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Ordination

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This article is about the process of ordaining clergy. For other meanings, see ordination (disambiguation).

In general religious use, ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart as clergy to perform various religious rites and ceremonies. The process and ceremonies of ordination itself varies 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 sometimes referred to as an ordinal.

Christianity

Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican Churches

Ordination of a Catholic priest (pre-1968 form of the Roman Rite).

There are three 'levels' of ordination (or Holy Orders) in these Churches: bishop, priest and deacon (there have been others in the past and minor changes and evolution of the hierarchical definitions have occurred). Normally these levels of ordination are sequential: first, to the diaconate (as a deacon), then to the presbyterate (priesthood), then to the episcopacy (as a bishop). The majority of clergy are initially 'transitional deacons' before ordination as priest; 'permanent deacons' do not go on to priesthood: this allows married men to be ordained within the Roman Catholic Church. Archbishops, cardinals and popes are all bishops, however in the past deacon-cardinals and priest-cardinals did exist.

Ordination is administered by a bishop in Apostolic Succession. The Roman Catholic Church also requires that bishops consecrate with the blessings of the Pope, as the guarantor of unity within the Church. Ordination to the priesthood is a requirement for a minister validly to celebrate the Eucharist.

While some Eastern churches recognize Anglican ordinations as valid, the Roman Catholic Church does not. Anglicanism recognizes Roman Catholic and Orthodox ordinations, hence clergy converting to Anglicanism are not 're-ordained'.

Eastern Orthodox subdeacon being ordained to the diaconate. The bishop has placed his omophorion and right hand on the head of the candidate and is reading the Prayer of Cheirotonia. Meanwhile, the other clergy are saying a litany among themselves, and the people are chanting Kyrie eleison (Lord, have mercy).

In the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches, ordinations have traditionally been held on Ember Days, though there is no limit to the number of clergymen who may be ordained at the same service. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, ordinations may be performed any day of the year (except weekdays during Great Lent), but only one clergyman may be ordained to any ministry at a single Divine Liturgy. In some Orthodox Churches, deacons may be ordained at the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, but priests and bishops may only be ordained at the full Divine Liturgy.

A newly ordained Orthodox deacon holding the ripidion (liturgical fan) above the consecrated elements during the Divine Liturgy.

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, a distinction is made between the ordinations to lesser ministries such as reader and subdeacon and those to the ministries of deacon, priest, or bishop. In an ordination for a reader, a reader makes three reverences before the altar, then turns around and makes a reverence before the bishop. Afterwards the bishop lays his hands upon the reader and recites prayers over his head. After the prayers, the bishop cuts the reader's hair in the sign of the cross, then turns him around and opens the book of Epistles to a random spot and has the reader read the passage. After the reading of the Epistle, the bishop places his hand upon the reader's head and makes the sign of the cross facing the altar.

Becoming a member of a religious order is not ordination.

Protestantism

A Presbyterian ordinand making his ordination vows.

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

  • recognize and confirm that an individual has been called by God to ministry,
  • acknowledges that the individual has gone through a period of discernment and training related to this call, and
  • authorizes 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 mainline Protestant churches must be ordained in order to preside at the sacraments (Baptism and Holy Communion), and to be installed as a called pastor of a congregation or parish.

Some Protestant traditions have additional offices of ministry to which persons can be ordained. For instance:

  • most Presbyterian and Reformed churches maintain a threefold order of ministry of pastor, elder, and deacon. The order of Pastor, the only one of the three orders considered "clergy", is comparable to most other denominations' pastoral office or ordained ministry. The order of 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). The order of deacon comprises lay persons ordained to ministries of service and pastoral care.
  • in the Methodist tradition, deacons are also ordained.[1]
File:Lcms lutheran pastor being ordained.jpg
The ordination of a Lutheran pastor

For most Protestant denominations that have an office of bishop, such as Lutheranism and Methodism, this is not viewed as a separate ordination or order of ministry. Rather, bishops are ordained ministers of the same order as other pastors, simply having been "consecrated" or installed into the "office" (that is, the job) of bishop. However, some Lutheran churches also have valid apostolic succession.

Some Protestant Churches &ndash especially Pentecostal and Charismatic ones – also have an informal tier of ministers. Those who graduate from a Bible College or take a year of prescribed courses are Licensed Ministers. Two more years of courses or graduation from a seminary or theological graduate school, as well as an exam by senior ministers, will result in one becoming an Ordained Minister. Licensed ministers are addressed as "Minister" and ordained ministers as "Reverend."

Non-denominational

In Christianity, the term non-denominational refers to those churches that have not formally aligned themselves with an established denomination, or remain otherwise officially autonomous. This, however, does not preclude an identifiable standard among such congregations. Non-denominational congregations may establish a functional denomination by means of mutual recognition of or accountability to other congregations and leaders with commonly held doctrine, policy and worship without formalizing external direction or oversight in such matters. Some non-denominational churches explicitly reject the idea of a formalized denominational structure as a matter of principle, holding that each congregation must be autonomous.

Non-denominational is generally used to refer to one of two forms of independence: political or theological. That is, the independence may come about because of a religious disagreement or political disagreement. This causes some confusion in understanding. Some churches say they are non-denominational because they have no central headquarters (though they may have affiliations with other congregations.) Other churches say they are non-denominational because their belief structures are unique.

Members of non-denominational churches often consider themselves simply "Christians". However, the acceptance of any particular stance on a doctrine or practice (for example, on baptism), about which there is not general unanimity among churches or professing Christians, may be said to establish a de facto credal identity. In essence, this would mean that each non-denominational church forms its own unofficial "denomination" with a specific set of tenets as defined by the beliefs and practices of its own congregation.

Jehovah's Witnesses

Jehovah's Witnesses do not have a separate clergy class, but consider an adherent's qualified baptism to constitute his ordination as a lay minister.[2] Governments have generally recognized that Jehovah's Witnesses' full-time appointees (such as their "regular pioneers") qualify as ministers[3] regardless of sex or appointment as an elder or deacon ("ministerial servant"). The religion itself asserts what is sometimes termed "ecclesiastical privilege" only for its appointed elders,[4][5] but the religion permits any baptized adult male in good standing to perform a baptism, wedding, or funeral.[6]

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a rite of ordination is performed to bestow either the Aaronic or Melchizedek Priesthood 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 to the office of priest in the Aaronic Priesthood renders unto the ordained 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 ordinations of others to the Aaronic Priesthood
  • collect Fast Offerings for the Bishop. (ordained Deacons and Teachers can also perform this)
  • ordain other priests, teachers, and deacons

Ordination to the Melchizedek Priesthood includes the authority to perform all the duties of the Aaronic priesthood, as well as ordain others to the office of priest, 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

Judaism

Main articles: Semicha and Role of women in Judaism

Semicha (Hebrew: סמיכה, "leaning [of the hands]"), also semichut (Hebrew: סמיכות, "ordination"), or semicha lerabanim (Hebrew: סמיכה לרבנות, "rabbinical ordination") is derived from a Hebrew word which means to "rely on" or "to be authorized". It generally refers to the ordination of a rabbi within Judaism.

Islam

Main articles: Islam, Muslim, and Women as imams

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 Imams or Sheikhs or Maulana. The title Imam refers to someone who leads in prayer and can also be used in a linguistic sense for anyone who leads other Muslims in congregational prayers. Sheikh is an Arabic word meaning "old man" and is used as an honorable title for a learned man; Shaikhah refers to a woman learned in Islamic issues. This title is usually more prevalent in the Arabic countries. The word Maulana is a title bestowed upon students who have graduated from a Madrasah (Islamic theological school) throughout the Indian subcontinent region. Although different Muslim schools, universities or madrasas might follow different graduation ceremonies upon a student's complete of a 4 year B.A. of Islamic Studies or a 7-8 Alim Course, these ceremonies do not in any way symbolize ordination.

Buddhism

Novitiate Buddhist ordination
Main article: Vinaya

The tradition of the ordained monastic community (Sangha) began with Buddha, who established orders of monks and later of nuns.

The procedure of ordination in Buddhism is laid down in the Vinaya and Patimokkha or Pratimoksha scriptures. There exist three intact ordination lineages nowadays in which one can receive an ordination according to the Buddha's teachings:

Theravada

Main articles: Sangha § Ordination_process, Bhikkhu, Bhikkhuni, Theravada § Ordination, and Pabbajja

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

Posthumous ordination

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.[7]

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 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 Chinese Buddhism (Dharmaguptaka Lineage). In the Tibetan lineage, which follows the Mulasarvastivadin lineage, the lineage of fully ordained nuns was not brought to Tibet by the Indian Vinaya masters, hence there is no rite for the ordination of full nuns. However HH the XIV. Dalai Lama has endeavored for many years to improve this situation.[8] In 2005 he asked fully ordained nuns in the Dharmaguptaka Lineage, especially Jampa Tsedroen, to form a committee to work for the acceptance of the bhiksuni lineage within the Tibetan tradition,[8] and donated 50.000€ for further research. The "1st International Congress on Buddhist Women’s Role in the Sangha: Bhikshuni Vinaya and Ordination Lineages" was held at the University of Hamburg from July 18–20, 2007, in cooperation with the University’s Asia-Africa Institute. Although the general tenor was that full ordination was overdue, the Dalai Lama presented a pre-drafted statement[9] saying that more time was required to reach a decision, thus nullifying the intentions of the congress.

New Kadampa Tradition

Main article: New Kadampa Tradition § Ordination

The Buddhist ordination tradition of the New Kadampa Tradition-International Kadampa Buddhist Union (NKT-IKBU) was developed by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso in accordance with the changing needs of modern society. Unlike most other Buddhist traditions, including Mahayana schools such as Tibetan Buddhism, which follow the Hinayana ordination tradition as laid down in the Vinaya and Pratimoksha Sutras, the NKT-IKBU ordination is said to be 'based on' the Mahayana Perfection of Wisdom Sutras.

Ordination of women

Main article: 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

The Christian priesthood has traditionally been reserved to men. Some 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.

Beginning in the twentieth century, many Protestant denominations began re-evaluating the roles of women in their churches. Many now ordain women. A woman named Deborah was a judge of the ancient Israelites according to the biblical book of Judges. Based partially upon this precedence, other Protestant and non-denominational organizations, such as Rose Ministries,[10] and the American Fellowship Church[11] grant ordination to women. Other denominations refute the claim of a precedent based on Deborah's example because she is not specifically described as ruling over Israel, rather giving judgments on contentious issues in private, not teaching publicly,[12] neither did she lead the military.[13][14] Her message to her fellow judge Barak in fact affirmed the male leadership of Israel.[15][16] The United Church of Canada has ordained women since 1932. The Evangelical Lutheran Church of America ordains women as pastors, and women are eligible for election as bishops. The Episcopal Church in the United States of America ordains women as deacons, priests and bishops. The Lutheran Evangelical Protestant Church ordains women at all levels including deacon, priest and bishop. Other denominations leave the decision to ordain women to the regional governing body, or even to the congregation itself; these include the Christian Reformed Church in North America and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. The ordination of women in the latter half of the 20th century was an important issue between Anglicans and Catholics since the Catholic Church viewed the ordination of women as a huge obstacle to possible rapprochement between the two churches.

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 did not give reasons why women cannot be ordained, but rather simply posited 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.

In Judaism

The ordination of women rabbis in Judaism closely parallels that of women ministers in Protestantism. Historically all-male, female rabbis began being allowed by more liberal congregations in the middle of the twentieth century. Orthodox and conservative congregations do not allow women rabbis. Policy regarding the ordination of women differs among the different denominations of Judaism.

See also

References

  1. ^ Order of Service: Ordination of a Deacon and Ordination of a Minister of the Word, Uniting Church in Australia
  2. ^ "Beliefs—Membership and Organization", Authorized Site of the Office of Public Information of Jehovah's Witnesses, As Retrieved 2009-09-01, "Jehovah's Witnesses have no clergy-laity division. All baptized members are ordained ministers"
  3. ^ For example, the 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
  4. ^ "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, "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."
  5. ^ "Who Are Jehovah's Witnesses?", Authorized Site of the Office of Public Information of Jehovah's Witnesses, As Retrieved 2009-09-01, "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."
  6. ^ "Question Box", Our Kingdom Ministry, November 1973, page 8, "Weddings and funerals may be conducted by any dedicated, baptized brother as permitted by law."
  7. ^ William M Bodiford, Soto Zen in Medieval Japan (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1993), 195-96.
  8. ^ a b A New Possibility
  9. ^ Statement of His Holiness the Dalai Lama on Bhikshuni Ordination in the Tibetan Tradition
  10. ^ RoseMinistries.org
  11. ^ American Fellowship Church
  12. ^ Judges 4:5
  13. ^ Judges 4:6, 10, 14
  14. ^ Grudem, Wayne (2004). Evangelical Feminism and Biblical Truth: An Analysis of more than 100 Disputed Questions. Sisters, Oregon: Multnomah Publishers, Inc. p. 864. ISBN 157673840X.
  15. ^ Judges 4:6-7 & 14
  16. ^ Grudem, Wayne (2004). Evangelical Feminism and Biblical Truth: An Analysis of more than 100 Disputed Questions. Sisters, Oregon: Multnomah Publishers, Inc. p. 864. ISBN 157673840X.
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