Reordination
This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (January 2024) |
Reordination is the second ordination of a cleric whose original ordination is questionable. This may occur when transitioning between different Christian denominations, or if questions arise about the validity of the initial ordination.
History
The
Other causes of nullity have been admitted in certain circumstances. It has been admitted that all or any sacraments administered or received extra ecclesiam (outside the Church) were null and had to be repeated. By the words extra ecclesiam is understood the situation of the
The
Ordinationes ab illegitimo ministro peractas illicitus esse, nemo umquam theologorum dubitavit: utrum vero præterea irritæ, inanes ac nullæ habendæ sint, implicatissima olim questio fuit, adeo ut Magister Sententiarum scribat: "Hanc quæstionem perplexam ac pæne insolubilem faciunt doctorum verba, quæ plurimum dissentire videntur" (I, iv, dist. 25); deinde profert quatuor sententias, qui nulli adhæreat. Monumenta ecclesiastica prope innumera pro utraque sententia, sive affirmante irritas esse eiusmodi ordinationes sive negante, stare videntur, cum res nondum eliquata esset. Nunc iam a pluribus sæculis sola viget S. Thomæ doctrina, cui suffragium accessit universæ ecclesiæ, ordinationes ab hæreticis, schismaticis ac simoniacis factas validas omnino esse habendas
That ordinations performed by an unlawful minister are illicit, no theologian ever doubted; but whether they are, moreover, to be regarded as null and void was of old a most intricate question–so much so that the
In the second half of the fifth century, the Church of Constantinople repeated the confirmation and ordination conferred by the
The Roman Synod of 769 permitted and even prescribed the repetition of orders conferred by the
After the eleventh century the discussions concerning simony gave new sharpness to the controversy about reordinations.
Roman Catholic interpretation
Decisions of the popes on these points did not possess the character required by the
The early Church sought the solution of these difficulties.
Notes
References
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Saltet, Louis (1911). "Reordinations". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 12. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- OCLC 16266414 – via Christian Classics Ethereal Library.