Holy Orders

Holy Orders in the modern Roman Catholic Church and in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Anglican, Assyrian, Old Catholic, and Independent Catholic Churches, includes three degrees: bishop, priest, and deacon. While Anglicans are divided on the question, the other Churches mentioned regard ordination as a sacrament. Other Protestant denominations have varied conceptions of the church offices, but none of them considers ordination a sacrament, and some would not consider their ministries in terms of holy orders at all.

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 and pray over them.

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Methodist churches

The Methodist model is loosely based upon the Anglican model and was first devised under the leadership of Thomas Coke and Francis Asbury in the late 18th century. In this scheme, an elder is ordained to word (preaching and teaching), sacrament (administering baptism and the Lord's Supper), and order (ordaining others), and a deacon is someone who is ordained to word and service.

Related Topics:
Methodist - Thomas Coke - Francis Asbury - Elder - Deacon

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In the United Methodist Church, for instance, seminary graduates are interviewed and approved by the Conference Board of Ordained Ministry and then the Clergy Session, at which time they are accepted as "probationary members of the conference" and then commissioned by the resident Bishop to full time ministry. (At one time, the graduate was ordained as a deacon at this point, a provisional role which has since been done away with; the Diaconal order is now a separate and distinct lay office in the United Methodist Church.) After serving the probationary period consisting of a minimum of three years, the probationer is then interviewed again and either continued on probation, discontinued altogether, or approved. 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.

Related Topics:
United Methodist Church - Lay

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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). While there is an increasing authority with each level of gathering of elders ('Kirk Session' over a congregation, then presbytery, then possibly a synod, then the General Assembly), there is no hierarchy of elders, and each elder has an equal vote at the court on which they sit.

Related Topics:
Presbyterian - Scottish - Bible - Congregation - Presbytery - Synod - General Assembly

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Elders are usually chosen at their local level, either elected by the congregation and approved by the Kirk Session, or appointed directly by the Kirk Session. Some churches place limits on the term that the elders serve, while others ordain elders for life.

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Presbyterians also ordain (by laying on of hands) ministers of Word and Sacrament (sometimes known as 'teaching elders'). These ministers are regared simply as Presbyters ordained to a different function, but in practice provide the leadership for local Kirk Session.

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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 are not usually 'ordained', and are often elected by the congregation for a set period of time.

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Other presbyterians have used an 'order of deacons' as full-time servants of the wider Church - but who, unlke ministers, do not administer sacraments or routinely preach. The Church of Scotland has recently begun ordaining deacons to this role.

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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 is no hierarchy, the two offices do not make up an "order" in the technical sense, but the terminology of Holy Orders is sometimes still used.

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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 is usually less rigor or fanfare in how officers are ordained.

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Non-traditional organizations

The non-authoritarian religious denominations such as Spiritual Humanism, and 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.

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