The Sacraments: An Interdisciplinary and Interactive Study
IMAGES OF ORDINATION
It is hard to be precise about when a special rite of ordination first appeared in Christianity. The New Testament speaks of ministers receiving the laying on of hands, but this was more likely for blessing than for ordination. The Greek words for elders and supervisors are often taken as meaning priests and bishops, but the individuals referred to in the first century probably did not have the sacerdotal status they later acquired. Those presiding at eucharistic meals were sometimes referred to as priests during the second century, but the earliest ordination texts date from the third century. Division of the ordained into ecclesiastical ranks or holy orders did not occur until the fourth century. By the late patristic period, both the Latin and Greek churches had bishops, priests and deacons, although ordination practices and clerical duties differed somewhat from east to west.
The following images depict the sacrament from the Middle Ages to today. Unless otherwise noted, the rituals are those of the Roman Catholic Church.
Ordination in the Middle Ages
Detail from the baptismal font of St. Peter’s Church in Suffolk, England
(Notice the outline of the bishop’s miter even though the heads have been defaced.)
Ordination in the 18th century
(Print from a series on the sacraments by Pietro Antonio Novelli)
Notice that the candidates' vestments are folded up to show that they are not priests yet.
The imposition of hands is still the central action in the ritual of ordination.
Here a young man is being ordained by Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Basilica.
The pope ordains many of the seminarians who come from around the world to study in Rome.
But the ordination ceremony contains other ritual actions as well.
Here are some scenes from the ordination of a priest in Armagh, Ireland,
beginning with the presentation of the candidate to the bishop.
The candidate lays prostrate as a sign of humliy
while the bishop and others pray for him.
The ordaining bishop holds the hands of the candidate
while praying that they will be used for the service of God.
The newly ordained is able to participate as a priest
in the eucharistic liturgy with the bishop.
At the end of the ceremony, he receives congratulations
from the other priests in the diocese.
If other priests are in attendance,
they too impose hands on the ones being ordained.
Other symbolic actions are also included in the ceremony.
At this Anglican ordination in Australia, the candidate
is bing offered symbols of the duties he will perform as a priest.
The ordination of deacons contains many ritual elements found in the ordination of priests.
Deacons wear the stole over one shoulder as a symol of their office.
Currently, more deacons than priests are being ordained in the American Catholic church.
The ordination of these candidates for the diaconate in the California diocese of Santa Maria
was so large that the ceremony had to be held outdoors.
The rite for the ordination of deacons contains many of the elements found in a priestly ordination.
At this diaconal ordination in Germany, the seven candidates are lying prostrate before the altar
while prayers are being said for them at the beginning of the ceremony.
But the central ritual action is still the imposition of hands,
as shown here at the ordination in California.
Catholic deacons may be married, and here the newly ordained in the Diocese of Los Angeles
are being congratulated by their wives and families.
The Anglican Church allows the ordination of women as priests . . .
. . . and also as deacons.
The same is true of the Episcopal Church in the United States.
Like the Catholic Church, Orthodox churches allow only the ordination of men,
although the ordination ceremony is somewhat different.
The ordination of a Russian Orthodox priest includes an imposition of hands
and of the scriptures as well, as a sign of submission to the word of God.
This ordination to the diaconate in the Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Church
is taking place close to the altar.
Afterwards, the ordaining bishop presents the new deacon to the assembled faithful.
Bishops are also able to ordain other bishops,
and usually this is done by a group of bishops, as shown here.
Even when the pope ordains a bishop, other bishops usually participate,
as seen here in this photograph taken in Rome.
Although initiation into a religious order is a ceremony similar to ordination in some respects,
the ritual is not numbered among the sacraments. Here a young man is entering
the Dominican Order through a profession of religious vows.
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