – IntraText". Code of Canon Law. Canon 1014. Archived from the original on 2 April 2007. No bishop is permitted to consecrate anyone a bishop unless it is first evident that there is a pontifical mandate.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
10. ^ "Code of Canon Law – IntraText". Code of Canon Law. Canon 1014. Archived from the original on 2 April 2007. Unless the Apostolic See has granted a dispensation, the principal bishop consecrator in an episcopal consecration is to be joined by at least two consecrating bishops; it is especially appropriate, however, that all the bishops present consecrate the elect together with the bishops mentioned.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
11. ^ National Directory for the Formation, Ministry, and Life of Permanent Deacons in the United States (PDF). Chapter 2, No. 77: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. p. 37. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 July 2012.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
12. ^ "Orthodox Statements on Anglican Orders" Archived 23 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
13. ^ [4] Archived 31 January 2011 at the Wayback Machine"Unity Faith and Order – Dialogues – Anglican Orthodox," Introduction, par. 2 ("From Moscow to Lambeth (1976–8)
14. ^ Leo XII (15 September 1896). "Apostolicae Curae". Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
15. ISBN 0809105349
    . To my knowledge, the Catholic Church has never officially expressed its judgement on the validity of orders as they have been handed down by episcopal succession in these two national Lutheran churches.
16. ^ "Roman Catholic – Lutheran Dialogue Group for Sweden and Finland, Justification in the Life of the Church, section 297, page 101" (PDF).
17. ^
    ISBN 0-88465-067-7, archived
    from the original on 2 July 2017
18. ^ "Assembly recap: A new entrance rite for deacons". 3 October 2019.
19. ^ Order of Service: Ordination of a Deacon and Ordination of a Minister of the Word Archived 26 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine, Uniting Church in Australia,
20. ^ http://sanjacintobaptist.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Deacon-Ordination.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}
21. Porvoo
    Common Statement as a Challenge to Lutheran Ecclesiology and the Nordic Lutheran Churches." The Ecumenical Review 52.2 (2000): 195–203.
22. ^ Sébastien Fath, Une autre manière d'être chrétien en France: socio-histoire de l'implantation baptiste, 1810–1950, Editions Labor et Fides, Genève, 2001, p. 578
23. ^ William H. Brackney, Historical Dictionary of the Baptists, Scarecrow Press, USA, 2009, p. 431
24. ^ Shane Clifton, Pentecostal Churches in Transition: Analysing the Developing Ecclesiology of the Assemblies of God in Australia, BRILL, Netherlands, 2009, p. 134
25. ^ "Beliefs—Membership and Organization", Authorized Site of the Office of Public Information of Jehovah's Witnesses, As Retrieved 2009-09-01 Archived 26 August 2012 at the Wayback Machine, "Jehovah's Witnesses have no clergy-laity division. All baptized members are ordained ministers"
26. U.S. Supreme Court case Dickinson v. United States found that Dickinson should have been considered a minister by his draft board because of his ordination by baptism as a Jehovah's Witness and his continued service as a Jehovah's Witness "pioneer". Online Archived 28 May 2001 at the Wayback Machine
27. ^ "Russian Federation Federal Law", Chapter 1, Article 3, Paragraph 7, as cited by Authorized Site of the Office of Public Information of Jehovah's Witnesses, As Retrieved 2009-09-01 Archived 7 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine, "Ecclesiastical privilege is protected by the law. A clergyman may not be prosecuted for refusal to testify on circumstances that became known to him during confession."
28. ^ "Who Are Jehovah's Witnesses?", Authorized Site of the Office of Public Information of Jehovah's Witnesses, As Retrieved 2009-09-01 Archived 28 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine, "Who Are Jehovah's Witnesses?...The worldwide organization is directed by an unpaid, ecclesiastical governing body serving at the international offices in Brooklyn, New York."
29. ^ "Question Box", Our Kingdom Ministry, November 1973, page 8, "Weddings and funerals may be conducted by any dedicated, baptized brother as permitted by law."
30. ^ Duties and Blessings of the Priesthood Part B Lesson 5>
31. ^ "Melchizedek Priesthood", Bible Dictionary, KJV (LDS), LDS Church, 1979
32. ^ "Temple Israel Chrnicle, January 2009, p3" (PDF). templewb.org. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
33. ^ Mahayana Ordination Platform "Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism."
34. ^ ^{a b} "Press". www.congress-on-buddhist-women.org. Archived from the original on 15 November 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
35. ^ "Statement of H.H.-the Dalai Lama". www.congress-on-buddhist-women.org. Archived from the original on 2 October 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
36. William M. Bodiford
    , Soto Zen in Medieval Japan (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1993), 195–96.
37. ^ ^{a b} "New Kadampa Tradition – Kadampa Buddhism (NKT-IKBU) – Kadampa Meditation Center". info-buddhism.com. Archived from the original on 5 July 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
38. ^ "Vinaya Pitaka: The Basket of the Discipline". www.accesstoinsight.org. Archived from the original on 9 May 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
39. ^ BuddhaSasana. "What Buddhists Believe – What is Vinaya?". www.budsas.org. Archived from the original on 27 August 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
40. ^ Realising the Guru's Intention: Hungry Humans and Awkward Animals in a New Kadampa Tradition community by Carol McQuire, in Spiritual and Visionary Communities – Out to Save the World, Ashgate Publishing, 2013, pp. 72–73
41. ^ Expulsion letter: "To the Tibetan Buddhists around the world and fellow Tibetan compatriots within and outside Tibet" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
42. ^ Londonnay ལོན་ཏོན་ནས། (29 October 2015). "(part 1) Geshe Tashi explains Buddhist ordination rite". Archived from the original on 22 September 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2018 – via YouTube.
43. ^ Londonnay ལོན་ཏོན་ནས། (2 November 2015). "(part 2) Geshe Tashi challenges NKT Buddhist ordination rite". Archived from the original on 9 May 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018 – via YouTube.
44. ^ ^{a b c} "Bible Gateway passage: Judges 4 – English Standard Version". Bible Gateway. Archived from the original on 21 May 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
45. ^
    ISBN 1-57673-840-X. Archived from the original
    on 3 July 2007.
46. ^ "UCC 'Firsts'". www.ucc.org. Archived from the original on 15 November 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2018.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ordination.

• J. Frederick, 2001 "What Presbyterians Believe about ordination", Presbyterians Today, May 2001
• Lutheran Evangelical Protestant Church (LEPC)
• "Ordination" .
  The American Cyclopædia
  . 1879.