The powers with which Jesus Christ has endowed His Church are not exercised by the body of the faithful, nor are they merely delegated by the faithful to certain members chosen for that purpose. Our Lord Himself instituted the Christian priesthood, and gave to the Apostles and their successors the power of consecrating, offering, and administering His Body and Blood, as also of forgiving and retaining sins (Matt. 26; Mark 14; Luke 22; John 20). By Divine ordinance there is in the Church a hierarchy, consisting of bishops, priests, and other ministers of various ranks, who possess in different degrees the sacred powers belonging to or connected with the priesthood. Holy Scripture speaks not only of priests, but also of deacons (Phil. 1:2; 1 Tim. 3:8, 12; Acts 6:5; 21:8); and from the earliest times we find mention of other inferior orders, sub-deacons, acolytes, exorcists, lectors, and doorkeepers (Council of Trent, sess. xxiii. chap. 2). The means instituted by Christ for the transmission of the priestly powers is the sacrament of Order. We shall treat first of this sacrament generally, and afterwards devote a section to the consideration of each of the different orders.