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XXIX

THE SACRAMENT OF ORDER§ I: THE PRIESTHOOD OF CHRIST AND THE

CHRISTIAN PRIESTHOOD

A. The Priesthood of Christ

" EVERY high priest taken from among men is ordained formen inthe things that appertain to God, that he may offer up gifts andsacrifices for sins." I St Thomas Aquinas' teaches that the properoffice of a priest is to be a mediator between God and men! inasmu.chas he is the representative of the people with God, offering to himtheir sacrifices and prayers, and the representative of God with thepeople, bringing to them in return for their H gifts and sacrifices,"both pardon for sin, and those " most great and precious promises IIby which they are H made partakers of the divine nature." 3 Whothen is so fitted for the sacred office of Priesthood as the God-man,Jesus Christ, who, because he is the Son of God, is the natural repre-sentative of God with man; and, because he is the Son of Man andthe Head of the human race, knowing OUf infirmities, and Honetempted in an things as we are, without sin," .. is also the acceptab~erepresentative of sinful man with God? By virtue of the hypostaticuD.ioD, then, Jesus Christ was anointed High Priest, and remains II aPriest for ever," I) and the" one Mediator of God and men, the manChrist Jesus. J) 6

Priesthood and sacrifice are therefore correlative." The essentialact of priesthood is the offering of sacrifice, both as the supreme actofman's worship of God (latreutic), and in expiation for the sins ofmen(propIt13tory).; and our HIgh Priest and Mediator, Jesus Christ,performed this supreme act of his Priesthood when he offered himselfin sacrifice to his Heavenly Father on the Cross both as the perfectand supreme act of divine worship, and as the efficacious expiation ofthe sms of the world. 8

1Heb. v I.: Summa .Theologica, III, Q. xxii and Q. xxvi.ii 2 Peter 1 4· CHeb. iv 15.7 ~eb. VijS-6f'T & I Tim. ii 5.8 ounc 0 rent, sees. 23, c. I.See Essay xiv, Christ, Priest and Redeemer.

1022

XXIX: THE SACRAMENT OF ORDER 1023

B. The Christian Priesthood

Mother act of Our Lord as High Priest and Redeemer was toestablish hIS Church for the salvation of the world through the meritsof his Sacrifice on Calvary. He, the eternal Priest, would be itsHead and High Priest. But since he was about to withdraw hiscorporal presence from his Church, it was necessary that his Priest-hood should be exercised visibly and externally by a body of ministersappointed by himself and acting in his name.Our Lord, therefore, on the day before he suffered, having for the

last time celebrated with his Apostles the legal feast of the PaschalLamb, instituted the Eucharistic Sacrifice of the New Testament,first, as the perennial commemoration of the Sacrifice of Redemptionon Calvary, and secondly, in order that the merits of the Sacrifice ofthe Cross migbt be applied to individual souls for the remission oftheir sins. Further, in order that this memorial Sacrifice might beoffered in the Church till the end of time, and" shew forth the deathof the Lord until he come," 1 by the words, "Do this for a com-memoration of me,' he ordained his Apostles priests and gave thempower to ordain others in their turn, and thus established in hisChurch a permanent and perpetual Order of Christian Priesthood.All this we are taught by the Council of Trent in sess. 22, c. 1.Consequently, " If anyone shall say that by the words: 'Do thisfor a commemoration of me,' Christ did not ordain the Apostlespriests, or did not enjoin that they and other priests should offer hisbody and blood) let him be anathema." 2 Moreover, to the powerof consecrating and offering his Body and Blood, Our Lord on EasterDay added the power over his mystical body, the power, namely,of forgiving and retaining sins. II If," therefore, U anyone shall saythat there is not a visible and external priesthood in the New Testa-ment, or that there is no power of consecrating and offering the truebody and blood of the Lord, and of remitting and retaining sins ...let him be anathema." S Other Sacraments also were instituted byOur Lord as the channels or vehicles of the grace of the Redemption,and committed by him to his Apostles, and through them to theChurch so that St Paul was able to speak of himself and his colleaguesas II the ministers of Christ and the dispensers of the mysteries ofGod." tIn all this we see the realisation of that greater wonder which

Our divine Lord promised to Nathanael: "Greater things than thisshalt thou see. And he saith to him: Amen, Amen, I say to you,you shall see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and

1 I Cor. xi 26.I: Council of Trent, sess. 22. can. 2.8 Ibid., sese. 23) can. I. 4 I Cor. iv r.

1024 THE TEACHING OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

descending upon the Son of Man." 1 What was this greaterthingthat they should see?

It was, first of all, this, that whereas heaven had hitherto,onaccount of unexpiated sin, remained closed to mankind, theyshouldsee heaven opened, or, more correctly according to the Greek, open,standing open, as a result of the accomplishment of the Redemption;and secondly, that they should see the Cross, upon whichwashangingthe Son of Man, the Redeemer and Mediator, like Jacob's ladder," standing upon the earth, and the top thereof touching heaven,theangels alsoof God ascending and descending by it.'" In otherwords,in the New Dispensation the Cross of Christ unites earth withheaven,and the ministers of Christ, the priests of the Church, ascend II uponthe Son of Man," that is, by the ladder of the Cross of Christ,toheaven, bearing with them I' the gifts and sacrifices" for the sins ofthe people, and descend from heaven by the same means, bringingasthe gift of God for the people the sacramental and other gracesofwhich they stand in need. The word" upon" (J7Tt) in the phraseH upon the Son of man )) is to be understood in its literal sense ofstepping upon the Son of Man as upon a ladder; for the CrossofChrist is the only means of passage from earth to heaven and heavento earth. Moreover, there is abundance of Biblical authorityforinterpreting" the angels of God" as the priests of the Church; forarc not the angels H ministering spirits sent to minister for themwhoshall receive the inheritance of salvation? "8 Hence the episcopalheads of the seven Churches are called Angels by St John in theApocalypse; and St Paul directs women to veil their heads in church"because of the angels." it "The lips of the priest," says theProphet. Malachy, "shall keep knowledge, and they shall seekthelaw at hIS mouth, because he is the angel of the Lord of hosts.'"

It ISnoteworthy also that the Angels of God are here said firsttoascend and then to descend upon the Son of Man. If the allusionwashterally to the Angels ?f heaven, we should naturally expect themtodescend before ascending. But the priest the angel of earth, firstascends to heaven with the gifts of men to God and then descendsfrom heaven bearing God's gifts to men. So also'Jacob, in his dreamat Bethel, the House of God, the place of sacrifice of the Patriarchsand JUdges, saw the angels first aseending and then descendingbythe ladder that joined earth with heaven

The wonderful thing, then, that Natl,anael and the others wereto see was precisely this. The Redemption of the world was to be::tU~ly accomphshed in their lifetime, and as the result of it theyou see heaven once agam lYIng open to men, and the Ministers

t John i SO~5I. It is curious d' ifi th happarently addressing N th an etgru cant that Our Lord, DUgAnd he saith to him" add~el h1one: Ie Greater things shalt thou: see.you, you shall see, et~.H su eye anges to the plural: "Amen, I say to

• Gen. xxvin 12. 3 Reb. I 14· .. I Cor. xi 10. 6 ij 7.


of Christ representin~ man :with God. and on man's behalf offeringto God the Eucharistic Sacrifice, and In turn representing God withmao, and as such administering the grace-giving Sacraments for thesanctification and salvation of the world.'

Such in brief outline is the Christian Priesthood.

§ II: THE THREEFOLD

THE POWER AND

POWER OF THE CHURCH.

CHARACTER OF ORDER

A. The Threefold Power of the Church

THEpurpose and object of the existence of any society is the pursuitJurlsdit:tionand attainment by its members of some common end by the use of in generalsome common means. Experience, however, has proved over andover again-so much so, indeed, that it has long been a first principleof practical life-that no society, from the sovereign State to thesmallest cricket club) is successful, unless it is governed by somecompetent authority, whether it be a king or a president, a chairmanor a committee, a cabinet, a board of management, a managingdirector, etc. There must be some ruling power, whether individualor collective, whose office it is to govern, direct, legislate, judge, andeven coerce and punish, all with the one object of securing the successof the society in the achievement of the purpose of its existence,which is the good, happiness, pleasure, in some way or other, of itsmembers. Without some such governing authority any society isdoomed to confusion, chaos, failure, and extinction. This rulingauthority or power of government is called Jurisdiction.Now most of the societies of which we have experience in ordinary

life are societies whose aim it is to procure some natural good orpleasure or profit for the members; and we find that they have attheir disposal, or they are able to obtain, the means which are neces-sary in order to enable them to attain their object. These societiesare natural societies, the end that they have in view is natural, themeans of attaining it are natural. All that is necessary is that theruling authority in such a society should direct, guide, and controlits members in the use of the means at their disposal to the bestadvantage for the common good.But there is one Society within our experience which is a super- Spiritual

natural society, a society among men indeed, and for men, but having and sualper.I·· did d l'hina,",a supematura ongm an a supematura en an purpose. s jurisdiction

Society is the Catholic Church, founded by Jesus Christ for thesanctification and salvation of the human race. This Church is thesupernatural, spiritual kingdom of Christ, existing in the world, but

1 St Catherine of Siena likens the hypostatic union to a bridge built byGod. and stretching from heaven to earth. This beautiful idea is, of course,analogous to Our Lord's own comparison of himself hanging on the Cross toa ladder uniting earth with heaven. etc., as explained in the text above.


not of the world. Being a kingdom, it is a perfect society; andassuch it must have a government, and one which has received fromits fo'under a power and authority that is proportioned to the spititualnature of the society, and competent to direct its members to itssupernatural end. Jesus. Christ, ~erdo.re, provided for this powerof government, i.e. the spiritual jurisdiction of the Church, whenhesaid to Peter: "To thee I will give the keys of the kingdom.ofheaven" ;' and to the whole body of the Apostles: "Whatsoeveryou shall bind upon earth shall be bound also in heaven: andwhat-soever you shall loose upon earth shall be loosed also in heaven."I

T,aching au- But since the end for which the Church was founded is a super-tlzon·tya"d natural one, it follows that the means which it has at its disposalfor~~:. of the attainment of that end, are supernatural also; for the means

must be proportioned to the end. In this then the Church is notlikenatural societies, which find at hand the means they require for theirpurposes. If the means which the Church needs are supernatural,they must be provided for her by Jesus Christ, her Founder. Nowwhat are the means which the Church requires? They are two,divine truth and supernatural grace. We need divine truth, i.e. thetruths of supernatural revelation, that we may know the mysteriesofGod himself, that we may know ourselves as we are before God,thatwe may know what God has done for us, and what he would haveusdo. They teach us the divine standards of human conduct, andshowus what are the means that God has placed at our disposal to enableus to maintain those standards. This is the first means. The otheris sUl'ernatural grace, sanctifying grace, by which we receive theadoption of sons,s and are II made partakers of the divine nature,"!and by which also (together with actual grace) the operations of thesoul are raised to the supernatural plane and directed to the end andpurpo.se of life eternal. Both these means have been placed by OurLord III the hands of the governing authority of his Church, as wearetaught by St John: 6 "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt amongus full of grace and truth, and of his fulness we have all received,and grace for grace. For the law was given to Moses: grace andtruth came by Jesus Christ." Thus, besides the power of [urisdic-non (alluded to above), which Christ had conferred on the ApostolicHierarchy, he committed to them two further powers, one to propose,expound, and define. the truths of revelation (which involves thecorresponding obligahon of .the assent of 'faith on the part of thosewho are taught), and this is called the Magisterium, or teachingautho:,Ir" which Cbrist bestowed On the Apostles when he said tothem. G0','lg therefore teach all nations: . . . teaching them to?bserve all thmgs whatsoever I have commanded you.". The otherrs the power to dispense divine grace to the faithful through the

1 Matt. xvi 19_8 Rom. viii IS' Gal. iv S.6i 14~I7. •

J Ibid., xviii 18.t 2 Peter i4.• Matt. xxviii 19-20.

XXIX; THE SACRAMENT OF ORDER 1025

of Christ representing man with God and on man's behalf offeringto God the Eucharistic Sacrifice, and in turn representing God withman, and as such administering the grace-giving Sacraments for thesanctification and salvation of the world.!

Such in brief outline is the Christian Priesthood.

§ II; THE THREEFOLD

THE POWER AND

POWER OF

CHARACTER

THE CHUR C H.

OF ORDER

A. The Threefold Power of the Church

THE purpose and object of the existence of any society is the pursuitJurlsdictionand attainment by its members of some common end by the use of in generalsome common means. Experience, however, has proved over andover again-so much so, indeed, that it has long been a first principleof practical life-that no society, from the sovereign State to thesmallest cricket club, is successful, unless it is governed by somecompetent authority I whether it be a king or a president, a chairmanor a committee, a cabinet, a board of management, a managingdirector, etc. There must be some ruling power, whether individualor collective, whose office it is to govern, direct, legislate, judge, andeven coerce and punish, all with the one object of securing the successof the society in the achievement of the purpose of its existence,which is the good, happiness, pleasure, in some way or other, of itsmembers. Without some such governing authority any society isdoomed to confusion, chaos, failure, and extinction. This rulingauthority or power of government is called Jurisdiction.

Now most of the societies of which we have experience in ordinarylife are societies whose aim it is to procure some natural good orpleasure or profit for the members; and we find that they have attheir disposal, or they are able to obtain, the means which are neces-sary in order to enable them to attain their object. These societiesare natural societies, the end that they have in view is natural, themeans of attaining it are natural. All that is necessary is that theruling authority in such a society should direct, guide, and controlits members in the use of the means at their disposal to the bestadvantage for the common good.

But there is one Society within our experience which is a super~ Spiritualnatural society, a society among men indeed, and for men, but having and sualper-

1·· d ldd Th·na'u,a supematura origm an a supernatura en an purpose. IS jurisdictionSociety is the Catholic Church, founded by Jesus Christ for thesanctification and salvation of the human race. This Church is thesupernatural, spiritual kingdom of Christ, existing in the world, but

1St Catherine of Siena likens the hypostatic union to a bridge built byGod and stretching from heaven to earth. This beautiful idea is, of course,analogous to Our Lord's own comparison of himself hanging on the Cross toa ladder uniting earth with heaven, etc., as explained in the text above.


not of the world. Being a kingdom, it is a perfect society; and assuch it must have a government, and one which has received fromits f;under a power and authority that is proportio!,ed to the spiritualnature of the society, and competent to direct Its members to Itssupernatural end. Jesus. Christ, t~er,:fo.re, provided for this powerof government, i.e. the spiritual jurisdiction of the Church, whenhesaid to Peter: "To thee I will give the keys of the kingdomofheaven" ; 1 and to the whole body of the Apostles; "Whatsoeveryou shall bind upon earth shall be bound also III heaven; andwhat-soever you shall loose upon earth shall be loosed also in heaven."I

Teaching au- But since the end for which the Church was founded is a super-tlwrityand natural one, it follows that the means which it has at its disposal for~":d:of the attainment of that end, are supernatural also; for the means

must be proportioned to the end. In this then the Church is not likenatural societies, which find at hand the means they require for theirpurposes. If the means which the Church needs are supernatural,they must be provided for her by Jesus Christ, her Founder. Nowwhat are the means which the Church requires I They are two,divine truth and supernatural grace. We need divine truth, i.e. thetruths of supernatural revelation, that we may know the mysteriesofGod himself, that we may know ourselves as we are before God, thatwe may know what God has done for us, and what he would haveusdo. They teach us the divine standards of human conduct, and showus what are the means that God has placed at our disposal to enableus to maintain those standards. This is the first means. The otheris supernatural grace, sanctifying grace, by which we receive theadoption o~ sons.s and are " made partakers of the divine nature," 4

and by wh!ch also (together with actual grace) the operations of thesoul are raised to the supernatural .,lane and directed to the end andpurpose of life eternal. Both these means have been placed by OurLord In the hands of the governing authority of his Church, as wearetaught by St John:' "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt amongus full of grace and truth, and of his fulness we have all received,and grace for grace. For the law was given to Moses: grace andtruth came by Jesus Christ." Thus, besides the power of [urisdic-tion (alluded to above), which Christ had conferred on the ApostolicHierarchy, he committed to them two further powers, one to propose,expound, ~nd define. the truths of revelation (which involves thecorresponding obhgatIon of .the assent of "faith on the part of th?sewho are taught), and this IS called the Magisterium, or teachingauthonrr., which Chnst bestowed on the Apostles when he said tothem : GOI.ngtherefore teach all nations: . . . teaching them to?bserve all thmgs whatsoever I have commanded you." The otherIS the power to dispense divine grace to the faithful through the

1 Matt. xvi 19.B Rom. viii IS' ("'-I .II • ~'" tV 5.i 14-17.

"Ibid .• xviii 18.f, 2 Peter i 4.lSMatt. xxviii 19-20.

XXIX: THE SACRAMENT OF ORDER 1027Sacraments, and this power is the power of Order, which is signifiedin the same commission of Our Lord to the Apostles: "Goingtherefore . . . baptising them in the name of the Father and of theSon and of the Holy Ghost" ; 1 and when he said to them: "Dothis for a commemoration of me." Hence St Paul desires that theApostles be regarded as the H dispensers of the mysteries of God II ;

by which term we understand both the supernatural truths of Godwhich are concealed from human reason, and the sacred, symbolic,sacramental rites, which contain hidden within them the supernaturalgrace of God.

B. The Sacrament of OrderHaving thus established the existence of the power of Order in

the Church, we have now to show that it is conferred and transmittedby means of a symbolic and ritual consecration,which in theologicallanguage is called a Sacrament; and we cannot do this better thanin the words of St Thomas Aquinas: '

(l It is clear that, in all the sacraments of which we have spokenhitherto, spiritual grace is bestowed under the sacred sign of visiblethings. Now every action should be proportionate to the agent.Hence these same sacraments should be dispensed by visiblemenhaving spiritual powers. For angels are not competent to dispensesacraments: but men clothed in visible flesh, accordingto the sayingof the Apostle,3 'Every high priest taken from among men is or-dained for men in the things that appertain to God.'

II This may be proved in another way. Sacraments derive theirinstitution and efficacy from Christ; of whom the Apostle says: •, Christ loved the Church, and delivered himself up for it, that hemight sanctify it, cleansing it by the laverofwater in the wordof life.'It is also clear that at the Supper he gave the Sacrament of his bodyand blood, and instituted it for our frequent use: and this is thegreatest of all the sacraments. Seeing then that he was about towithdraw his bodily presence from the Church, it was necessarythathe should institute others as his ministers, who should dispensethesacraments to the faithful, according to the Apostle's words: 6 'Leta man so account of us as of the ministers of Christ, and the dispensersof the mysteries of God.' For this reason he entrusted his discipleswith the consecration of his body and blood, saying: 6 'Do this for acommemoration of me ' : to them he gave the power to forgive sins : 7I Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them': and onthem he conferred the office of teaching and baptising, saying: 6

I Going, teach ye all nations, baptising them.' Now !he. minister iscompared to his master as an instrument to the principal agent:

1Matt. xxviii 19. I Contra Gentiles, iv, cap. 74·8 Reb. v I. f, Eph. v 25-26. 5 I Cor. iv I.'Luke xxii 19. 7 John xx 23. 8 Matt. xxviii 19·


for. just as the instrument is moved by .the agent in order to p:od~cean effect so a minister is moved by hIS master to execute his WIll.Again, the instrument should be proportionate to t~e agent. The~e-fore Christ's ministers should be conformed to him. Now Christwrought our salvation, as master, .by his own authority and power,in as much as he is God and man: In that, as man I he suffered for ourredemption, and, because he was God, his sufferings were madeefficacious for our salvation. Consequently Christ's ministers mustbe men, and also have some share in his Godhead by a kind of spiritualpower: since the instrument shares in the power of the principalagent. Of this power the Apostle says 1 that 'the Lord gave himpower unto edification and not unto destruction. J

" Now it cannot be said that this power was given to Christ'sdisciples in such manner that it would not be transmitted by them toothers: for it was given to them unto the edification of the Church,according to the Apostle's words. Therefore this power must lastas long as the Church needs to be edified: that is to say, from afterthe death of Christ's disciples until the end of the world. Conse-quently, spiritual power was given to Christ's disciples in such wisethat others were to receive it from them. Hence Our Lord spoketo his disciples as representatives of the rest of the faithful, as we maysee from his words," What I say to you, I say to all.' Again he saidto his disciples: 3 'Behold I am with you all days, even to the con-summation of the world.'

.. Accordingly, this spiritual power flows from Christ to theministers of the Church, and the spiritual effects (whether of spiritualpower or of grace) accruing to us from Christ are conferred underce~t~insensible signs; 4 and consequently it was proper that thisspIritual power also should be conferred on men by means of sen-SIble symbols. These are certain forms of words certain actionsas for instance the imposition of hands, anointing,' delivery of bookor chahce or some such thing that pertains to the exercise of a spiritualpo~er. Now, w?e~ever something spiritual is bestowed under a?odtly symbol, this IS. called a sacrament. It is clear, therefore, that~n the bestowal of spiritual power a sacrament is enacted: and thisI~ kno~ as the Sacrament of Order. Now it is a part of the divinehbe~ahty that whosoever receives power to perform a certain work,receives a!so whatsoever is required for the suitable execution of thatwork. Since then the sacraments that are the purpose of this spiritualpow~r! cannot ~e becomingly administered without the assistanceof divm~ grace, It follows that grace is conferred in this sacrament~nasm~o~n. 'a .. But since the power of Order is directed to the dispensing of the5 ~~ments,and SIDceof all the sacraments the Eucharist is the mostsu ime and perfect, it follows that we must consider the power of

1 2 Cor. xiii 10. :t Mark '""Cf Ess . T" S XlII 37· 3Matt. xxviii 20.. ay XXI, fie acramental System.

po


Orderchieflyin its relation to that sacrament: for a thing takes itsnamefromits end.' Now it appears that the same power bestows aperfection,andprepares the matter to receive that perfection: thusfirt has thepowerto communicate its form to a thing, and to preparethematerialfor the reception of its form. Since then the power ofOrderextendsto the effecting of the sacrament of Christ's body andthedistributionthereof to the faithful, it follows that the same powershouldextendto the preparation of the faithful, that they be madefitandworthyto receive this sacrament. Now the faithful are madefitandworthyto receive this sacrament by being freed from sin :otherwisespiritual union with Christ is impossible in one who isunitedwithhim sacramentally by receiving this sacrament. Con-sequentlythe powerof Order must extend to the forgiveness of sinshythe dispensationof those sacraments that are directed to theremissionof sin, such as Baptism and Penance. Wherefore, OUfLord,havingentrusted to his disciples the consecration of his body,gavethemalsothe power to forgive sins, which power is indicated bythekeys,ofwhichhe said to Peter: 2 'To thee will I give the keysofthekingdomof heaven.' For heaven is closed and opened to amanaccordingas he is shackled with or freed from sin: and for thisreasonthe use of these keys is expressed as binding and loosing,namelyfrom sins." STheCouncilof Trent therefore dcfines: "If anyone shall say

th.atOrderor sacred ordination is not truly and really a sacramentinstitutedhyChristthe Lord, or is only a man-made fiction, inventedhymenunskilledin ecclesiastical affairs; or that it is only the cere-monyofchoosingministers of the word of God and of the sacraments,lethim beanathema." 4ThepowerofOrder, then, is conferred and transmitted by means

ofasacramentalconsecration which we call the Sacrament of Order.Ontheotherhand, the power of Jurisdiction and the teaching au-thority,sincetheir direct ohject is not the production of the spir-itualefleersofpowerand grace in the soul, are not bestowed by a sacra-mentalrite, hut by a commission received either from Christ himself(~m thecaseof the newly elected Pope) or from the lawfully con-sUturedecclesiasticalgoverning authority. .

It remainsonly to point out that there exists a close eonnectronandmutualinterdependence between the power of Order and thepowerof Jurisdiction. For on the one hand, the power of Order

IThis phrase and the equivalent Latin reading 1Io~inatur, .appe~makeno sense here. There is, however, another readmg dominatur;

llIfUu[uodquedominatur a fine, " everything is governed or controlled by ItstOO landpurpose "r--which has logical sequence.

Matt. xvi 19.aWe haveused the translation of the Dominican Fathers for the above

qIJotatioo; but we have substituted other words where they seemed to ex-~ the original better.

Sess. 23. can. 3.

•

1°30 THE TEACHING OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

cannot be legitimately exercised except in accordance wi~ the ordi-nances and regulations prescribed by the suprem~ e.cc~eslastlcalau-thority; and on the other hand, the power o~ jurisdiction regul~ly,ordinarily, and con-naturally resides In the highest rank of the hier-archy of Order, i.e. in the Episcopate, as the very name Itself implies.

C. The Character of Order

Order is not only one of the seven Sacraments, but it is also oneof the three Sacraments that imprint a character on the soul. U Ifanyone shall say that by mean~ of ordination a ,7haracter is not in:--printed on the soul ... let him be anathema. 1. A character, inthe theological sense) is a spiritual seal or stamp unpres.sed. on thesoul by God to indicate the consecration of that soul to him in someofficial capacity. Character receives its name from the sta~p orbrand imprinted upon the bodies of those who were enrolled In theimperial armies in ancient times, to show that they had the right andduty of figbting their country's battles. It expresses the idea ofservice of a master in some public ministerial office. The sacramentalcharacter therefore denotes some special ministerial relation to Christin his Church; e.g. the character of Baptism carries with it the officeand rights of a follower of Christ; the character of Confirmationthose of a soldier of Christ; the character of Order those of a ministerof Christ. To put it in another way, the sacramental seal or char-acter imports a spiritual power or capacity in regard to the sacred anddivine things possessed by the Church. Baptism gives the capacityto receive these divine gifts; Confirmation confers the power andoffice of defending them against hostile assaults; Order bestows thepower and office of dispensing and ministering them to the faithful.In each case there is a sacramental consecration of the soul to Christand to his service. It follows that the sacramental character is in-delible; for it is the spiritual seal of the eternal Prince stamped onthe Immortal soul; nor is it possible for the servant of Christ, havingonc~ accepte~ and ~een dedicated to his service) to repudiate thatservice and divest himself of his ministerial power and office. Con-se9uently, to confine our further remarks to the Sacrament of Order,this Sacrament once. received cannot be repeated. The recipient ofthe Sacrament remains for good or ill U a priest for ever," though hebe so "?nfortunate as .subs~quently to fall from grace, or even toapostatise from the faith of Christ. The ministers of Christ must~cessanly form a class apart, a body of men distinguished from" S·general mass of the laity in the eyes both of God and men.

mce in t~e Sacrament of Order, as in Baptism and in Confirmation,~~lha~acte~1S ImhPrInted which can never be effaced or removed, theh y yno ng tly condemns the opinion of those who assert thatt e pnests of the New T tes ament possess only a temporary power,

1 Council of Trent, sees. 23 can 4' cf sess 7 can 9) ., . ., ..

XXIX: THE SACRAMENT OF ORDBR 1°31

and that those who are once duly ordained can become laymen again,if they do not exercise the ministry of the divine word." 1

The term II Sacrament of Order" may be used both of the ex-ternal ceremonial rite, and of the power or character which is con-ferred by that rite. But, as St Thomas teaches: 2 II The interiortharacter is essentially and principally the Sacrament of Order."The external sacramental rite is more properly termed Ordination.

§III: THE APOSTOLIC ORDINATIONS AND

THE ECCLESIASTICAL HIERAR C H Y

A. The Apostolic OrdinationsWEhave seen that Our divine Lord at the Last Supper bestowed thePriesthoodon his Apostles by the words, .. Do this for a commemora-tion of me '": that he gave them the power to forgive sins, when onEaster Day he breathed on them and said, .. Receive ye the HolyGhost. Whose sins you shall forgive they are forgiven them: andwhose sins you shall retain they are retained II ; 3 and that in themhe established the Christian Priesthood as a permanent and perpetualinstitution, to be handed on by them to others in continuous succes-sion to the end of time. We have seen" too, that the handing onof the priesthood was to be carried out by means of an external,sacramental rite. But the rite that the Apostles were to employ inpassing on the priesthood to others was not that which Our Lordhad used in ordaining them. He, as the High Priest and Redeemerand the Institutor of the Sacraments, was above the Sacraments, notsubordinated to them; and he did not need any sacramental rite inorder to confer the effects of the Sacraments.' Consequently, thoughOur Lord in ordaining the Apostles did make use of an externalceremony and pronounce certain words, they were not intended tobe the means by which the sacerdotal powers were to be handed onin the Church. They were super-sacramental. .

When, therefore we examine the records of the ApostolIc Church, ThheAActs/of.' . Enistl fSPltepos!esparticularly in the Acts of the Apostles and III the pist ~s a t au,'we find that there is one rite of sacramental ordination and oneonlyuniformly in use at that time.' That rite was the imposition ofhands accompanied by prayer, the imposition of hands, of course,constituting the sacramental matter, and the prayer the sacra~entalform. Thus in the Acts of the Apostles,6 when the people, directedby the Apostles, had chosen seven candidates for the office of " the

1 Council of Trent, sess. 23, can. 4·• Sum. Theol., Suppl. J Q. xxxiv J art. 2, ad I.• John xx 22-23.• S, Thomas, Sum. Thea/., III, Q. lxiv, art ..3· . .I We prescind for the present from the dlstmcbon of the Vm;IOUS Orders,

and confine our examination to Ordination in general. 8 VI 6.

PaulineEpistles

J~2 THE TEACHING OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCHdaily ministration," "these they set before the Apostles: and theypraying, imposed hands upon them."-Later ~n, :when the time ap-pointed by divine Providence for the evangehsa~on of the Ge'.'l1lenations had come, U there were In the church which was at Antiochprophets and doctors. . . . And as they were ministering to theLord and fasting, the Holy Ghost said to them: Separate me Sauland Barnabasfor the workwhereunto I have taken them. Then they,fasting and praying and imposing their hands upon them, ~entthemaway." 1 This most probably refers to the episcopal ordinationofSt Paul and St Barnabas; though all commentators are not agreedonthe point. At any rate, we see them, immediately after, goingforthon their mission, and appointing presbyters in the Christian com-munities which they established in the various cities which theyevangelised.-" When they had ordained to them priests in everychurch and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to theLord, etc." 2

We turn now to St Paul's Epistles to his disciples Timothy andTitus. These three Epistles were addressed to them to explaintheduties of the pastoral office, and to guide them in the dischargeofthose duties; and in the course of his instructions and exhortationshe refers to the ceremony of ordination. He gives to Timothy thisadmonition: "neglect not the grace that is in thee: which was giventhee hyprophecy,with the imposition of the hands of the priesthood,"or collegeof pre~byters.· Similarly in 2 Timothy i 6: "I admonishthee that thou stir up the grace of God that is in thee by the impositionof my hands." In th~se words are indicated an external rite, the

t Acts, xiii 1.3.2 Ibid., xiv 22. The Greek word here used which is translated in our

ver~ion .. ordai?-ed/' is ~E.tpcn-o~aavrES. This ~ord, which certainly latero~ In the ~c~leslasttcalwntu~gs.had the definite meaning of imposing hands,did not originally express this idea. The literal or classical meaning of theyerb XEtpoTOVE'iV was .. to e:'tend the hand." especially in the act of voting;Just as J:.10wadaysa vote IS taken in public meetings by a show of hands:whence It came to mean ~o elect. to appoint. to establish. So in this passagethe Vulgate has the. LatJIl;~ord U constituissenr,' .. had appointed," TheGreek tenn for the lmposltlon of h d " all 8 ' (' '8 •• ) d 8 A • an S orrgm y was XEl.f1O Eala E1tl £al$ 'rCJW

XEl.pt4IJ , an. XEtfO :'rEl.IJ ;. but In course of time the word XElpOTOvla acquired afib ore precise signification, and from a more generic and indeterminate termecame even more specific than 8' hich f" .hands OJ f XEipO EaUl. W was used 0 "<imposition of

for th ~r any} purpose whatever. while X£LpOTOJJ/.a was reserved exclusivelygardsilii~~~~:o=bsltIOIl;of hands in the Sacrament of Order. As re-the local churches [. ydWhich St Paul and St Barnabas appointed priests inessentially in the im0puno ... ~dbYf tth

hem,there can be no doubt that it consistedsmon 0 e hands and p . f th h th rdXEipOTOJJ7jaaVTES does not of .ts If d rayer, or aug e wo

laying on of hands neve~ Ie::: etymologically express the idea of thefind this very ide~ to b etess e very fact that in 'the second century wesignification of the term b he fully developed and universally acceptedin direct line from the 'A ec~mmggradually more explicit as it descendedimplied in the term from thPos es, bPr0'Yes.that the imposition of hands was

• T' . every egtnnmgI un. IV 14. .


impositionof hands, and an effect of grace produced by the rite.Guidedby God through the prophets, St Paul himself had chosenTimothyfor the sacred ministry, and he, together with the presbyteralcollege,had laid hands upon him and thus made him a pastor of theChurch. The imposition of the Apostle's hands was the directinstrumentalcause 1 of the sacramental effect; but the essential actionoftheminister of the sacrament was accompanied by the impositionof the hands of the assembled presbyters as accessories or co-ope",tors.' The sacramental effect of grace was something per-manentlyabiding in the soul (" the grace that is in thee "), whichcouldbe revived or made active, brought into operation at will.Itwasa gracewhich gave a supernatural fitness for the exercise of thepastoraloffice,and was described by St Paul in the next verse: "ForGod hathnot given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love andofsobriety." These were the special graces received by the Chris-tian pastor or bishop to fit him to discharge worthily the arduousdutiesof his office-fortitude, to profess and teach the faith and togovernthe Church amid all the difficulties and dangers which abishopmust necessarily encounter from a hostile world, love of Godandof the brethren, and moderation or self-discipline.

In this ceremony, therefore, we find all the elements necessary forI sacrament-the outward sign, the imposition of hands, which ofcoursewas always accompanied by appropriate prayer; the com-petentminister, St Paul himself; and the internal grace whichTimothywas admonished to rekindle within himself. Finally, theinstitutionof Christ is implicit through it all, for it was undoubtedlym pursuance of the command of Christ: "Do this for a com-memoration of me,'" that the symbolical imposition of hands wasintroducedand handed down as an established rite in the Church fortheordinationof her ministe~s; and without the institution of Christtheceremonialrite could have had no effect of grace.Another reference by St Paul to the ceremony of ordination is

foundin the injunction: "Impose not hands lightly upon any man," •whichshow, that Timothy, had the power to impose ha~ds onethers and so possessed the plenitude of the pastoral or episcopalo!lice." The ?nly allusion to ordination in the Epistle to Titus is in i ~ :For this cause I left thee in Crete: that thou ... shouldst ordain

pri~ts in every city, as I also appointed thee." In this passa.ge. theongmal~ord for" ordain" has only the general sense of appom~n~,"""UlUung, and does not express the laying on of hands. But it IS.. be noted that the references to the imposition of hands that occurin the Epistles to Timothy are in a sense casual and acc,dental.PanllS not instructing his episcopal delegate how to ordain. It is

dear that he assumes Timothy's perfect familiarity WIth the manner of

1Sea, 2 Tim. i 6. I J*f'a.. I Tim. iv 14·

':z Tim. i 7. ' I Tim. v 22.


ordaining priests, and that in doing so .he will perform the .ceremonyas he has learnt it from hIS Apostolic chief. And so It is WIthTitus. He was just as familiar with the ordination ceremonyas wasTimothy, and needed no instructions from St Paul how to ordain.Hence, when he is told by the Apostle to "ordain priestsin everycity," it is taken for granted that he will do this in the usual way,ashe was ordained himself and had seen others ordained, i.e. by theimposition of hands. Indeed, he had already received his instruc-tions in the matter by word of mouth from the Apostle: "as I alsoappointed thee." This text therefore docs furnish good evidencethat the Pauline practice and manner of ordination was carriedoutthroughout the whole of the region that was evangelised by theApostle. In other words, the imposition of hands was the Apostolictradition.

The Council of Trent therefore teaches: "Since it is clearfromthe testimony of Scripture, from Apostolic tradition, and from theunammous consent of the Fathers, that grace is conferred by sacredordination, which is performed by words and external symbols,noone may doubt that Order is truly and really one of the seven Sacra.ments of Holy Church. For the Apostle saith : I admonish theethat thou sur up the grace of God which is in thee by the impositionof my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear: but ofpower and of love and of sobriety." 1

Hierarchyof juris-diction

B. The EcclesiasticalHierarchyHitherto we have treated of Ordination in general and as a whole;

but ~owwe must c?ns~deri~in its various grades or degrees, w~chCOnstItute the eccleSIastICal hIerarchy. The term Hierarchy meaningsacred rule Or government, may be used in several senses.' It maydenhote the whole body of those men in whom is vested the power,aut .onty, 3!1d control in sacred things' and as this power or au-thonty IS glV t· , .d en 0 vanous members of the ruling class in varIOUSegredesOrgrades, the Hierarchy is the whole class of those possessing

sacre power Or authority . d i hei . d drank Arid' ,organise In t IT SUccessive gra es anf Sd· smce the ecclesiastical power is of two kinds the powero or er and the power f· . eli . 'b

used of b th h 0 juns ctrona the term Hierarchy may eo t ese powers. Thus the hierarchy of jurisdiction IS

: Se~s.23, cap. 3.It IS true that the f'. . . .

two distinct powers Ig power 0 Jurisdiction and the teaching authonty areand so the COrrects~.~o~~der~~i.n their essential natures and in the abstract,powers of juriSdictiod ~ J ~.d.ivlsJOn of ecclesiastical power is into the threeconcrera and in their 'a e~c fig aU!hority, and Order; but when taken in theof jurisdiction are clos cI a! exerCIse, the teaching authority and the powerrc:sl?ect of the rnernberse ~ ::;Chted, and ~e former implies the Ia~ individe the ecclesiastical . urch, It IS usual therefore in pracnce tototo three kinds. POWer Into two, Order and jurisdiction, instead of


generallyunderstood to consist of the highest class of ecclesiasticalrulers, the diocesan bishops, who possess by virtue of their officeauthority to rule their dioceses as true princes of the Church. It isin this sense that we use the term when we speak of the restorationof the English Hierarchy.

There is also, however J the Hierarchy of Order, which is con- Hierarchystituted by the various degrees or ranks of those who have receivedof end"the power to effect or to minister those sacred things which are thevehiclesof grace to the members of the Church. We have seenearlier how the hierarchy of jurisdiction and the hierarchy of Orderlargelycoincide in the same body of men; i.e. the hierarchy of juris-dictionis practically identified with the highest rank in the hierarchyof Order; but the two hierarchies differ in their essential charactersand in their powers, as is evident. Of the hierarchy of Order, then,the Council of Trent teaches as follows: "Since the ministry of soholy a priesthood is something that is divine, it is fitting that, in orderthat it may be more worthily and more reverently exercised, thereshould be several different Orders of ministers, whose office it is toserve the priesthood." '-" The holy Council declares that besidesthe other ecclesiastical grades, the bishops, who have succeeded tothe place of the Apostles, constitute the chief rank in this hierarchicalOrder; that they have been placed, as tl,e Apostle says," by the HolyGhost to rule the Church of God; and that they are higher than thepriests or presbyters." Consequently," If anyone shall say thatthere is not in the Catholic Church a hierarchy instituted by divineordinance, and consisting of bishops, priests, and ministers, let himbe anathema": and" If anyone shall say that the bishops are nothigher than the priests; or that they have not the power to confirmandordain; or that they hold this power in common with the priests(presbyters) ... let him be anathema." <

The ecclesiastical hierarchy, then, consisting of bishops! priests,and deacons(at least), is an institution not merely of Apostolic,but ofdivineorigin; i.e. it was not established by the Apostles on thelr ownauthority and by their own initiative, in pursuan~e of their generalcommissionto found the Church; but it was received by them fromOur Lord himself. Nevertheless we must not expect to find thehierarchy fully constituted and everywhere functioning normally inthe Apostolic times. The first age of the Church was the age ofinfancy, of the first beginnings, of growth and development. TheChurch was in the making; and it would be unreasonable to lookfor the completed organisation, although that orgaDlsatIOnalreadyexistedin principle and in its original model. .

But, in order that we may understand how the hierarchy of Order, T'f"foldand especially the monarchical Episcopate, came to be firmly estab- Am"n""oI~f. .. I' ~Klishedthroughout the early Church, we must have a c ear conception Offill

I Acts xs ~8.• Bess. 23. cap. 6, 7·1 Sess. 23, cap. 2.

• Bess. 23, cap. 4.

I036 THE TEACHING OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

of the nature of the Apostolic office.-Mter Our divine Saviourhadbestowed the fulness of the priesthood on the Apostles at the LastSupper and on Easter Day (as regards the power of forgiving sins),and after he had conferred the Headship of the Apostolic Collegeandof the whole Church upon St Peter" he gave to them their finalcommission, saying: "All power is given to me i.n.heaven a.ndinearth. Going therefore, teach ye all nations: baptising them ill thename of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost: teachingthem to observe whatsoever I have commanded you. And beholdI am with vou all days, even to the consummation of the world" : Z

and, u You~shall be witnesses unto me in Jerusalem, and in all Judeaand Samaria, and even to the uttermost part of the earth. JJ 3 Herethen we see the teaching and ruling Church constituted in theApostolic College presided over by Christ's Vicar, St Peter. More-over, the Apostolate comprised a twofold mission, one to found theChurch, and the other to conserve, extend, and govern the Churchonce founded, and to minister to it unto the consummation of theworld. The first mission was extraordinary, temporary, given to theApostles personally and alone. It was not to be handed on tosuccessors, but was to cease with them. It consisted in two things.The Apostles were first of all constituted promulgators of the wholeChristian revelation. They had to form the deposit of the Christianfaith, so that the whole body of revealed truth was handed on fromthem, and no new public revelation was to be expected after they hadpassed away. Secondly, it was the work of the Apostles to build upthe Church according to the design which Christ had drawn for them,and to build it in such manner that it would remain to the end es-sentially or constitutionally the same as it was in its first foundation.-Now, as this mission was personal to the Apostles themselves andthey had no. successm-, in it, so also there was complete equalityamon~ t~em m Its po~session. I do not say that there was completeequahty in the execution of their mission· for St Paul as he himselftestifies, "laboured more a~undantly th~ all " the ;est.4 But allthe Apostles. possessed ~qually and without limitation or restrictionthe prerogatIve of mfalhbility in carrying out the divine plan of theChurch as Christ had designed it for them, and in contributing to thedeposit of the Chnstl~n revelation. What each Apostle did in ther~rmatl~n ofththe.deposa and the constitution of the Church possessedI enucai au otrty and identical stability. Consequently when an~ostle In~e c,?urse of his missionary labours founded a loc~l Church,th:tV~?sf' t I~f mf~lhbility which he possessed for this work requiredbeing bUil~~n ~~ ;o~ a p~rt of the one ecclesiastical fabric that wasChu ch . c ndatlon of Peter. In other words each localr I as It was .lounded by A I I '. dthe supreme gov f S an post e, was p aced by him un erernment 0 t Peter.

1 John xxi IS-I7.3 Acts i 8. 3 Matt. xxviii 18-20.

• I Cor. xv 10.

•XXIX: THE SACRAMENT OF ORDER 1037

This brings us to the second part of the Apostolic office, or the E,'abU,h-secondnuss~on contained In It, the Apostles' permanent and ordinary ment oj .mISSIOn,which was to conserve and rule the Church thus established MEo.narchu:a1d " " h d f ' S· ' pu,opat,an to munster .m It t~ teen 0 time. mce each Apostle in his

workof foundation built upon the Rock of Peter, since every part ofthe Church, as it came to be established, fell automatically under thesupreme dominion of the Prince of the Apostles, it follows immedi-atelythat in the second part of their mission, viz., in maintaining,ruling, and ministering to the Churches, the Apostles were not allequal, but were subject to their supreme Head. Their jurisdictionor governing authority as individual Apostles was not supreme andindependent, as was that of Peter, but subordinate and dependent;nor was it universal, but limited to the particular local Churcheswhich they themselves had founded. "Certainly," says St Gregorythe Great in his letter to John, Patriarch of Constantinople, who hadroused the indiguation of the Pontiff by claiming the title of " Uni-versalBishop," lC Peter, the first of the Apostles, is a member of theholy and universal Church. Paul, Andrew, John, what are they butthe heads of particular peoples? and yet they are all members underonehead." I The Apostles remained bishops of these local Churchesuntilthey appointed successors to themselves in those particular sees.Each was at liberty to follow his own methods and frame his ownpolicy in the organisation of the Churches he had established. OneApostlemight immediately constitute the monarchical bishop at thehead of each local Church, and leave him to govern his flock withfull jurisdiction, Another might regard it as necessary or opportuneto keep the supreme government of his Churches in his own h~nds,and rule either through episcopal delegates or through each r~Sldentbody of presbyters. But, as a matter of history, we know little ornothing of the missionary methods and policy of the Apostles exceptthoseof St Peter, St Paul, and St John. We gather from tradition. thatSt Peter ordained St Evodius as his successor in the bishopric ofAotioch; and that he sent St Mark to be Bishop of Alexandria, andSt Apollinaris Bishop of Ravenna; and it would appear natural thatSt Peter, since he was the supreme Head of the whole Church, shouldat once establish the monarchical episcopate, subJ~ct to hIS ownsupreme jurisdiction, in the Churches founded by himself, .

As regards St John, the writers of the second century unanimously S, Johnattribute to him the establishment of the resident epIscopate in AsiaMinor. The Churches of that country, after the death of St Pa~I,became subject to the Apostolic authority of St John; and he:, WIthhis headquarters at Ephesus, traversed the neighbouring dIstrictsboth to appoint bishops and to organise the Churches. We learnfrom the Apocalypse,' that there were resident bishops at seven atleast of the principal cities of Asia Minor; and there IS no reason tosuppose that the other local Churches had not each a bishop of Its

1 Ed. Maur., IJ 5. ep. 18.2 c. 2.


own. We know too that St John appointed St Polycarp Bishop ofSmyrna. . ..

We derive a certain amount of information about St Paul'smethods of organisation and government, at least in their chiefcharacteristics, if not in their details, from the Acts of the Apostlesand from his Epistles; though the indications leave us in someun-certainty on various points. It is clear, first of all, that he keptinhis own hands the government of the Churches which he had evan.gelised. In 2 Corinthians xi 28, he speaks of " my daily instance,the solicitude for all the Churches." As we have already seen,Pauland Barnabas appointed "priests (Presbyters) in every church"; I

just as they already existed in the Church of Jerusalem.' Butitseems certain that St Paul never, as long as he lived, appointedresident bishops for the local Churches. Timothy and Titus wereundoubtedly bishops, but they were itinerants, acting as St Paul'sdelegates and coadjutors wherever he might send them' It is truethat the term" episcopus," H bishop," is used by St Paul both in theActs and in the Epistles; but there can be no doubt that the term" episcopus 11 and the term U presbyter" are used synonymously inthe New Testament. Moreover, it is most probable that when theyare so used, they 3Te intended to signify not the bishop in our sense0.£ the term, but the second rank in the ecclesiastical hierarchy, thesimple priest. The fact was that in the first initiation of Chris-tia~ity, Greek and Latin Were the languages of pagan nations, andtheir words expressed ideas belonging to the ordinary natural humanIife, Or Ideas dlst10ctlvely pagan; so that their terminology had to beadapted to. the new and supern~tural conceptions which calledforexpressior, 10 the Chnstlan ReligIOn. The selection and adaptation

1Acts xiv 22. 2 A . J3 Sam thor! . ets, pasnm , as. v 14.

B' h f eEauhontles consider that St Paul definitely appointed St Timothyhis op ~ p esua, and St Titus Bishop of Crete If that is so thenwen:ve :vJ J encefSOfp

Rn earlier establishment of the ~onarchica1 epj~copateino a east 0 t aul'a Churche B h ·d· I· Onthe contra- th s. ut t e eVJ ence 15 not cone USIve.

were to th y, der; are good reasons for thinking that St Timothy and StTitusThe entir: ~n 0 S~PaUl's Apostolate his episcopal delegates and coadjutors.St Paul Was~~~ran tor;: of the Pastoral Epistles suggest very stronglythatpastor was wr/t'n as tmu~ the heed as he had ever been, and that the chiefsent by the Apo~t~ oOn~~s sUbordma~es: Besides, both had previously beenthat these latest ap . ~porary ffilSslonary delegations; and it seemsclearequally temporary ~olF ~nts of both bishops Were meant by St Paul to beAttem.as to replace 'the:._? MC~lled them both, and se~t Tychicus andLuke IS with me Tak Mae haste to come to me quickly .... Only~o me for the m'inistrye BarkTd bring him with thee, for he is profitableIV8-Iz).-And to Titus'. «% ychicus I have sent to Ephesus" (2 TlID.make haste to Come unr . en. I shall send to thee Artemas or Tychicus,winter" (Titus iii 12) 0T~to NblCOpolis. For there.F have determined toPaul to Rome' but' ltus 0 eyed the summons and accompanied StT· th ' was sent thence . t Dalm . .) Serrno Y also seems to h In 0 atra (2 Tim. IV 10.

but was himself impris~~e lone ~o Rome to be with St Paul in his last daysiappears to have returned Jet' an Eafterwards released (Reb. xiii 23). He

aerto phes . di .us as Its ocesan bIshop.

si Paul

XXIX: THE SACRAMENT OF ORDER I~9of the most appropriate terms for these Christian ideas naturally re-quired time. Hence during the Apostolic age the terminology wasin greatmeasure in a fluid state, and only gradually settled down andbecamecrystallised. What we therefore do find in St Paul's organisa-tion of the Churches, is that he constituted everywhere a body ofpresbytersto the charge of the local congregation, and also appointeddeaconsto serve the Church. His episcopal delegates Timothy andTitus were also instructed to ordain priests and deacons. But overthemall St Paul himself was the one bishop and pastor.

By the end of the first century, i.e. the end of the Apostolic age,Cl'm"" 0/both the hierarchical terminology and the offices themselves were nom,.om!everywheredefinitely determined and established. This very rapid1:;:~hofdevelopment throughout the Church shows that it took place byvirtue of Apostolic ordinances, the Apostles having made provision,accordingto the essential constitution of the Church delivered tothem by Christ himself, for the monarchical bishops to rule theChurches in succession to themselves. St Clement of Rome in hisfirstepistleto the Corinthians (about A.D.95) writes: "Our Apostlesknewthrough Our Lord Jesus Christ that strife would arise aboutthe name of the episcopate. Wherefore, endowed with perfectforeknowledge,they appointed the aforesaid, and then issued anordinance that when they had passed away, other well-tried menshould succeed to the sacerdotal office (AEtTOvpylav)." 1 Some years.later,the letters of St Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, who was martyredin A.D. 107, reveal the hierarchy of bishops, priests, and deacons infull working order. St Ignatius is so important and valuable awitness to Apostolic tradition in this matter that his testimony mustbe quoted here.-" That, perfect in one obedience, subject to thebishopand the presbyterate, you may be in all things sanctified." '-"Your commendable presbyterate, worthy of God, is united withthe bishop as the strings with the lyre." 3_

H Since then I have beendeemedworthy to see you through your bishop, Damas, worthy ofGod,and your worthy priests Bassus and Apollonius, and my fellow-servant]Zotion, in whom I would fain have joy, because he is subjectto the bishop as to the benignity of God, and to the presbyterate asto the law of Jesus Christ." 4_11 I exhort you to strive to perf?rm ~Ilthings, the bishop presiding in the place of God, and the priests mthe placeof the Apostolic College, and the deacons most dear to me,to whom is committed the ministry of Jesus Christ." 5_" It is neces-sary,as in fact you do, to do nothing without the bishop, and to besubject to the presbyterate as to the Apostles of ~esus Christ, Thedeaconsalso who are the mirtisters of the mysterres of Jesus Christ,should do all they can to please all. For they are not the ministersof food and drink but ministers of the Church of God. . . . Letall likewiserevere~ce the deacons as they would Jesus Christ; the

I Ibid. iv.(;Ibid. vi.1 n. xliv. I Ep, to the Ephesians ii.

'To the Magnesians ii.

-

Divine Con-stitution ofthe Church


bishop also, who is the figure of the Father, and the priests as thesenate of God and the council of the Apostles. Without thesethereis no Church. I am convinced that these are your sentiments inthese matters." '-" I salute the Church of Philadelphia. , , es-pecially if they are united with the bishop and his priests and deaconswho have been appointed according to the will of Christ." '-" Striveto use one Eucharist: for there is one flesh of our Lord Jesus Chris,and one chalice in the unity of his blood, one altar, as there is onebishop with the presbyterate and deacons." '-" I cried with a loudvoice, the voice of God: Obey the bishop, the presbyterate, and thedeacons." '-" Obey the bishop as Jesus Christ did the Father, andthe presbyterate as the Apostles, reverence the deacons as the com-mand of God." '-" I salute the bishop, the presbyterate, and thedeacons." 6_" I am ready to lay down my life for those who areobedient to the bishop, presbyterate, the deacons," ,

The bishops are the successors of the Apostles, as we are taughtby the Fathers of the Church and by the Council of Trent' Theydo not, however, succeed the Apostles in their mission of foundil'Cthe Church, but in their office of ruling and governing the ChurchasIts o.rdmary pastors. Our divine Lord did not give two constitutionsto his Church, one for the Apostolic age only, and the other to comemto ~orce only when the Apostles had passed away. He gave it oneconstitutIOn, which was embodied first in his Apostles, and afterthe~ In their success~rs. This was certainly the view of St ThomasAquinas, who Wrote In the Summa Contra Gentiles: 9 "To Peteralone he made the promise: '0 To thee will I give the keys of thekmgdom of heaven, in order to show that the power of the keyswasto be received by others from him, so as to safeguard the unity of theCh,:ch, ,It Cannot be said that, although he conferred this dignityCh .eter, l.t d<:>esnot pass from him to others. For it is evident thatthe r~~:Z~,mstltuted his Church, that it would endure to the end of

" . . . . Hence It IS evident that those who were then m them1lllS/ry s: the Apostles), he appointed in such wise that their power::ii tOhreeedgoofdof tfI,e Church, to be transmitted to their successorsn 0 trme,'

When, therefore Ou Lc d· dinstituted his Ch 'h r r ascended mto heaven, he had alrca yportant element u;c h~~given to it its constitution, the most im-its Head. Thi o. wh IC wa? the Apostolic College with Peter at

s, WlI the divme din ., ddeacons as the low d Or . ance to constitute pnests anof the Hierarchy o;~hr ers of the hierarchy, was the divine modelwhether of Order 0 _ e Church for all time. The supreme power,

1 government or teaching resided in the Head,'T 'o the Trallians ji jii' Ibid. iv. • . :I To the Philadelphians i.6 To the Smyrn'ans '" 4 Ibid. vii.'T P 1 ~.... VIU. fbia ~ 0 ycarp vi. e "d. xii.

I, IV, c. 76. 8 Sees. 23 c. 4' see above, p. 1035."M ' ,arr. xvi 19_

Bishops suc-ceed Apostlesin ordinarymission

1The difference of St Paul's tone in his Epistle to the Romans from thatof the Epistles to the Corinthians and Galatians, for example, is remarkable.In the latter he speaks as a true episcopal ruler and superior, teaching, legis-lating, commanding, rebuking, threatening, punishing. But he makes noclaimof jurisdiction over the Romans. He rather II takes good care, through-out the whole Letter, to treat with respectful reserve this Christian body,upon which he had no claims either as their Founder or their Evangelist,excusing himself for his boldness in writing to them, limiting his projectedministryin their city to ' visiting them on the way' when he shall start outon his journey Spainward, in order to enjoy the consolations of their society.One humble wish sums up all his ambition so far as they are concerned:, God is my witness how unceasingly I remember you, evermore beseechinghim in my prayers that, if it be his will, he would now at length afford mesome favourable opportunity to come unto you, for I feel a great need ofseeingyou, to make you partakers of some spiritual gift' (i 9-1 I).': {Fouard,St Paul and His Missions, pp. 329-30). He informs them that his Apostolicl~bourshave been devoted only to those regions wh!ch ~ad not b~en cvange-lised and where Christ was unknown : and he disclaims any mtennon oftrespassing on the mission-field of another Apostle, « lest I should buildupon another man's foundation" (xv 20).

2 It is true that the Apostles exercised, even in Churches already well es-tablished,certain powers of jurisdiction which far surpassed the powers of anordinarydiocesan bishop. For instance, they appointed bishops to dlOce~es,or laiddown the method of choosing future bishops; and they. also exerciseda pastoral superintendence over whole provinces and countries. Thus StJeromerelates that St John when residing at Ephesus, ruled all the Churchesof Asia. These, howeve;, were extraordinary powers possess~d ?y theApostles in their capacity asfoUllders of the Church, and as A;postoltc vlca~sofSt Peter. A similar power was exercised later by the Patriarchs of Antiochand Alexandria (both Patriarchates having ongmated from St Peter), who~o appointed the bishops of their pro~inc.es, and possessed super-episcopalrights of jurisdiction over them and their dioceses. ~hese powers the Patri-archscertainly held as delegates of the Supreme Pontiff.

XXIX: THE SACRAMENT OF ORDER 1°41

St Peter, and in the Apostolic College as such with their Head :and to this succeeded and succeeds the Pope, and the Pope with thewhole bodJ: of the bishops, the successors of the Apostles, whetherassembled in General Council, or dispersed throughout the world.On the other hand, the individual Apostles.(other than Peter) governedthose local sees which they founded, WIth a limited jurisdiction 1

which ,they handed on to the local resident bishops who succeededthem m those sees. They also ordained priests and deacons toservethe Churches; and thus was established the hierarchy of bishops,priests, and deacons, which the Council of Trent has defined to belongto the essential constitution of the Church as instituted by JesusChrist. Thus also was preserved in the Church for all time the officeof theApostolate, viz., in the Apostolic See of Peter and in the wholebody of the Catholic bishops subject to that See. Hence CardinalBaronius in his Annales Ecclesiastici (for the year 58) thus commentson the assertion of St Jerome and the other Fathers that the bishopsate the successors of the Apostles: 2 "If the bishops have succeededto the place of the Apostles (as all Catholics are agreed), the originand dignity of the Episcopate are the same as of the Apostolate."


§ IV: THE ONE PRIESTHOOD

THE EPISCOPATE AND THE(SACERDOTIUM):

PRESBYTERATE

A. The One PriesthoodTHE Hierarchy of Order, then, is constituted of U bishops, pri~ts,and ministers." Now we must take a step farther. The Council ofTrent also teaches as follows: "Since the ministry of so holy a priest-hood is something divine, it was fitting, in order that it might beexercised more worthily and with greater reverence, that in themostorderly organisation of the Church there should be several orders ofministers, whose office it is to serve the priesthood; these ordersbeing so distributed that those who had received the clerical tonsure,should pass through the minor orders to the major orders. For thesacred Scriptures mention expressly not only priests, but deacons also;and teach in most grave terms those things which have to be especiallyobserved in their ordination. And from the very beginning of theChurch the names of the following Orders, with the ministerialfunctions proper to each, are known to have been in use, viz., of theSubdeacon, Acolyte, Exorcist, Lector, and Porter. But these arenot equal in degree, for the Subdeacon is classed by the Fathers andCouncils among the major Orders." 1

. Here then we have on the one hand the Hierarchy of " bishops,priests, and ministers," and on the other hand the Priesthood with. , , ,SIX attendant Orders of ministers from the Diaconate downwards,We shall treat directly of the six Orders of the Ministry in the nexts~ctlOn. The pOInt now is that while there are the two degrees ofbishops and priests Or presbyters in the Hierarchy of Order, yet theCouncil mentmne only ?n~ Order of Priesthood. In this, as we shallsee, there IS ':0 c<.>ntradlctIOnOr inconsistency. What concerns us atthe moment IS thiS,. that the Christian Priesthood, like the Priesthoodof Christ himself, IS one and only one. For" Sacrifice and Priest-hood ar~so mt1mately related to each other by divine ordinance, thatboth exist .under every law. Since therefore in the New TestamentthebCIathS°lrcfiChurch received from the institution of Christ the holyV1SI e acrr ce of the E h·. .

. _ uc arrst, It necessanly follows that she~~i~s~~~~dal~~ :hne;J~ls~,ble and external Priesthood, into which theA· J d e aw Was translated" 2 Hence St Thomasqumas ays own the . . I· .for the Sacrament d Spnnclp e that the Sacrament of Order exists

an acnfice of the HIE hari d th thprimary and essential act of . . 0 Y uc anst, an at etion and oblation of the Bo~he ~~nstIan Priesthood is the consecra-consecrating the Holy E hY. Blood of Chnst. The power of

UC anst a d f Lr . . .Sacrifice therefore is th . n ° ouenng the Eucharistic. .' ,e essentIal pow f h Pri th d : dSince this power is one ad' di . . er 0 t e rres 00 , an

n m IVlslble, the Christian Priesthood also1 Sess. 23, cap. 2.

2 Council of Trent, sess. 23, cap. I.


is one and indivisible, so that all who have received sacerdotal ordi-nation equally possess the order and power of the Priesthood in itssubstantial essence. . Consequently the Council of Trent presents thePnesthood (sacerdotium) to us as the supreme Order, to which all theoth.ers,major an~minor Orders, lead up as so many steps, and forwhich they all exist." St Thomas therefore draws from his principlethe conclusion that the Episcopate is not, strictly speaking, an Orderdistinct from the Presbyterate, because the bishop has not a higherpower than the simple priest to consecrate and to offer the HolyEucharist. In other words, there is one Order of the ChristianPriesthood, the Sacerdotium.

B. The Episcopate and the PresbyterateIt is nevertheless equally true that there are two divinely instituted p,~-

degrees in the Sacerdotiurn, the Episcopate and the Presbyterate, ~/m"El!n~tojth bi h d th . I' d i f f . h h h b' h'" p"co-e IS ops an e SImp e pnests; an It 150 all t at t e IS ops patt in /X1frm'hold in the ecclesiastical hierarchy a superior rank to that of the oj Q,d.,simple priests.' This has been made sufficiently clear already in theprevioussection, when treating of the ecclesiastical hierarchy, at anyrate as regards the power of jurisdiction. But the Episcopate holdsa pre-eminence above the simple priesthood in the power of Orderalso. It is true that the essential act of the Priesthood is to conse-crate and to offer the Eucharistic Sacrifice, and that in this the Epis-copatepossesses no superiority. But the continuance and perman-ence of this essential priestly power is exceedingly important, andeven vital, for the Church, and this permanence is secured accordingto Christ's institution in the Episcopate alone. Only the bishop cantransmit to others the power to consecrate the Holy Eucharist. Thebishop, as the successor of the Apostles, has the power to generatesons like unto himself in the priesthood, so that he holds to thesimple priest the relation of Father in God, and, in the words of StJerome, "What Aaron and his sons were in the temple, that are thebishops and the priests in the Church." The bishop, too, as theprince of the Church, has the power to enrol soldiers in the army ofChristas the ordinary minister of the Sacrament of Confirmation, andbe alone can consecrate churches and other sacred things. Thebishop, therefore, for all these reasons, but chiefly of course becausehe possesses the power of handing on the priesthood, is superior tothe SImple priest in the sacramental power of Order. . ...

His distinctive power though of the greatest Importance, IS not DutmcttVtthe essenti ' E hari b . b powerof. e. essential power to consecrate the Holy uc arrst, ut 15 su - Episcopatesidiary to it. It is an extension and complement of the. Presbyterate,and so it does not constitute a distinct Order. But It IS a power es-sentially connected with the Sacrament of the "Holy Eucharist, for it

1Sess. 23. can. 2.

t Council of Trent, sess. 23, can. 7· 3 Ep. 146 to Evangelus.

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