The Church In Wales’ View of Ordination (sort of)

I needed to do this as a quick presentation for a Class, so I thought I’d post it here for people who may be looking for a quick over-view.

Church In Wales’ View of Ordination
Anglican View of Ordination

There are three main orders in the Anglican Church, two of which a person is traditionally ordained into, and a third to which one is consecrated, though the wording has changed a few times over the history of the Anglican Church.

The first order to which a person is ordained is the Diaconate. This role is primarily one of service, and to some ways of thinking, they Mediate the Word of God. The second order is that of Presbyter, more commonly known as Priest. They are seen to mediate at the Eucharist. Traditionally the role was seen as representing God to man, and Man to God, though a lot of people feel uncomfortable with this description today. The third order is that of Bishop, to which one is Consecrated. Each of the higher orders “contain” the lower orders. That is, a Bishop is still a Deacon, but is also a Priest and Bishop. They are not replacement orders, but a growing sphere of responsibility. If the Deacon is seen as Mediating the word, then the Priest can be seen as Mediating the Eucharist, and the Word and the Bishop can be seen as Mediating the Church, the Eucharist, and the Word.

Ordination, then, is the passing on of this Authority to Mediate from the Bishop downwards. Some still believe in Apostolic succession, which is an unbroken line of Authority being passed on, traceable all the way back to Christ. An Ordination is a Sacramental Rite, (that is, not everyone holds it has a sacrament in and of itself), and is therefore the outward sign of the work of the Holy Spirit, in this case, it is an outward sign of the Calling of God upon a person. This calling has been tested, and has been formed through training. During the Rite the Bishop lays his hands upon the person to be ordained, and confers upon them the Order of Deacon or Priest, and all the Authority that comes with that office.

So where does this idea come from? The roots can be seen in the Bible. The idea of the laying on of hands, for example, can be seen in Numbers, Chapter 27:18-19, where God tells Moses to take his Son Joshua, and lay his hands on him :

“So The LORD said to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay your hand upon him; have him stand before Eleazar the priest and all the congregation, and commission him in their sight”

There are also examples in the New Testament, Acts 6:6, in the story of the calling of the seven to wait the tables, “They had these men stand before the apostles , who prayed and laid their hands on them.” There are also many examples of laying on of hands, with a consecratory prayer in the writings of St. Augustine, as well as in the Apostolic Tradition of Hppolytus. It is in this laying-on of hands that some divine effect comes into affect1.

When it comes to the office of the Deacon, to which people are first ordained, their office as one of a servant is typified in the Gospel that is read during their Ordination. For example, in the Alternative Service Book of 19802, The Gospel is Mark 10:35-45. The bit that summarises the role of the Deacon can be found towards the end, at verse 43 “But this is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant”. What is interesting, is that the ASB lists the reading for those being Ordained as Priests as being John 20:19-23, which reads (from verse 21) “Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you”. When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”3

As you can see in this last reading there is the idea of some form of Authority being convayed to the Apostles, the idea of being able to loose sins. This is something that, in the Catholic Tradition became the Sacrament of Confession, and in the Anglican Tradition can be seen as being worked out in the General Confession, where the Priest pronounces Absolution at the beginning of the
Eucharist Service.

That said, the Ordination service is by necessity a public service, to which anyone is welcome to attend. There is a part of the service where the Bishop asks the congregation if they consent to the Ordination of the person. Though it is the Bishop who has the Authority to Ordain, it is only with the permission of the people do they do so. Those to be ordained are presented to the Bishop, and their names read out. The Bishop then says: Those whose duty it is to inquire about these persons and examine them have them to be of godly life and sound learning, and believe them to be duly called to serve God in this ministry. Is it therefore your will that they should be ordained. To which the people, hopefully, answer “It is”.

Of course, like most Faith Groups, Anglicans, by and large can’t completely agree to what extent, and how much of the above holds true for them all, however, in general (as much as you can for Anglicans):

Ordination happens to a person who’s calling has been tested and proofed through training, or other suitable method. During the Ordination, a Bishop lays their hands on the head of the person to be ordained, and it is this element that makes the ordination valid. All of this must take place in the presence of the People who give their verbal consent to the ordination.

Notes:
Mostly taken from Haffner, Paul: The Scaramental Mystery, 1999,Gracewing, Herefordshire.
Alternative Service Book, 1984, SPCK. Cambridge University Press
All Bible Readings Taken from the NRSV