Master of all things, be well pleased
for this man…to receive this great
grace of the Holy Spirit.…
For this reason, I am reminding you to rekindle the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
—2 timothy (1:6)
What is holy Ordination?
What is holy Ordination?
WHAT IS HOLY ORDINATION?
The Sacrament or Mystery of the Priesthood was divinely instituted by the Lord Himself. He established it when He set apart His twelve Apostles during His earthly ministry, and preparing them, following His death and Resurrection, to become His successors and continuators of His work. Chiefly, however, He established it when, after His Resurrection, on the day of Holy Pentecost He gave them his Holy Spirit and transmitted to them the authority to forgive sins (see FAQ on Holy Confession), which was this very authority of the Priesthood.
How is the priesthood transmitted to later generations?
HOW IS PRIESTHOOD TRANSMITTED?
After the Ascension of Christ, the Apostles continued the work of Christ by ordaining their own successors: And when they had ordained them presbyters in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord on whom they believed (Acts 14:23). This is what the Apostle Paul and Barnabas did to the Christians of Derbe, Iconium and Antioch. It is done through the laying on of hands (xeirotonia in Greek) of the Apostles or Bishops upon the head of him who is about to be ordained.
Where and when does holy Ordination take place?
WHERE AND WHEN DOES HOLY ORDINATION TAKE PLACE?
The Mystery of the Priesthood is administered in the Church during the Divine Liturgy, at varying points depending upon the degree of the Priesthood to which the candidate is to be ordained. At that moment, through the laying on of hands by the Bishop and through the invocation of Divine Grace the individual is elevated to one of the three ranks of the Priesthood: Deacon, Priest or Bishop. The source of this Divine Grace is the God-man, our Redeemer and Savior Himself, who alone in reality is the eternal High Priest of the Church.
If Christ is the high-Priest, what 'priesthood' do the ordained possess?
WHY IS IT CALLED 'CONFESSION'?
Christ as High Priest first offered the one and eternal sacrifice on the Cross for our sins, and in continuation, the successors of the Great High Priest, our Savior Jesus Christ, the Bishops and the Priests. These successors do not have a Priesthood of their own, but receive the one and only eternal priesthood of Christ, when they are ordained. They bear this Priesthood of Christ throughout their entire life.