HOLY ORDERS PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Benjamin Black | 256 pages | 06 Jun 2013 | Pan MacMillan | 9781447202189 | English | London, United Kingdom Holy order | Christianity | Britannica They may officiate at a funeral service not involving a Mass, including a visitation wake or the graveside service at burial. After six months or more as a transitional deacon, a man will be ordained to the priesthood. Priests are able to preach, perform baptisms, witness marriages, hear confessions and give absolutions, anoint the sick, and celebrate the Eucharist or the Mass. Some priests are later chosen to be bishops; bishops may ordain priests, deacons, and bishops. Bishops are chosen from among the priests in the Catholic Church. Among Eastern Catholic Churches , which permit married priests, bishops must be widowers or unmarried, or agree to abstain from sexual contact with their wives. It is a common misconception that all such bishops come from religious orders. While this is generally true, it is not an absolute rule. Catholic bishops are usually leaders of territorial units called dioceses. Normally, bishops administer the sacrament of holy orders. In Latin-rite Catholic churches, only bishops and priests with authorization by the local bishop may licitly administer the sacrament of confirmation, but if an ordinary priest administers that sacrament illicitly, it is nonetheless considered valid, so that the person confirmed cannot be actually confirmed again, by a bishop or otherwise. Latin rite priests with special permission of the diocesan bishop or the Holy See can lawfully administer confirmation; every Catholic priest must administer confirmation, even without permission, to children in danger of death. In Eastern Catholic Churches , confirmation is done by parish priests via the rite of chrismation , and is usually administered to both babies and adults immediately after their baptism. The liturgy of ordination recalls the Old Testament priesthood and the priesthood of Christ. In the words of Thomas Aquinas , "Christ is the source of all priesthood: the priest of the old law was a prefiguration of Christ, and the priest of the new law acts in the person of Christ" Summa Theologiae III, 22, 4c. Priests may celebrate Mass, hear confessions and give absolution, celebrate Baptism, serve as the Church's witness at the sacrament of Holy Matrimony, administer Anointing of the Sick, and administer Confirmation if authorized to do so by the Bishop. The Rite of Ordination occurs within the context of Holy Mass. After being called forward and presented to the assembly, the candidates are interrogated. Each promises to diligently perform the duties of the Priesthood and to respect and obey his ordinary bishop or religious superior. Then the candidates lie prostrate before the altar, while the assembled faithful kneel and pray for the help of all the saints in the singing of the Litany of the Saints. The essential part of the rite is when the bishop silently lays his hands upon each candidate followed by all priests present , before offering the consecratory prayer, addressed to God the Father , invoking the power of the Holy Spirit upon those being ordained. After the consecratory prayer, the newly ordained is vested with the stole and chasuble of those belonging to the Ministerial Priesthood and then the bishop anoints his hands with chrism before presenting him with the chalice and paten which he will use when presiding at the Eucharist. Following this, the gifts of bread and wine are brought forward by the people and given to the new priest; then all the priests present, concelebrate the Eucharist with the newly ordained taking the place of honour at the right of the bishop. If there are several newly ordained, it is they who gather closest to the bishop during the Eucharistic Prayer. The following is the full text of the Rite during the Mass after the Gospel , taken from a program for an ordination of priests for the Diocese of Peoria in The mass then proceeds as normal with the Liturgy of the Eucharist , with the newly ordained priests to the immediate right of the Bishop and the other celebrants. The first deacons were ordained by the Apostles in Acts of the Apostles chapter 6. The ministry of the deacon in the Roman Catholic Church is described as one of service in three areas: the Word, the Liturgy and Charity. The deacon's ministry of the Word includes proclaiming the Gospel during the Mass, preaching and teaching. The deacon's liturgical ministry includes various parts of the Mass proper to the deacon, including being an ordinary minister of Holy Communion and the proper minister of the chalice when Holy Communion is administered under both kinds. The ministry of charity involves service to the poor and marginalized and working with parishioners to help them become more involved in such ministry. As clerics, deacons are required to say the Liturgy of the Hours daily; Deacons, like bishops and priests, are ordinary ministers of the Sacrament of Baptism and can serve as the church's witness at the sacrament of Holy Matrimony, which the bride and groom administer to each other. Congregationalist churches implement different schemes, but the officers usually have less authority than in the presbyterian or episcopalian forms. Some ordain only ministers and rotate members on an advisory board sometimes called a board of elders or a board of deacons. Because the positions are by comparison less powerful, there is usually less rigor or fanfare in how officers are ordained. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints LDS Church accepts the legal authority of clergy to perform marriages but does not recognize any other sacraments performed by ministers not ordained to the Latter-day Saint priesthood. Although the Latter-day Saints do claim a doctrine of a certain spiritual "apostolic succession," it is significantly different from that claimed by Catholics and Protestants since there is no succession or continuity between the first century and the lifetime of Joseph Smith, the founder of the LDS church. Mormons teach that the priesthood was lost in ancient times not to be restored by Christ until the nineteenth century when it was given to Joseph Smith directly. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a relatively open priesthood, ordaining nearly all worthy adult males and boys of the age of twelve and older. Latter-day Saint priesthood consists of two divisions: the Melchizedek Priesthood and Aaronic Priesthood. The Melchizedek Priesthood because Melchizedek was such a great high priest. But out of respect or reverence to the name of the Supreme Being, to avoid the too frequent repetition of his name, the church, in ancient days, called that priesthood after Melchizedek. The lesser priesthood is an appendage to the Melchizedek Priesthood. It is called the Aaronic Priesthood because it was conferred on Aaron and his sons throughout all their generations. The offices of the Aaronic order are bishop, priest, teacher, and deacon. The manner of ordination consists of the laying on of hands by two or more men holding at least the office being conferred while one acts as voice in conferring the priesthood or office and usually pronounces a blessing upon the recipient. Teachers and deacons do not have the authority to ordain others to the priesthood. All church members are authorized to teach and preach regardless of priesthood ordination so long as they maintain good standing within the church. The church does not use the term "holy orders. Community of Christ has a largely volunteer priesthood, and all members of the priesthood are free to marry as traditionally defined by the Christian community. The priesthood is divided into two orders, the Aaronic priesthood and the Melchisedec priesthood. The Aaronic order consists of the offices of deacon, teacher and priest. The Melchisedec Order consists of the offices of elder including the specialized office of seventy and high priest including the specialized offices of evangelist, bishop, apostle, and prophet. As of , women have been eligible for priesthood, which is conferred through the sacrament of ordination by the laying-on-of-hands. While there is technically no age requirement for any office of priesthood, there is no automatic ordination or progression as in the LDS Church. Young people are occasionally ordained as deacon, and sometimes teacher or priest, but generally most priesthood members are called following completion of post secondary school education. In March a woman was ordained for the first time to the office of president. The Roman Catholic Church , in accordance with its understanding of the theological tradition on the issue, and the definitive clarification found in the encyclical letter Ordinatio sacerdotalis written by Pope John Paul II , officially teaches that it has no authority to ordain female as priests and thus there is no possibility of women becoming priests at any time in the future. As such, she does not receive the sacrament of holy orders. Many Anglican and Protestant churches ordain women, but in many cases, only to the office of deacon. Various branches of the Orthodox churches, including the Greek Orthodox, currently set aside vows of deaconesses. Some churches are internally divided on whether the Scriptures permit the ordination of women. When one considers the relative size of the churches 1. Protestants constitute about 27 percent of Christians worldwide, and most of their churches that do ordain women have only done so within the past century. In some traditions women may be ordained to the same orders as men. In others women are restricted from certain offices. The Church of Ireland had installed Pat Storey in Continuing Anglican churches of the world do not permit women to be ordained. In some Protestant denominations, females may serve as assistant pastors but not as pastors in charge of congregations.