Divinity Atlas

Sacred Correspondences
Rituals

Holy Orders

Initiatory Rituals

Citation Formats

General Reference

APA Style

BibTeX

Origin 30 to 200 CE

The rite by which a man is ordained to the ministry of the church, as bishop, priest or deacon, through the laying-on of hands and prayer for the gift of the Spirit for that office. In the Catholic and Orthodox understanding it is a sacrament that configures the ordained to Christ and, in the historic churches, transmits the apostolic succession. It is distinct from the general act of ordination found across religions and from the taking of monastic vows.

Facts
Origins
Origin PeriodSourced to the subject's own account
30 to 200 CE 1
Origin PeriodSourced to the subject's own account
The threefold ministry is established by the second century 1
Place of OriginSourced to the subject's own account
Judea and the Roman Empire, in the apostolic Church 1
Historical Origin
This standard survey of Orthodox Christianity traces the threefold order of bishop, priest and deacon to the structure already visible in the letters of Ignatius of Antioch in the early second century, a pattern the Eastern churches understand themselves to have preserved unbroken. 2
Practice
Who Performs It
Clergy or ordained officiants 1
Sourced to the subject's own accountClergy: a bishop alone ordains
ObligationSourced to the subject's own account
Undertaken only with authorisation or transmission 1Tradition: Roman Catholicism
FrequencySourced to the subject's own account
Once, or at a turning point in a life 1
Solitary or CommunalSourced to the subject's own account
Performed by an officiant for a recipient 1
Form
Implements and MaterialsSourced to the subject's own account
The laying-on of hands; the instruments of the office handed to the ordinand 1
Meaning
Literal Meaning
The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church identifies holy orders as the sacrament or rite by which a person is ordained to ministry, traditionally distinguished into the grades of bishop, priest and deacon in churches that retain the threefold order. 3
Attributions
Purpose
Holy Orders is the sacramental rite by which a man is ordained to the diaconate, priesthood or episcopate in Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox practice, conferring what these traditions understand as an indelible spiritual character. 3
Function
Stage of Life MarkedSourced to the subject's own account
Ordination, profession or vows 1
Learn More
Ordination to Ministry

Holy Orders is the rite by which a person is ordained to the ordered ministry of the church, as bishop, priest (presbyter) or deacon, through the laying on of hands by a bishop and the prayer of consecration. The threefold ministry is attested from the early second century, and the churches that understand ministry sacramentally teach that ordination confers a permanent character and the authority to perform functions reserved to the ordained, above all, for a priest or bishop, to preside at the Eucharist.

Apostolic succession, the continuity of bishops understood as reaching back to the apostles through an unbroken chain of ordinations, is central to the Catholic, Orthodox and some other traditions' understanding of the rite's validity. The Reformation divided Christians sharply over it: many Protestant churches reconceived ordination as the church's setting apart of a minister of word and sacrament rather than the conferral of a priestly character, and the traditions differ, sometimes deeply, over who may be ordained.

A Fluid Early Structure, and a Later Rule About Marriage

The clearly defined threefold ministry of bishop, priest, and deacon that Holy Orders confers today was not fully fixed from Christianity's earliest years; New Testament and early patristic sources describe overlapping and locally varying titles and roles, elders and overseers among them, and it took the first several centuries of the church's development for these to settle into the stable, universally recognized three grades ordination now confers. One significant later development, rather than an original apostolic requirement, is mandatory celibacy for parish priests in the Western church, a discipline that developed gradually over the medieval period and was progressively tightened and enforced by a series of church councils and papal decrees rather than being imposed all at once, becoming firmly settled Latin church practice by the high Middle Ages.

Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic practice took a different path on this specific point and preserves it to the present day: a man may be ordained a married priest, though marriage after ordination is not permitted, while bishops in Orthodox practice are drawn only from the celibate or monastic clergy, a rule that produces a genuine and long standing difference in ordinary parish life between Western Catholic practice and the Christian East on a question the earliest church had not settled in either direction.

Cross-Tradition Connections

Belongs to Tradition

Kept in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the first denomination in the United States founded by Black people. Ordination is to the orders of deacon and elder. The episcopacy is an office to which an elder is elected and consecrated, not a third order, which is the settled Methodist difference from Anglican practice.

Kept in the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. Ordination is to the orders of deacon and elder. The episcopacy is an office to which an elder is elected and consecrated, not a third order, which is the settled Methodist difference from Anglican practice.

Kept across the provinces of the Anglican Communion. The threefold order of bishops, priests and deacons was retained, and since the twentieth century women have been ordained to all three orders in most provinces, which is the sharpest present difference from Rome and the Orthodox churches.

The threefold order of bishops, priests and deacons was retained, and since the twentieth century women have been ordained to all three orders in most provinces, which is the sharpest present difference from Rome and the Orthodox churches.

Source The Book of Common PrayerChurch of England; ed. Brian Cummings

Kept in the Armenian Apostolic Church. A married man may be ordained deacon or presbyter but not bishop, and bishops are drawn from the monasteries.

Baptist, Denominations

A congregation calls and ordains its own pastor, and ordination confers no order and no authority beyond the congregation that gave it. The two scriptural offices are pastor and deacon.

Source The Baptist Faith and MessageSouthern Baptist Convention

Ordination is to the offices of minister, elder and deacon, by a body of ministers rather than by a bishop, and it is not a sacrament.

Source The Westminster Confession of FaithWestminster Assemblythe holders' own account

Kept in the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. Ordination is to the orders of deacon and elder. The episcopacy is an office to which an elder is elected and consecrated, not a third order, which is the settled Methodist difference from Anglican practice.

Source The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 3rd revised editionF. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone (eds.)

Kept in the Church of Cyprus, autocephalous since the Council of Ephesus in 431. A married man may be ordained deacon or presbyter, though not bishop, and a man may not marry after ordination. This is the settled difference from Latin practice.

Kept in the Church of England, the province from which the Prayer Book tradition comes. The threefold order of bishops, priests and deacons was retained, and since the twentieth century women have been ordained to all three orders in most provinces, which is the sharpest present difference from Rome and the Orthodox churches.

Kept in the Church of Greece. A married man may be ordained deacon or presbyter, though not bishop, and a man may not marry after ordination. This is the settled difference from Latin practice.

Kept in the Church of Ireland. The threefold order of bishops, priests and deacons was retained, and since the twentieth century women have been ordained to all three orders in most provinces, which is the sharpest present difference from Rome and the Orthodox churches.

Kept in the Church of Scotland, the established Presbyterian church of that country. Ordination is to the offices of minister, elder and deacon, by a body of ministers rather than by a bishop, and it is not a sacrament.

Kept in the Church of Sweden, which retained the historic episcopate through the Reformation as few Lutheran churches did. Ordination is to the one office of the ministry of word and sacrament, and no man may publicly teach or administer the sacraments unless he is rightly called to it.

Kept in the Church of the Nazarene, which stands in the Wesleyan holiness line. Ordination is to the orders of deacon and elder. The episcopacy is an office to which an elder is elected and consecrated, not a third order, which is the settled Methodist difference from Anglican practice.

Kept in the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. A married man may be ordained deacon or presbyter but not bishop, and bishops are drawn from the monasteries.

Kept in the Dutch Reformed tradition, which holds the Heidelberg Catechism among its confessional standards. Ordination is to the offices of minister, elder and deacon, by a body of ministers rather than by a bishop, and it is not a sacrament.

A married man may be ordained deacon or presbyter, though not bishop, and a man may not marry after ordination. This is the settled difference from Latin practice.

Source The Orthodox ChurchTimothy Ware (Kallistos Ware)

Kept in the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the see of first honour among the Orthodox churches. A married man may be ordained deacon or presbyter, though not bishop, and a man may not marry after ordination. This is the settled difference from Latin practice.

Kept in the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church. A married man may be ordained deacon or presbyter but not bishop, and bishops are drawn from the monasteries.

Kept in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. A married man may be ordained deacon or presbyter but not bishop, and bishops are drawn from the monasteries.

Kept in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Ordination is to the one office of the ministry of word and sacrament, and no man may publicly teach or administer the sacraments unless he is rightly called to it.

Kept in the Free Methodist Church. Ordination is to the orders of deacon and elder. The episcopacy is an office to which an elder is elected and consecrated, not a third order, which is the settled Methodist difference from Anglican practice.

Kept in the Georgian Orthodox Church, which has used its own language and script in worship since the fifth century. A married man may be ordained deacon or presbyter, though not bishop, and a man may not marry after ordination. This is the settled difference from Latin practice.

Kept in the Global Methodist Church, formed in 2022. Ordination is to the orders of deacon and elder. The episcopacy is an office to which an elder is elected and consecrated, not a third order, which is the settled Methodist difference from Anglican practice.

Kept in the Greek Orthodox churches. A married man may be ordained deacon or presbyter, though not bishop, and a man may not marry after ordination. This is the settled difference from Latin practice.

Ordination is to the one office of the ministry of word and sacrament, and no man may publicly teach or administer the sacraments unless he is rightly called to it.

Source The Augsburg ConfessionPhilipp Melanchthon

Married men are ordained to the priesthood in the Middle East, and celibacy has been the practice for Maronite clergy in the diaspora.

Ordination is to the orders of deacon and elder. The episcopacy is an office to which an elder is elected and consecrated, not a third order, which is the settled Methodist difference from Anglican practice.

Source The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist ChurchUnited Methodist Churchthe holders' own account

Kept in the National Baptist Convention of America International. A congregation calls and ordains its own pastor, and ordination confers no order and no authority beyond the congregation that gave it. The two scriptural offices are pastor and deacon.

A married man may be ordained deacon or presbyter but not bishop, and bishops are drawn from the monasteries.

Ordination is by a presbytery, to the office of teaching elder or of ruling elder, and the parity of ministers is the principle the whole polity rests on.

Source The Westminster Confession of FaithWestminster Assemblythe holders' own account

Kept in the Progressive National Baptist Convention. A congregation calls and ordains its own pastor, and ordination confers no order and no authority beyond the congregation that gave it. The two scriptural offices are pastor and deacon.

Ordination is to the diaconate, the presbyterate or the episcopate, and in the Latin church the presbyterate is ordinarily reserved to men who accept celibacy.

Source Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd editionHoly Seethe holders' own account

Kept in the Romanian Orthodox Church, the one Orthodox church of the Byzantine tradition whose language is Romance. A married man may be ordained deacon or presbyter, though not bishop, and a man may not marry after ordination. This is the settled difference from Latin practice.

Kept in the Russian Orthodox Church, in the Slavonic recension of the Byzantine books. A married man may be ordained deacon or presbyter, though not bishop, and a man may not marry after ordination. This is the settled difference from Latin practice.

Kept in the Serbian Orthodox Church. A married man may be ordained deacon or presbyter, though not bishop, and a man may not marry after ordination. This is the settled difference from Latin practice.

Kept in the Episcopal Church, whose own Prayer Book descends from the Scottish rather than the English line. The threefold order of bishops, priests and deacons was retained, and since the twentieth century women have been ordained to all three orders in most provinces, which is the sharpest present difference from Rome and the Orthodox churches.

Kept in the United Methodist Church. Ordination is to the orders of deacon and elder. The episcopacy is an office to which an elder is elected and consecrated, not a third order, which is the settled Methodist difference from Anglican practice.

A married man may be ordained to the presbyterate, a right this church retained against long Latin pressure and exercises today.

Kept in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. A married man may be ordained deacon or presbyter, though not bishop, and a man may not marry after ordination. This is the settled difference from Latin practice.

Kept in the Wesleyan Church. Ordination is to the orders of deacon and elder. The episcopacy is an office to which an elder is elected and consecrated, not a third order, which is the settled Methodist difference from Anglican practice.

Conducted By

Ordination to the diaconate, priesthood and episcopate is conferred by a bishop.

Source The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 3rd revised editionF. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone (eds.)

Anglican ordination is conferred by a bishop.

Source The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 3rd revised editionF. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone (eds.)

Ordination in the Orthodox churches is conferred by a bishop.

Source The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 3rd revised editionF. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone (eds.)
Source The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 3rd revised editionF. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone (eds.)

Critiqued By

Friends ordain no one. Ministry is recognised in a person by the meeting rather than conferred on them, and every member may speak in worship.

Sources
1. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd edition
Holy See, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1997Catechism of the Catholic Church, on Holy Ordersthe holders' own accountView the Source
1. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd edition
Holy See, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1997The sacrament of Holy Ordersthe holders' own accountView the Source
2. The Orthodox Church
Timothy Ware (Kallistos Ware), Penguin Books, 1993Book description
Quote, Book description
Since its first publication fifty years ago, Timothy Ware's book has become established throughout the English-speaking world as the standard introduction to the Orthodox Church.
View the Source
3. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 3rd revised edition
F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone (eds.), Oxford University Press, 2005Orders, Holy; the threefold ministryView the Source
3. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 3rd revised edition
F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone (eds.), Oxford University Press, 2005The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, s.v. ordersView the Source
Quaker Faith and Practice: The Book of Christian Discipline of the Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends in Britain
Britain Yearly Meeting, Britain Yearly MeetingQuaker faith and practice, introduction
Quote, Quaker faith and practice, introduction
To Quakers, the visible mark of being a 'church' is not conformity to a particular creed, or liturgical or sacramental practice, but the quality of communal life which reveals the extent of the community's willingness to seek and follow the Spirit's call to loving fellowship.
the holders' own accountView the Source
The Baptist Faith and Message
Southern Baptist Convention, 2000Article VI, The Church
Quote, Article VI, The Church
Its two scriptural offices are that of pastor/elder/overseer and deacon.
View the Source
The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church
United Methodist Church, The United Methodist Publishing Housethe holders' own accountView the Source
The Augsburg Confession
Philipp Melanchthon, 1530View the Source
The Westminster Confession of Faith
Westminster Assembly, 1646the holders' own accountView the Source
The Book of Common Prayer
Church of England; ed. Brian Cummings, Oxford University Press (Oxford World's Classics), 2011View the Source
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.

View At A Past Year

Choose a year to see this entry's facts and connections as the atlas records them at that moment: what it held then, what it held instead, and what it had not yet adopted. Choose Present for the current record.