A Theology Of Ordination In The West

The main distinction among Christians in the question of ordination remains the matter of apostolic succession of bishops, who in turn are responsible for ordination of other ministers. Roman Catholics, Anglicans, and the Eastern Orthodox believe in a direct succession of ordination from the time of the apostles. Other churches, even though they have leaders they call bishops, do not view them in direct apostolic succession. The ecumenical consensus statement on Baptism, Eucharist, and Ministry (1982) attempts to rejoin the two positions by referring to a general continuity in apostolic ministry.

Catholic and Anglican Positions Throughout history, the church's understanding of the meaning of ordination has changed according to the particular theological presuppositions current at the time. The Reformation was a period in which a wide variety of interpretations of ordination and ecclesiastical ministry flourished within the church. After the Reformation, the Roman Catholic church continued to speak of ordination as a sacrament which conferred a permanent and ontological change (sacramental character) in the minister. The various churches that sprung from the Reformation generally rejected ordination as a sacrament and the notion of sacramental character. The Roman Catholic and Anglican churches stressed that it was essential that a bishop in apostolic succession alone confer ordination. Apostolic succession, as it was then understood, meant that an unbroken line of bishops ordaining their successor through the imposition of hands could be traced back to the apostles. Many of the Reformed churches rejected this requirement of tactile succession as well as the necessity of having bishops as the ministers of ordination. The ordination of presbyters by other presbyters/ministers became normative, and in some communities, the local community ordained its own ministers. The Catholic and Anglican churches continued a threefold ministry of bishops, presbyters (priests), and deacons, whereas many of the Reformed communities established one order of ministers (pastors) or a twofold ministry of ministers and deacons. Ecumenical Statements on Ordination In 1982, the Commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches published Baptism, Eucharist, and Ministry (hereafter BEM), a statement that attempts to provide an ecumenical agreement on the two dominical sacraments of baptism and the Eucharist and also on ministry in the church. Numbers 39–55 of the BEM address the meaning of ordination, the act of ordination, the conditions for ordination, and a way towards the mutual recognition of the ordained ministries. What follows is a summary of the main points of BEM regarding ordination. They reflect a growing ecumenical convergence on the nature and meaning of ordination. BEM first explores the meaning of ordination and begins by stating that:

The Church ordains certain of its members for the ministry in the name of Christ by the invocation of the Spirit and the laying on of hands (1 Tim. 4:14; 2 Tim. 1:6); in doing so it seeks to continue the mission of the apostles and to remain faithful to their teaching. The act of ordination by those who are appointed for this ministry attests the bond of the church with Jesus Christ and the apostolic witness, recalling that it is the risen Lord who is the true ordained and bestows the gift. (BEM 39)

Ordination is thus seen as the action of God and the church, "?by which the ordained are strengthened by the Spirit for their task?" and are supported by recognition and prayers of the congregation (BEM 40). In speaking of the act of ordination, BEM underlines the ancient practice of ordaining ministers in the "?context of worship and especially of the Eucharist.?" Ordination is an act of the whole community and not merely that of a particular ecclesiastical order of ministry. "?The act of ordination by the laying on of hands of those appointed to do so is at one and the same time invocation of the Holy Spirit (epiklesis); sacramental sign; acknowledgment of gifts and commitment?" (BEM 41). Traditionally, ordination is done by bishops or those who exercise oversight (episkope) in the community. The act of ordination expresses the action of the community in praying for the gift of the Spirit for the one chosen to be a minister of the church. "?It is an invocation to God that the new minister be given the power of the Holy Spirit in the new relation which is established between this minister and the local Christian community and, by intention, the church universal?" (BEM 42). At the same time, it "?is a sign of the granting of this prayer by the Lord who gives the gift of ordained ministry?" (BEM 43). It is God who acts in ordination through the church. "?Although the outcome of the church's epiklesis depends on the freedom of God, the church ordains in confidence that God, being faithful to his promise in Christ, enters sacramentally into contingent, historical forms of human relationship and uses them for his purpose?" (BEM 43). "?Ordination is a sign performed in faith that the spiritual relationship signified is present in, with, and through the words spoken, the gestures made, and the forms employed?" (BEM 43). This is what Catholic tradition means when it refers to ordination as a sacrament. Ordination is an acknowledgment on the part of the church. It is an acknowledgment "?of the gifts of the Spirit in the one ordained, and a commitment by both the church and the ordained to the new relationship?" (BEM 44). The church "?acknowledges the minister's gifts and commits itself to be open towards these gifts?" (BEM 44). Those ordained likewise "?offer their gifts to the church and commit themselves to the burden and opportunity of new authority and responsibility?" (BEM 44). And lastly, through ordination the new ministers "?enter into a collegial relationship with other ordained ministers?" (BEM 44). Hence, the new minister is spoken of as being a part of the order of bishops, the order of presbyters (priests, ministers), or the order of deacons.