The Ordination Rite for a Presbyter is celebrated within the context
of the Divine Liturgy in place of the Profession of Faith.
The candidate for ordination shall be vested in a plain white alb and
diaconal stole. The customary vestments
for a presbyter shall be made ready for the new presbyter.
A presbyter shall present the candidate. If a presbyter is not available, a senior representative of the
congregation shall present the candidate.
S Bishop _____, I present to you _____ _____ _____ to
be ordained as a presbyter in Christ’s Church.
I certify to you and to this congregation that he displays an
understanding of the teaching of the Scriptures, endeavors to live a godly
life, and eagerly desires to serve God and his people as a presbyter of the
Church.
B My Christian brothers and sisters: If any of you know any impediment or notable
cause that should prevent _____ from being ordained as a presbyter, I require you
to disclose it now.
If a sufficient cause is presented, the bishop shall order an
investigation of the matter, and the ordination shall be delayed until the
accused is cleared. When no objection
is offered, the Bishop shall continue the Rite of Ordination by asking the
candidate the following questions.
B _____, the Church is the family of God, the body of
Christ, and the temple of the Holy Spirit. All baptized people are called to
make Christ known as Savior and Lord, and to share in the renewing of his
world. Now you are called to serve as a presbyter in the Church.
As a presbyter, it will be your task to proclaim by word and deed the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to fashion your life in accordance with its precepts. You are to love and serve the people among whom you work, caring alike for young and old, strong and weak, rich and poor. You are to preach, to declare God's forgiveness to penitent sinners, to pronounce God's blessing, to share in the administration of Holy Baptism and in the celebration of the mysteries of Christ's Body and Blood, and to perform the other ministrations entrusted to you.
In all that you do, you are to nourish Christ's people from the riches
of his grace, and strengthen them to glorify God in this life and in the life
to come.
As a bishop, I
must now ask you, in the presence of God and this congregation: Are you fully determined to carry out this
work according to the grace which God will give?
R I am.
B Do you trust that you are truly called by the Holy
Spirit to serve in the office and ministry of a presbyter?
R I do.
B Do you believe that the canonical Scriptures of the
Old and New Testaments are the inspired Word of God?
R I do.
B Do you accept the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene
Creed, The Dictum, the Vincentian Canon, The Definition of the Union of the
Divine and Human Natures in the Person of Christ and the Articles of Religion
as received by this Synod as true witnesses of our Common Faith?
R I do.
B _____, you have professed your acceptance of the
faith. Lead us now in the confession of
our faith in the words of the Nicene Creed.
The congregation and clergy shall stand.
R I believe in one God,
C the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
and of all things, visible and invisible.
I believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only-begotten Son of God,
begotten of his Father before all things,
God of God, Light of Light, true God of true
God;
begotten, not made;
being of one substance with the Father.
By him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation he came
down from heaven.
He was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the
Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius
Pilate.
He suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again, in
fulfillment of the Scriptures.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the
Father.
He shall come again with glory to judge the
living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the
giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father.
With the Father and the Son he is worshipped
and glorified.
He has spoken through the prophets.
I believe in one, holy, catholic, and
apostolic Church.
I acknowledge one baptism for the remission
of sins.
I look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
The congregation and clergy shall be seated.
B Will you promise to conform your life, ministry,
and teaching to the standards of godliness contained within the Scriptures?
R I will.
B Will you promise to celebrate the Sacraments with
reverence and in obedience to the institution of Christ and the Apostles?
R I will.
B Will you willingly and joyfully place your
God-given gifts to use in our local Church, uniting them with my leadership and
the leadership of my successors in the pastoral office of this local Church?
R I will do so,
with God’s help.
B May our almighty God, who has begun this good work
in you, bring it to fulfillment in the day of Christ Jesus.
C Amen.
The Bishop shall stand, remove the diaconal stole from the
candidate, and shall then bid the congregation to prayer.
B I ask you to join with me as we offer our prayers
for our brother _____, asking the Lord to bless him and to strengthen him for
the work of the ministry he is about to undertake.
The bishop, clergy, and congregation shall bow or kneel. The candidate shall lay prostrate. One of the following versions of the hymn
Veni Creator Spiritus is sung.
O Holy Spirit, by whose breath,life rises vibrant out of death;come to create, renew, inspire;come, kindle in our hearts your fire. You are the seeker’s sure resource,of burning love the living source,protector in the midst of strife,the giver and the Lord of life. In you God’s energy is shown, to us your varied gifts make known. Teach us to speak, teach us to hear; your is the tongue and yours the ear. Flood our dull senses with your light; in mutual love our hearts unite. Your power the whole creation fills; confirm our weak, uncertain wills. From inner strife grant us release; turn nations to the ways of peace. To fuller life your people bring that as one body we may sing: Praise to the Father, Christ is Word, and to the Spirit: God the Lord, to whom all honor, glory be both now and for eternity. Amen. |
Come, Holy Ghost, our souls inspire,and lighten with celestial fire. Thou the anointing Spirit art, who dost thy sevenfold gifts impart. Thy blessed unction from above is comfort, life, and fire of love. Enable with perpetual lightthe dullness of our blinded sight. Anoint and cheer our soiled face with the abundance of thy grace. Keep far from foes, give peace at home: where thou art guide, no ill can come. Teach us to know the Father, Son, and thee, of both, to be but One, that through the ages all along, this may be our endless song: Praise to thy eternal merit, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen. |
The candidate kneels before the bishop. After a pause for silent prayer, the bishop extends his hands and
continues:
B Father,
all-powerful and everliving God,
we
praise you for your infinite love
made
known in you calling of us to be a holy people
in
the kingdom of your Son, Jesus our Lord.
He
is the image of your eternal and invisible glory,
the
firstborn among many brethren,
and
the head of the Church.
We thank you that
by his death he has overcome death,
And,
having ascended into heaven,
has
poured his gifts abundantly upon your people,
making
some apostles,
some
prophets,
some
evangelists,
some
pastors and teachers,
to
equip the saints for the work of ministry
and
the building up of his body.
Hear our prayer
for _____ whom we ordain this day,
fill him with
grace and power,
and make him a
Presbyter in your Church.
We make our
prayer through Jesus Christ our Lord.
C Amen.
After a pause for silent prayer, the bishop lays his hands upon the
candidate for the following prayer.
When possible, all the presbyters who are present shall also lay hands
upon the candidate during this prayer.
B _____, receive the Holy Spirit for the office and
work of a presbyter in the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church of our
Lord Jesus Christ, now committed to you through the imposition of our hands.
When it is not possible due to space limitations or the number of
presbyters present for the presbyters to lay hands upon the candidate as the
bishop lays his hands upon the candidate, the presbyters shall at this time
come forward and, one at a time, lay their hands upon the head of the newly ordained
presbyter, silently offering prayer for their newly ordained brother.
The bishop places a stole on the newly ordained deacon. If it is the
custom of the congregation to wear other vestments, the newly ordained
presbyter shall be vested according to the local usage of the congregation,
with the words “these vestments as symbols” replacing “this stole as a symbol”
in the following declaration.
B Receive this stole as a symbol of your
presbyterial ministry, and remember that the Lord’s yoke is easy and his burden
is light.
The bishop delivers a copy of the Holy Scriptures to the newly
ordained presbyter, saying:
B Receive the authority to preach the Word of God in
the congregation where you are called, and in any place where the people of God
shall seek the truth.
A chalice, paten, and antimension are extended to the newly ordained
presbyter, the bishop saying:
B Receive the authority to minister the Sacred
Mysteries of God in the congregation where you are called, and in any place
where the people of God shall hunger and thirst for him.
The bishop may silently anoint the hands of the newly ordained
presbyter with Chrism. The bishop shall
bind the newly ordained presbyter’s hands with a strip of linen or a cord,
saying:
B Whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven. Whose sins you retain, they are retained.
The new presbyter stands, and the Liturgy continues. The presbyter shall concelebrate the
Eucharist with the Bishop at the Altar and administer the Eucharist during the
Liturgy. At the discretion of the
bishop, the new presbyter may serve as the principal celebrant and/or offer the
blessing at the end of the Divine Liturgy.