Sect. 273Order a Sacrament—its Matter and FormOrder a Sacrament—its Matter and Form

I. Order (ordo), as St. Thomas explains (Suppl., q. xxxiv. a. 2, ad. 4), means “rank,” whether high or low but in ecclesiastical use it is taken in the sense of eminent rank—the clerical state as distinguished above that of the laity. It is also used to denote the particular rank occupied in the ecclesiastical hierarchy. And further, it designates the rite by which the rank is conferred; though this would be more clearly indicated by the word “ordination.” As a sacrament, it is defined by Peter Lombard: “A certain sign or seal of the Church whereby a spiritual power is given to the ordained” (Sent. iv. dist 24).

1. St. Paul, writing to his disciple St. Timothy, says, “Neglect not the grace (χαρίσματος), which was given thee by prophecy, with imposition of the hands of the priesthood (διὰ προφητείας μετὰ ἐπιθέσεως τῶν χειρῶν τοῦ πρεσβυτερίου) (1 Tim. 4:14); and again, “I admonish thee that thou stir up the grace of God, which is in thee by the imposition of my hands (διὰ τῆς ἐπιθέσεως τῶν χειρῶν μου”) (2 Tim. 1:6; cf. 1 Tim. 5:22; Tit. 1:5; Heb. 5:14). We also read that the Apostles ordained the deacons by prayer and laying on of hands (προσευξάμενοι ἐπέθηκαν αὐτοῖς τὰς χεῖρας) (Acts 6:6). And in the same book we read that the prophets and doctors at Antioch prayed and imposed hands (προσευξάμενοί καὶ ἐπιθέντες τὰς χεῖρας) upon Saul and Barnabas (13:3); and that these latter in turn ordained (χειροτονήσαντες προσευξάμενοι) priests for every Church (14:22). It is St. Paul, also, who tells that Christ Himself “gave some apostles, and some prophets, and other some evangelists, and other some pastors and doctors, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry (διακονίας), for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:11, 12). Now, in these various passages we find all the elements of a sacrament: the external symbolical rite, consisting of the imposition of hands and prayer; the grace conveyed by this rite; and likewise Divine institution.

2. The Fathers, in commenting on these and similar texts, sufficiently indicate the sacramental nature of ordination. “Observe,” says St. John Chrysostom, “how the writer (of the Acts) avoids redundancy; for he says not how, but simply that they were ordained by prayer, for this is the χειροτονία, or laying on of hands (ἐχειροτονήθησαν διὰ προσευχῆς, τοῦτο γὰρ ἡ χειροτονία ἐστίν). The hand of man is laid on, but God works all; and it is His hand that touches the heart of him that is ordained, if he be ordained as he ought to be” (Hom. xiv. n. 3). “What some of these men, forced by truth, have begun to say, ‘He that recedes from the Church does not forfeit baptism, but yet loses the right of conferring it,’ is evidently in many ways a useless and foolish opinion.… For each is a sacrament, and each is given to man by a certain consecration (utrumque enim sacramentum est, et quadam consecratione utrumque homini datur): baptism when a man is baptized, the other when he is ordained; and for this cause, in the Catholic Church, neither is allowed to be repeated” (St. Augustine, lib. ii., Contra Epist. Parm., cap. 13, n. 28). “Let the Donatists explain to us how the sacrament of the baptized cannot be lost, and the sacrament of the ordained can be lost.… For if both are sacraments, which no one doubts, how is the one not lost and the other lost? No injury should be done to either sacrament” (ibid., n. 30). “The Sacred Scripture,” says St. Leo, “also shows how, when the Apostles were, by the command of the Holy Ghost, sending Paul and Barnabas to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles, they, fasting and praying, imposed hands upon them; that we may understand with what religious attention both of those who give, and of those who receive, care is to be taken lest the sacrament of so great a benediction seem to be negligently accomplished” (Ep. ix., ad Diosc., c. i.). And the Council of Trent says, “Whereas by the testimony of Scripture, by Apostolic tradition, and the unanimous consent of the Fathers, it is clear that grace is conferred by sacred ordination which is performed (perficitur) by words and outward signs, no one ought to doubt that Order is truly and properly one of the seven sacraments of Holy Church” (sess. xiii. chap. 3; cf. can. 3).

II. There has long been a celebrated controversy among theologians as to the matter and form of this sacrament. A short sketch of the rites and ceremonies of the ordination service will be of help to enable us to come to a decision on the question.

Episcopal consecration has always in all ages been given by imposition of hands and the invocation of the Holy Ghost, in accordance with what we read in the Acts, and Epistles of St. Paul. This has been proved to demonstration by numbers of passages from the Fathers, and from ancient Rituals and Pontificals published by Morin (De Sacr. Ecclesiæ Ord., part. 1 et 2), and Martène (lib. i., De Antiq. Eccl. Rit., cap. 8, art. 1). An additional ceremony of ancient origin, in use both in East and West as early as the fourth century, is the placing of the book of the Gospels on the head or shoulders of the bishop-elect. In the ordination of a priest there are, according to the Roman Pontifical, three impositions of hands: first, by the bishop and assistant clergy in silence; secondly, by the same, but the bishop reciting two prayers; and thirdly, after the communion, by the bishop only, who pronounces the words, “Receive ye the Holy Ghost, whose sins ye shall,” etc. The bishop also causes each to touch the chalice containing wine, and the paten with bread upon it, at the same time saying, “Receive the power to offer sacrifice to God, and to celebrate masses as well for the living as for the dead.” In the Greek rite, the third imposition of hands, with the accompanying words, and the handing of the chalice and paten, are omitted. A deacon is ordained in the Latin rite by imposition of the hands of the bishop, who pronounces the words, “Receive the Holy Ghost for strength, and to withstand the devil and his temptations;” and then, with hands extended over him, the bishop goes on to pray that the Holy Ghost may come down upon him. The stole and dalmatic are placed upon him; and lastly, the book of the Gospels is handed to him to be touched while the bishop pronounces the words, “Receive the power of reading the Gospel in God’s Church, as well for the living as for the dead.” In the Greek rite this last ceremony is omitted. It should be noted that the prayers recited by the bishop are not the same in the two rites. As the Church has always recognized both rites of ordination, it is clear that the matter and form of the sacrament must be sought in what is common to both. The neglect of this consideration has led to many erroneous opinions on the question.

1. When treating of the matter of the sacraments generally (supra, § 246), we said that our Lord took certain natural acts and made them, when performed with certain distinguishing marks, capable of producing a supernatural effect. In the sacrament of Order, as described in Holy Scripture, we find that the laying on of hands is the natural act so chosen. This act, as already pointed out (§ 254), is a way of singling out a person, setting him apart and conferring upon him some office or dignity. The imposition of hands, common alike in East and in West, and made use of in the ordination of bishops, priests, and deacons, is therefore the matter of Order. Holy Scripture, as we have seen, says that it was by imposition of hands that the Apostles ordained bishops, priests, and deacons. So, too, the Fathers and Councils use the word χειροτονία (imposition of hands) as equivalent to ordination. The Council of Trent (sess. xiv. ch. 3) says expressly that Extreme Unction can be administered only by bishops or priests “ordained by the imposition of hands.”

The tradition of instruments, which was commonly held by the Schoolmen to be the matter of Order, has never been in use among the Greeks, and is not mentioned by the ancient Latin rituals. It was introduced about the tenth century, and gradually spread during the Middle Ages, so as to be general in the West by the time of the Council of Trent. At that Council (sess. xxiii.) an attempt was made to define the matter and form of the Sacrament; but, at the suggestion of the Cardinal of Lorraine, the Fathers contented themselves with declaring that ordination “is performed (perficitur) by words and external signs;” and quoting St. Paul: “I admonish thee that thou stir up the grace that is in thee by the imposition of my hands” (2 Tim. 1:6). Nevertheless, as may be seen in the Preface to Morin’s De Sacr. Eccl. Ordinationibus, the Scholastic opinion was still prevalent as late as 1639. Mainly owing to his researches and those of Martène, it is now almost universally abandoned. We should mention that St. Bonaventure held that imposition of hands was the sole matter of Order (iv. Dist. 24, P. 2, a. 1, q. 4). As, however, the tutior pars must always be followed in the administration of the sacraments, the tradition of instruments must be strictly carried out in all Latin ordinations (St. Alph. Theol. Mor., lib. vi. tract. v. n. 742.)

2. As the form of a sacrament must be used at the same time as the matter, it follows that the difference of opinion as to the matter of Order implies difference of opinion as to the form. Thus, those who hold that the tradition of instruments is the matter, will also hold that the form is the words accompanying this action; and, on the other hand, those who contend for the imposition of hands, will maintain that the accompanying words are the form. As regards episcopal consecration, it should be noted that the words, “Receive the Holy Ghost,” do not occur at all in the Eastern rites, and were almost unknown in the West for more than twelve hundred years. The Council of Trent (sess. xxiii. can. 4) merely condemned those who held “that vainly do the bishops say, Receive ye the Holy Ghost,” without declaring in any way that these words were the form. Hence, by comparing the various rites of all ages and places, we find that an appropriate prayer is the form of the sacrament (Chardon, l.c, P. 2, ch. 1). The Apostles “praying, imposed hands upon them;” “then they fasting and praying and imposing their hands upon them,” etc.; “and when they had ordained (χειροτονήσαντες) to them priests in every Church, and had prayed with fasting,” etc. (Acts 6:6; 13:2; 14:22).

This prayer should specify the particular Order which is being conferred, or should mention the powers conveyed by the Order. “The imposition of hands … by itself signifies nothing definite, and is equally used for several Orders and for Confirmation.” In the case of priestly ordination, the words should “definitely express the sacred Order of Priesthood, or its grace and power, which is chiefly the power of consecrating and offering the true body and blood of the Lord in that sacrifice which is no nude commemoration of the sacrifice offered on the Cross.… The same holds good of Episcopal consecration” (Bull Apostolicæ Curæ, condemning Anglican Orders).

On the controversy concerning the matter and form of Order, see especially Benedict XIV., De Synodo Diæces., lib. viii. cap. 10, and the various authorities there quoted.