Holy Orders
The sacrament by which the mission Christ entrusted to His Apostles continues in the Church through bishops, priests, and deacons — configuring the man ordained to Christ as Head and Shepherd of His Body.
The laying on of hands by the bishop upon the head of the man to be ordained.
A validly ordained bishop, successor of the Apostles, may ordain to all three grades. For a valid episcopal consecration, three bishops together ordinarily lay hands and pray.
The Prayer of Consecration proper to each grade — episcopate, presbyterate, or diaconate.
A baptized and confirmed Catholic man, free of canonical impediments, called by God and his bishop. The Catholic Church, faithful to the practice of Christ and the Apostles, ordains only men to the priesthood; this is held as definitive.
- ✦Configures the soul to Christ the High Priest, Prophet, and King
- ✦Confers an indelible character — Holy Orders cannot be repeated, nor can the character be lost
- ✦For the bishop: the fullness of Holy Orders; the power to ordain, consecrate, and govern
- ✦For the priest: the power to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, to forgive sins, to anoint the sick, and to preach the Word
- ✦For the deacon: a particular configuration to Christ the Servant; the ministry of the Word, the altar, and works of charity
These they set before the apostles; and they praying, imposed hands upon them. (Acts 6:6 — the ordination of the first deacons, including St. Stephen) Neglect not the grace that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with imposition of the hands of the priesthood. (1 Timothy 4:14) For which cause I admonish thee, that thou stir up the grace of God which is in thee, by the imposition of my hands. (2 Timothy 1:6 — Paul to Timothy)
Christ chose twelve Apostles from among His disciples and gave them His authority to teach, govern, and sanctify. At the Last Supper He instituted them as priests of the New Covenant when He gave them the Eucharist with the command: 'Do this in remembrance of me.' After His Resurrection He breathed on them the power to forgive sins. The Apostles in turn, by the laying on of hands, transmitted this authority — beginning with the seven deacons (Acts 6) and continuing through the bishops they appointed in every city.
From the earliest centuries the Church has known three grades of Holy Orders: the episcopate (the bishops, who possess the fullness of the priesthood), the presbyterate (the priests, who are co-workers with the bishop), and the diaconate (the deacons, configured to Christ the Servant, ordained for ministry not for sacrificial priesthood).
The Second Vatican Council (Lumen Gentium 28) re-emphasized that the ministerial priesthood differs in essence and not only in degree from the common priesthood of the faithful — both flow from the one priesthood of Christ, but the ministerial priesthood is conferred by Holy Orders for the service of the common priesthood of all the baptized.