An Overview of Ordination in the Christian Church

The ordination of clergymen was as early as the fourth or fifth century admitted into the number of sacraments. Augustine first calls it a sacrament, but with the remark that in his time the church unanimously acknowledged the sacramental character of this usage.  

Ordination is the solemn consecration to the special priesthood, as baptism is the introduction to the universal priesthood; and it is the medium of communicating the gifts for the ministerial office. It confers the capacity and authority of administering the sacraments and governing the body of believers, and secures to the church order, care, and steady growth to the end of time. A ruling power is as necessary in the church as in the state. In the Jewish church there was a hereditary priestly caste; in the Christian this is exchanged for an unbroken succession of voluntary priests from all classes, but mostly from the middle and lower classes of the people. 

Different from ordination is installation, or induction into a particular congregation or diocese, which may be repeated as often as the minister is transferred.  Ordination was performed by laying on of hands and prayer, closing with the communion. To these were gradually added other preparatory and attendant practices; such as the tonsure the anointing with the chrism (only in the Latin church after Gregory the Great), investing with the insignia of the office (the holy books, and in the case of bishops the ring and staff), the kiss of brotherhood, etc. Only bishops can ordain, though presbyters assist. The ordination or consecration of a bishop generally requires, for greater solemnity, the presence of three bishops. 

No one can receive priestly orders without a fixed field of labor which yields him support. In the course of time further restrictions, derived in part from the Old Testament, in regard to age, education, physical and moral constitution, freedom from the bonds of marriage, etc., were established by ecclesiastical legislation. 

The favorite times for ordination were Pentecost and the quarterly Quatember terms (i.e., the beginning of Quadragesima, the weeks after Pentecost, after the fourteenth of September, and after the thirteenth of December), which were observed, after Gelasius or Leo the Great, as ordinary penitential seasons of the church. The candidates were obliged to prepare themselves for consecration by prayer and fasting. 

Do you need ordination gifts for a priest or deacon? Check out our new imported gifts from Italy!! We have pyxes and mass kits that make a great gift this season. Visit us online at: churchsupplywarehouse.com to view our selection or call 1-866-757-5195!!

Source: 

Schaff, Philip.  History of the Christian Church, Volume III: Nicene and Post-Nicene Christianity.  A.D. 311-600.  (Christian Classics Ethereal Library.)  Accessed April 26, 2012.   http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/hcc3.iii.x.xxi.html

Good Friday, the Commemoration of the Crucifixion Of Jesus Christ

Good Friday (from the senses pious, holy of the word "good"),is a religious holiday observed primarily by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and may coincide with the Jewish observance of Passover. It is also known as Black Friday, Holy Friday, Great Friday, or Easter Friday, though the latter normally refers to the Friday in Easter week.  Good Friday, called Feria VI in Parasceve in the Roman Missal, he hagia kai megale paraskeue (the Holy and Great Friday) in the Greek Liturgy, Holy Friday in Romance Languages, Charfreitag (Sorrowful Friday) in German, is the English designation of Friday in Holy Week — that is, the Friday on which the Church keeps the anniversary of the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

From the earliest times the Christians kept every Friday as a feast day; and the obvious reasons for those usages explain why Easter is the Sunday par excellence, and why the Friday which marks the anniversary of Christ's death came to be called the Great or the Holy or the Good Friday. The origin of the term Good is not clear. Some say it is from "God's Friday" (Gottes Freitag); others maintain that it is from the German Gute Freitag, and not specially English. Sometimes, too, the day was called Long Friday by the Anglo-Saxons; so today in Denmark.

Based on the details of the Canonical gospels, the Crucifixion of Jesus was most likely to have been on a Friday (John 19:42). The estimated year of Good Friday is AD 33, by two different groups, and originally as AD 34 by Isaac Newton via the differences between the Biblical and Julian calendars and the crescent of the moon. A third method, using a completely different astronomical approach based on a lunar Crucifixion darkness and eclipse model (consistent with Apostle Peter's reference to a "moon of blood" in Acts 2:20), points to Friday, 3 April AD 33.

May you be blessed as you remember the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Happy Easter to you and your church family on this holiest of days from the staff of Church Supply Warehouse!

Sources:

1)  Wikipedia contributors, "Good Friday," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Good_Friday&oldid=485932315 (accessed April 6, 2012).

2)  Catholic Encyclopedia.  "Good Friday."  Accessed April 6, 2012.   http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06643a.htm.

A Conversation on Unity in Christ’s Mission with Francis Cardinal George and Dr. John H. Armstrong

A Conversation on Unity in Christ’s Mission will take place on March 26th between Francis Cardinal George, Archbishop of Chicago, and long-time ecumenical teacher and writer, Dr. John H. Armstrong, a minister in the Reformed Church in America and president of ACT 3. The event will explore the common ground and current challenges that face Catholics and evangelical Protestants as they seek to be faithful to Christ’s mission in the new century.

This special event will take place in Edman Chapel on the campus of Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL. It begins at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, March 26, and ends at 8:30 p.m. Central Standard Time.  No tickets are needed but seating is limited. Questions will be presented by the audience to the two speakers for a time of response, which will follow their conversation with one another during the first part of the program.

Information is available at www.act3online.com. Please do not call Wheaton College for information. Everyone is cordially invited to share in this Christ-centered conversation on Christian unity in the mission of Christ.


Untitled from Jake Mater on Vimeo.

The Feast Day of St. Francis De Sales, January 24

Francis de Sales was born on August 21, 1567 in Château de Thorens into a Savoyard noble family in what is today Thorens-Glières, Haute-Savoie, France. His father was François de Boisy and his mother was Françoise de Sionnz. Because he was the first of six children, his father wanted him to attend the best schools, and he enjoyed a privileged education in the nearby towns of La Roche-sur-Foron and Annecy; his spiritual formation and academics were formed by the Jesuits. In 1583 he went to the Collège de Clermont in Paris. A year later Francis was engulfed in a personal crisis when, after attending a theological discussion about predestination, he became convinced that he was damned to Hell. In December 1586 his despair was so great that he was physically ill and even bedridden for a time. In January 1587, he visited the church of Saint-Etienne des Grès, in southern France, with great difficulty. There his crisis ended, and he decided to dedicate his life to God. Francis came to the conclusion that whatever God had in store for him was good, because "God is love", as Scripture attests. This faithful devotion to the God of love not only expelled his doubts, but also influenced the rest of his life and his teachings. His way of teaching Catholic spirituality is often referred to as the Way of Divine Love, or the Devout Life, taken from a book he wrote of a similar name: Introduction to the Devout Life.

Since the time of the Protestant Reformation, which began in 1517, the seat of the Catholic bishops of Geneva, Switzerland, had been located at Annecy in Savoy, France, due to Calvinist control of Geneva itself. Francis, in his capacity as provost, engaged in enthusiastic campaigns of evangelism among the Protestants of Savoy, winning many returns to the Old Faith (i.e., Catholicism). He also traveled to Rome and Paris, where he forged alliances with Pope Clement VIII and the French King Henry IV.

In 1602, Bishop Granier died, and Francis was consecrated Bishop of Geneva. During his years as bishop, he acquired a reputation as a spellbinding preacher and something of an ascetic; in particular, he was known as a friend of the poor, a man of almost supernatural affability and understanding. These last qualities come through in his books, the most famous of which was Introduction à la vie dévote ("Introduction to the Devout Life"), that - unusually for the time - is written especially for laypeople. He also left the mystical Traité de l' Amour de Dieu ("Treatise on the Love of God") and many highly valued letters of spiritual direction. He was a notably clear and gracious stylist in French, Italian and Latin.

Along with Saint Jane Frances de Chantal, Francis founded the women's Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary (Visitandines) in Annecy on 6 June 1610.  He died on 28 December 1622 in Lyon, France, while traveling in the entourage of Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy.

Sources:

1)  Wikipedia contributors, "Francis de Sales," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Francis_de_Sales&oldid=469427569 (accessed January 20, 2012).   

2)  Catholic Encyclopedia.  "St. Francis De Sales."  Accessed January 20, 2012.  http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06220a.htm 

Lent is coming soon!  We have Ashes for Ash Wednesday, candles for candlelight services and Easter vigil.  We have palm decor for Palm Sunday in a variety of options.  We also have a great selection of Paschal candles to fit your needs.  Just visit us online at churchsupplywarehouse.com for more information!  Or, you can call us at 1-866-757-5195!