Sacred Calling

✨ Consecration to Clergy

Ordination represents a pivotal process through which individuals are formally consecrated, or "set apart," from the general body of adherents (the laity) and elevated to the status of clergy. This consecration typically bestows upon them the authority to perform various religious rites and ceremonies within their respective denominations. This authorization is usually granted by the existing denominational hierarchy, which itself is composed of other ordained clergy.^[1]

🎓 The Ordinand's Journey

An individual who is undergoing or preparing for the process of ordination is often referred to as an ordinand. This journey typically involves a period of rigorous discernment, theological education, and spiritual formation, ensuring the candidate is adequately prepared for the responsibilities of sacred ministry. The specific rituals and ceremonies involved in ordination can vary significantly across different religions and their respective denominations, reflecting diverse theological understandings and historical developments.

📖 The Ordinal: A Liturgical Guide

The precise liturgy and rubrics (ceremonial instructions) used during an ordination service are commonly documented in a specialized book known as an Ordinal. This text serves as a comprehensive guide, detailing the specific prayers, blessings, and actions required to properly confer the sacred office. The Ordinal ensures consistency and adherence to established tradition within a given faith community, preserving the integrity of the ordination process.

💍 Catholic Church Practices

The Catholic Church teaches that a single bishop can validly consecrate a new bishop. However, Canon Law mandates that such consecrations always require the approval (mandate) of the Pope, to ensure the unity of the Church.^[8][9] Furthermore, it is generally required that at least three bishops perform the consecration, though the Apostolic See may grant dispensations in extraordinary circumstances, such as in missionary territories or during periods of persecution.^[10]

Within the diaconate, the Catholic Church distinguishes between transitional deacons, who are preparing for priestly ordination, and permanent deacons, who may be married before ordination or choose not to pursue priesthood. In exceptional cases, widowed permanent deacons may seek ordination to the priesthood.^[11]

🛡️ Anglican Ordinations

Historically, some Eastern churches recognized Anglican ordinations as valid.^[12] However, the contemporary practice in many Anglican provinces of ordaining women to the priesthood and, in some cases, to the episcopate, has led the Orthodox churches to generally question these earlier declarations and hopes for full union.^[13] Conversely, Anglicanism recognizes Catholic and Orthodox ordinations, meaning clergy converting to Anglicanism are not "re-ordained."

In 1896, Pope Leo XIII issued the papal bull Apostolicae Curae, declaring Anglican orders "absolutely null and utterly void."^[14] While this statement has not been officially retracted, recent actions by the Roman Catholic Church suggest a nuanced or softening stance. For instance, Pope Francis has gifted signs of ecclesiastical office to the Archbishop of Canterbury, including a crozier,^[15] an episcopal ring,^[16] and a Eucharistic chalice.^[17] Furthermore, an Anglican bishop was permitted to celebrate mass on the altar of the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran, the Pope's own bishopric, during Pope Francis' tenure.^[18]

🇸🇪 Lutheran Perspectives

Regarding Lutheranism, the Catholic Church has not officially pronounced judgment on the validity of orders maintained through episcopal succession in the Evangelical Lutheran Churches of Sweden and Finland. However, it does raise questions about how the ecclesiastical break in the 16th century impacted the apostolicity of the Reformation churches and their ministry.^[19][20] Some Lutheran churches, particularly those with historical episcopal structures, assert their claim to valid apostolic succession.

🕰️ Ordination Timing & Numbers

In the Catholic and Anglican churches, ordinations have traditionally been held on Ember Days, with no specified limit to the number of clergy who may be ordained in a single service. In contrast, the Eastern Orthodox Church permits ordinations on any day the Divine Liturgy can be celebrated (with deacons also ordained at the Presanctified Liturgy), but strictly limits it to one person per order (e.g., one bishop, one presbyter, one deacon) per liturgy.^[21]

🚫 No Formal Ordination

Islam fundamentally differs from many other religions in that it does not possess a formal clergy or a system of ordained religious leaders. The concept of ordination, as understood in other faiths, is generally rejected within Islamic theology and practice.^{[citation needed]}

🗣️ Roles of Religious Leaders

Instead of ordained clergy, Islamic religious leaders hold titles that reflect their roles and knowledge, but do not imply a sacramental ordination:

• Imam: Primarily an individual who leads Muslims in salah (congregational prayers). The term can also broadly refer to anyone who leads other Muslims in prayer.
• Sheikh: An Arabic honorific title meaning 'elder' or 'noble,' typically bestowed upon a male Islamic scholar or tribal chieftain. A female scholar is referred to as a shaikhah. This title is more common in Arabic-speaking countries.
• Mawlana: A title given to students who have graduated from a madrasa (Islamic theological academy) in the Indian subcontinent.

While Muslim educational institutions may have graduation ceremonies for students completing programs in Islamic studies, these ceremonies do not symbolize or confer ordination in the religious sense.

🧘 The Sangha Tradition

The tradition of an ordained monastic community, known as the sangha, originated with the Buddha himself, who established orders for both monks and later for nuns. The procedures for ordination in Buddhism are meticulously detailed in the Vinaya and Patimokkha or Pratimoksha scriptures, which outline the rules and disciplinary codes for monastics. Today, three intact ordination lineages exist through which one can receive ordination according to the Buddha's teachings:^{[citation needed]}

• Dharmaguptaka Lineage
• Mulasarvastivadin Lineage
• Theravada Lineage

🌸 Mahayana Ordination

In Japan, the monk Saicho advocated for the establishment of a Mahayana ordination platform. Permission for its construction was granted in 822 CE, shortly after his death, and it was completed in 827 CE at Enryaku-ji on Mount Hiei. This marked the first Mahayana ordination platform in Japan. Previously, monks and nuns were ordained using Hinayana precepts; however, with the new platform, individuals began to be ordained with the Bodhisattva precepts, as outlined in the Brahma Net Sutra.^[38]

🌿 Theravada & Novitiate

Within the Theravada tradition, Pabbajja refers to the ordination procedure specifically for novice Buddhist monks. This initial ordination marks a significant step in an individual's spiritual journey, committing them to a monastic life under a set of foundational precepts.

👻 Posthumous Ordination

During Medieval Sōtō Zen, a unique tradition of posthumous ordination emerged. This practice allowed laypeople to access Zen funeral rites, which were originally designed exclusively for monastics. Chinese Ch'an monastic codes, the basis for Japanese Sōtō practices, lacked provisions for lay funerals. By ordaining individuals after their death, the Sōtō school enabled the application of monastic funeral rites to lay believers, bridging a significant gap in their spiritual services.^[41]

🚫 New Kadampa Tradition (NKT)

The New Kadampa Tradition-International Kadampa Buddhist Union (NKT-IKBU) practices an ordination tradition distinct from traditional Buddhist ordinations, having been newly created by Kelsang Gyatso. Although those ordained within the NKT are referred to as 'monks' and 'nuns' and wear traditional Tibetan monastic robes, they are not considered fully ordained monks/nuns (Bhikshu/Bhikshuni) or novice monks/nuns (Sramanera/Srameneri) in terms of traditional Buddhism.^[42][43][44]

The NKT-IKBU ordination comprises the Five Precepts of a lay person, supplemented by five additional precepts formulated by Kelsang Gyatso, which he considers a "practical condensation" of the 253 Vinaya vows for fully ordained monks.^[42] Notably, there are no formal instructions or guidelines for the behavior of NKT monastics, leading individual Resident Teachers to develop their own disciplinary approaches at their centers.^[45] This ordination has faced public criticism from figures like Geshe Tashi Tsering, who argues it deviates from core Buddhist teachings and those of Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelugpa school from which Kelsang Gyatso was expelled.^[46][47][48]

❓ A Controversial Issue

The ordination of women remains a significant and often controversial topic in many religions, particularly where the office of ordination or the role of an ordained person has been traditionally restricted to men. These restrictions are typically rooted in various theological interpretations and historical precedents.

⛪ In Christianity

Historically, the Christian priesthood has largely been reserved for men. However, some historians, such as Peter Brown and Gary Macy, note that women were ordained as deacons in the first millennium of Christianity. Following the Protestant Reformation, many Protestant groups re-evaluated the role of the ordained priesthood, with some abandoning it entirely and others fundamentally altering it, often favoring a rabbinical-type married minister focused on teaching rather than a sacrificial priesthood. Anti-Catholic sentiment during this period often included hostility towards priests.^{[citation needed]}

Beginning in the 20th century, many Protestant denominations began to re-evaluate and subsequently ordain women.^{[citation needed]} Some proponents cite biblical figures like Deborah, the fourth judge of the ancient Israelites, as a precedent for female leadership. However, others refute this, arguing that Deborah's role involved private judgments rather than public teaching or military leadership, and that her message affirmed male leadership.^[49][50]

The Catholic Church and the Orthodox churches, which together represent approximately 65% of all Christians worldwide, have maintained their traditional stance against the ordination of women. Pope John Paul II's 1995 statement, Ordinatio sacerdotalis, articulated the reasons why women cannot be ordained, defining that the Holy Spirit had not conferred upon the Church the power to ordain women. While this statement was considered definitive by many theologians, some continue to advocate for women's ordination within the Catholic Church, with some even forming protest churches.^{[citation needed]}

✡️ In Judaism

Policies regarding the ordination of women in Judaism vary significantly among its different denominations. While most Orthodox congregations do not permit female rabbis, more liberal congregations began allowing women to be ordained as rabbis by the mid-20th century, reflecting evolving interpretations of Jewish law and tradition.

🌿 Fully Ordained Nuns (Buddhism)

The legitimacy of fully ordained nuns (bhikkhuni/bhiksuni) has become a significant contemporary discussion in Buddhism. Although texts across all Buddhist traditions record that Gautama Buddha established an order of fully ordained nuns, this tradition has ceased in some, like Theravada Buddhism, while remaining robust in others, such as Chinese Buddhism (Dharmaguptaka lineage). In the Tibetan lineage (Mulasarvastivadin), the lineage of fully ordained nuns was not brought to Tibet by Indian Vinaya masters, resulting in no established rite for their ordination.

The 14th Dalai Lama has actively sought to address this situation for many years. In 2005, he requested fully ordained nuns from the Dharmaguptaka lineage, notably Jampa Tsedroen, to form a committee to work towards the acceptance of the bhiksuni lineage within the Tibetan tradition, and he provided financial support for further research.^[39] The "1st International Congress on Buddhist Women's Role in the Sangha: Bhikshuni Vinaya and Ordination Lineages" in 2007 generally concluded that full ordination was overdue. However, the Dalai Lama presented a pre-drafted statement indicating that more time was needed to reach a definitive decision, which effectively nullified the immediate intentions of the congress.^[40]

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