The Significance of a Sacrament: Holy Orders

Now we come to the one sacrament that not everyone can participate in, and I'm not referring to just women. The next sacrament that we are going to discuss is the sacrament of Holy Orders, or Ordination.

In the Orthodox Church, there are Major Order and Minor Orders when it comes to the clergy.

The Minor Orders consist of Subdeacons, Readers, and Cantor. Some may or may not include Alcolytes in the Minor Orders as well. The role of the Subdeacon includes serving in the altar, and assisting the bishop when he visits. The Reader is ordained to read during services, and it came about due to low literacy rates; technically, anyone can read during the services, but Readers know a bit more about how to conduct what are called "Reader's Services" when no other clergy are present. Cantors are usually trained and know how to chant the services and the hymns used in the services, they may be in the choir now or even act as choir directors.

The Major Orders consist of Deacons, Priests, and Bishops. Deacons are to help the priests and the bishops during services as well as some other duties. Priests basically run the liturgical cycle or the parish and administer the sacraments to the laity in the Bishop's stead - they do a lot more than just that, but I don't want this post to be very long. Bishops are the overseers of the parishes and the guardians of Orthodox doctrine- where the Bishop is, there is the Church.

The authority for the rest of the clergy comes from the Bishops, just as the Bishops derived their authority from the Apostles, as I mentioned in my previous post. That being said, a Bishop must keep to the Orthodox faith to still have their authority and apostolic succession.

There are a few different schismatic groups that exist due to the issue of the Calendars (I really should write a post about that one of these days) and perceived ecumenism. Some were started by bishops, others by priests who have now conveniently given themselves the title of Bishop. While these groups may claim that they are "Genuine" or "True" Orthodoxy they are not, because they went into schism and are not in communion with any of the other Orthodox jurisdictions - and oddly many of these different groups aren't in communion with each other despite going into schism for the same reasons. While these bishops and priests can claim apostolic succession in literal terms - meaning that they were ordained by someone who was ordained by someone, so on an so forth, who was ordained by an Apostle - it is in the spiritual term that they no longer are. They no longer adhere to the same Faith as the Apostles (as seen by the Orthodox Church), and so can no longer claim apostolic succession. Roman Catholics, Uniates, Lutherans, and Anglicans (I begrudgingly suppose this includes Episcopalians) also technically have apostolic succession - but they are not in communion with each other (aside from those who have open communion) let alone the Church founded by Christ and His Apostles (bold claim, I know, but I will die on this hill).

 

For another example, hearkening back to my early days of Orthodox discovery, when I was in communication (via email) with the Bishop of the Celtic Orthodox Church in Ohio I learned that he was a Reader at, IIRC, a Western Rite Antiochian parish. He saw some things he didn't agree with and decided to leave the Church which he thought was soon to fall into heresy and started the Celtic Orthodox Christian Church. And naturally, since he was the founder he became a Bishop. Again, technically, he had apostolic succession, since he was ordained by someone who was ordained... by an Apostle. But he cut himself off from the True Faith, and therefore he cut himself off from the Apostles. Also, as a Reader he could not serve the Eucharist... But I digress.

So not only is having a Bishop an important part of the Church, but also having the correct Faith. It is the duty of the Bishops to ensure that the correct faith is kept.

Now, all of that being said, this sacrament is not one which all people can partake. I had toyed with the idea of wanting to become a priest (and even a chaplain in the Army), because I had been ordained before becoming Orthodox. I still would like to serve behind the altar and assist in anyway that I can, but I am afraid that my growing back problems would prevent that, as I need a cane (I prefer a walking stick) for getting around some days and I would definitely need a seat. This does not mean that I cannot serve my parish and the Church in some other fashion, however. I am an Oblate (there I go tooting my own horn again), so I regularly give to my own parish and monastery. I am a Knight of Saint George (TOOT), meaning that I give in support of Orthodox Christians throughout the world. And I mention these things, because not everyone is called to be a priest, but there are other ways to serve your parish and the Church than being ordained.

 

Think of it like this, if the Church is a hospital, then the Bishops are the doctors, and the priests are the nurses who administer the medicine (the sacraments) and the other clergy are the assistants and other hospital personnel. They are all there to help heal us, and make us whole.

And honestly, being a priest is hard. Just imagine, you're the head of a parish. Every single person is looking up to you as their spiritual father and confessor. Every move you make, and every word you say is being scrutinized. If you stub your toe and let out a curse word, you can pretty much expect someone will write a letter to your Bishop. Do those people need to get a life? Absolutely! But, you have to be aware that everything you do is being watched. It's stressful, and honestly, I can do without that stress in my life.

There are those who wish to be ordained, but they are not called to be so. To anyone who thinks they are called to be ordained, I highly suggest you examine that voice inside of you and talk with your priest about it. Why do you think you want to be ordained? 

And then there are women. Women can not be ordained. "But, Deaconesses!" you cry. And I give you a look and roll my eyes. Then I turn, walk away, and add you to my prayer list. I wish I could write this post without getting into this debate, but I really don't think that it is possible - not in this day and age where women are seeking to be included in everything except the military draft.

I will be the first to say that women are amazing. There are many things that women can do that men can not. And yes, giving birth is one of those things. I watched my ex-wife push out two babies (one in a bathtub and no pain meds) - unfortunately, Uncle Sam couldn't get his stuff together to let me see all three being born - and I will tell you right now if that had been me, I would have opted to be put in a coma and have a c-section. Women are amazing and they accomplish many amazing things every single day. The Church is full of women saints who accomplished much and grew the Church in different ways.

Obviously, the Theotokos is right up there at the top. She listened and obeyed God. She literally gave birth to God! I'd like to see a man try to do that! And on her deathbed, the Apostles were called by the Holy Spirit from all over the known world and brought before her.

Saint Helen, mother of Saint Constantine, found the True Cross and founded many churches - including the ones on the site of Jesus' Nativity and Ascension.

Saint Mary Magdalene was the first person that Jesus appeared to after His resurrection! She is known as the Apostle to the Apostles. There is also a story attributed to her that when she went to go visit the Emperor of Rome that she held out an egg and proclaimed that Christ is Risen, to which the Emperor stated that Christ was no more risen than the egg she held was red; the egg then turned red!

I could go on with a lot more examples of women saints and the great works that they did for the Church. But I'll leave it here and say again that women are amazing.

Women can, and do, serve the Church in different ways. They serve different from how the men priests serve. Why? Because women are different! I will die on this hill, too. This isn't to say that women can not do many of the things that men can do, and vice versa. But that we are different sexes, different genders, and we are called to do different things. There is no shame in that - the sexes just have different ministries. And it certainly isn't sexist. Women are different from men, and they should not shy away from those differences, but delight in them. They are different, not lesser.

 

We Orthodox Christians are all a part of the royal priesthood once we are Chrismated. Every single one of us, priests. Much in the same way that the Jews were a priestly race, so are we Orthodox Christians called to be the same. And in the same way that the Jews had a higher priestly caste that were to offer sacrifices, so do we Orthodox Christians have a higher priestly caste that offers sacrifices - namely, the Sacrifice of Praise, or the Eucharist as it is also known. 

And just like not every Jew could be a Levitical priest, neither can every Orthodox Christian be an ordained priest.

As a part of the royal priesthood we are called to minister to those around us. We are called to pray for those around us and to try to lead them to Christ. An ordained priest is essentially "a priest for priests", they minister to us, the royal priesthood. They offer the sacraments to us and on behalf of us. 

In the days of the early Church the Apostles ordained certain people to oversee the Church in their stead. The Apostles were ordained by Christ, and they would go and start a church somewhere, ordain those to oversee the church, and then go on to start another community elsewhere. St. Peter started the churches in Antioch, Alexandria, and Rome, and when he left those places he left bishops in his stead. Not every single person in that community were bishops and priests. There was a clear hierarchical structure, just as there was with Jesus and His disciples; not every disciple was an Apostle, and not every Orthodox Christian is an ordained priest. 

 

Jesus literally called His Apostles to come follow Him. And in the same way God calls the priests to be priests. He calls us to do other things, to serve Him in different ways, to serve the Church in a different way. Different, not lesser. The sacraments are designed to help bring us closer to God, and those men who are ordained help us in this as well.