Holy Orders
Holy Orders, in the Catholic Church, is the sacrament through which men are ordained as deacons, priests and bishops. It maintains the continuity of the apostles whereby each ordained person is ordained by a successor of an original apostle of Jesus Christ.
The reason it is called “orders” comes from an old Roman meaning of an established civil body, especially a governing body. Common knowledge to most Catholics the governing body of the Church is made up of the bishops, priests and deacons.
As for the original Latin terms there is ordinatio which means incorporation in to an ordo. Ordos are groups within the Church that are inducted into that specific group. This is done by a means of ordination which comes from the word ordinatio.
Today ordination is reserved for the sacramental act of integrating a man into the order of bishops, presbyters (priests) or deacons. This integration is above a simple election or delegation from the community because it confers a gift of the Holy Spirit (grace) that permits the exercise of the sacred power which can only come from Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:18-20).
At this time, only baptized men can receive this sacrament. The Vatican has determined that the Church has no right to ordain women because Jesus did not
appoint females to the position of apostles. This is considered part of the deposit of faith that has been handed on and that no one can change. Another
argument against female ordination is that since Jesus was male, he is best represented by males. Both of these arguments against women priests are highly
contentious.
The Church maintains the position that:
“Only a baptized man validly receives sacred ordination. The Lord Jesus chose men to form the college of the twelve apostles, and the apostles did the same when they chose collaborators to succeed them in their ministry. The college of bishops, with whom the priests are united in the priesthood, makes the college of the twelve an ever-present and ever-active reality until Christ’s return. The Church recognizes herself to be bound by this choice made by the Lord himself. For this reason the ordination of women is not possible.” – Catechism of the Catholic Church #1577
Generally, the men that are ordained have received a calling from God to be a servant of the people through the Church. No one has a right to this sacrament since the ones that receive it are called and chosen by God to serve.
Holy Orders differs from other sacraments as it has three separate stages. It can only be given by a man who has himself undertaken all three rites and has therefore become a bishop.
The three stages of Holy Orders:
- Being ordained a deacon– a deacon may baptise, preach and distribute Holy Communion (but not to transubstantiate it).
- Being ordained a priest– a priest is believed to have the power to change bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ (transubstantiation) and to forgive sins.
- Being ordained a bishop– only a bishop has the complete fullness of the priesthood, with the power to confirm and to ordain deacons, priests and other bishops through the sacrament of Holy Orders.
