Holy Orders
The sacrament of bishops, priests and deacons: how it differs from the priesthood of all the baptised, how it is conferred, and who may receive it.
Awaiting review A priest has not yet reviewed this article. Read it alongside the Catechism paragraphs it cites, and take questions to your parish.
Every priest was once an ordinary parishioner who knelt before a bishop to have hands laid on his head. Holy Orders is the sacrament through which the mission Christ gave his apostles goes on in the Church until the end of time. The Catechism calls it the sacrament of apostolic ministry, and it has three degrees: bishop, priest and deacon (CCC 1536).
One priesthood of Christ, shared in two ways
There is only one priest, Jesus Christ, who offered himself once for all, and others share in his priesthood in two ways (CCC 1544–1545).
All the baptised share in it. St Peter calls the whole Church a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9), and every Christian offers their life to God through Christ. This is the common priesthood of the faithful (CCC 1546).
The ministerial priesthood, given in Holy Orders, differs in kind, not just degree, and the two are ordered to each other. The ministerial priesthood exists to serve the common priesthood: to build up and lead the Church through teaching, worship and pastoral care (CCC 1547). Ordination is not a promotion but a call to service (CCC 1551).
In the person of Christ the Head
When an ordained minister acts in his ministry, Christ himself is present to his Church as Head of his Body. The Church says the priest acts in persona Christi Capitis, "in the person of Christ the Head" (CCC 1548). So when the priest says at Mass "This is my body", or in confession "I absolve you", it is Christ who speaks and acts through him.
This does not mean ordained men are free from weakness or sin, as the Catechism says plainly. Christ guarantees his action in the sacraments, so a minister's sin cannot block their grace; but in other things his failings can harm the Church's witness (CCC 1550).
Bishop, priest and deacon
- Bishops receive the fullness of the sacrament. As successors of the apostles they teach, sanctify and govern, and with the Pope share care for the whole Church (CCC 1555–1560).
- Priests, also called presbyters, are co-workers of their bishop. They preach, celebrate the sacraments and care for their people, above all by celebrating the Eucharist (CCC 1562–1568).
- Deacons are ordained not for the priesthood but for service. They proclaim the Gospel and preach, baptise, assist at and bless marriages, preside at funerals, and devote themselves to works of charity (CCC 1569–1570).
Men preparing for the priesthood are first ordained deacons. Since the Second Vatican Council the Latin Church has also restored the permanent diaconate, which can be conferred on married men (CCC 1571).
Like Baptism and Confirmation, Holy Orders imprints a permanent character. It is given once, and an ordained man can be released from the duties of ministry but never becomes a layman again in the strict sense (CCC 1581–1583).
Laying on of hands and the prayer of consecration
From the apostles' time ministry has been handed on by prayer and the laying on of hands (Acts 6:6; 2 Timothy 1:6). The essential rite is the same for all three degrees: the bishop lays his hands on the head of the man being ordained and says a specific prayer of consecration, asking God to pour out the Holy Spirit and his gifts for this ministry (CCC 1573). Only validly ordained bishops, in the line of succession from the apostles, can ordain (CCC 1575–1576).
What to expect at an ordination
Ordinations take place at Mass, usually in the cathedral. The candidates are presented and questioned, then lie prostrate during the Litany of the Saints. After the laying on of hands and the prayer, other rites unfold the meaning: a new bishop's head is anointed and he receives the Gospels, a ring, a mitre and a crosier; a new priest's hands are anointed and he receives the paten and chalice (CCC 1574); a new deacon receives the Gospels.
Celibacy and married clergy
In the Latin Church, all ordained ministers except permanent deacons are normally chosen from men who live a celibate life and intend to remain celibate "for the sake of the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 19:12; CCC 1579). A sign of an undivided heart, celibacy is a discipline of the Church, received as a gift, rather than something required by the very nature of the priesthood (cf. Vatican II, Presbyterorum Ordinis, 16).
The Eastern Churches have long done otherwise. Their bishops are chosen only from among celibates, but married men can be ordained deacons and priests, a practice long recognised as legitimate and fruitful, while celibacy is held in great honour there too. In both East and West, a man who is already ordained may not then marry (CCC 1580).
Who may be ordained
No one has a right to be ordained. The call comes from God, and the Church tests and confirms it (CCC 1578; Hebrews 5:4).
The Catechism teaches that only a baptised man can validly receive ordination. Jesus chose men to form the Twelve, and the apostles did the same when they chose their successors. The Church recognises that she is bound by this choice made by the Lord himself, and for this reason holds that the ordination of women is not possible (CCC 1577). In 1994 St John Paul II stated that the Church has no authority to confer priestly ordination on women, and that this is to be held definitively by all the faithful (Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, 4). This teaching concerns the sacramental ministry, not anyone's worth: men and women are equal in dignity before God (CCC 369).
If you think you might be called
Talk to your parish priest, or contact your diocese's vocations director. Discernment takes time and prayer; finding your path lies elsewhere is no failure. Seminary formation takes several years.
Going deeper
- The Church on the apostles and their successors.
- The Eucharist, which priests are ordained above all to celebrate.
- In the Catechism: CCC 1536–1600.