Treatise VII. On Order

(St. Thomas, Supplement, q. 34-40; St. Alphonsus, Theologia Moralis, lib. VI, n. 734-830; Homo Apostolicus, tr. 17.)¹

¹ Cf. Benedict XIV, De Synodo dioecesana, lib. 8, c. 9-11 and lib. 12, c. 3 and 4; Many, De sacra ordinatione; Gasparri, De sacra ordinatione; Wernz-Vidal, Ius canonicum, t. V; Pesch, Praelectiones dogmaticae de Ordine.

I. By the institution of Christ there exists in the Church a twofold state, namely that of clerics and that of lay persons. Now "those who have been assigned to the divine ministries by at least the first tonsure are called clerics" (canon 108, § 1).

II. Clerics "are not all in the same grade, but among them there is a sacred hierarchy in which some are subordinated to others" (canon 108, § 2). The aforesaid hierarchy is called the hierarchy of Order.¹

III. The distinct grades of the hierarchy of Order are counted as eight from the Council of Trent,² namely Porter, Lector, Exorcist, Acolyte, Subdiaconate, Diaconate, Presbyterate, and Episcopate.³

1. "Porter is the order by which there is conferred upon someone a special power of opening and closing the door of the church, and of admitting the worthy and excluding the unworthy" (St. Alphonsus, VI, 735).

2. "Lector is the order by which there is conferred upon someone a special power of reading psalms and lessons from the pulpit in church, and of catechizing or instructing the people in matters of faith" (St. Alphonsus, loc. cit.).

3. "Exorcist is the order by which there is conferred upon someone a special power of casting out demons" (St. Alphonsus, loc. cit.).

4. "Acolyte is the order by which there is conferred upon someone a special power of serving the subdeacon in solemn Mass, by lighting candles, preparing and handing to him the cruets of wine and water" (St. Alphonsus, loc. cit.).

5. "Subdiaconate is the order by which there is conferred upon someone the power of serving the deacon in solemn Mass and solemnly chanting the Epistle" (St. Alphonsus, loc. cit.).

6. "Diaconate is the order by which there is conferred upon someone a special power of immediately assisting the presbyter in solemn Mass and solemnly chanting the Gospel" (St. Alphonsus, loc. cit.).

7. "Presbyterate is the order by which there is conferred upon someone a special power of consecrating the Body and Blood of Christ, and also of absolving from sins and feeding subjects by work and doctrine" (St. Alphonsus, loc. cit.).

8. "Episcopate is the order by which there is conferred upon someone a special power of confirming the faithful and ordaining the ministers of the sacraments, taking 'ministers' more broadly, that is, not only for those who confect the sacraments, but also for those who minister by office to those confecting them, and also of consecrating things pertaining to divine worship" (St. Alphonsus, VI, 735).

a) Tonsure is not an order, but a preparation for them, or "it is a solemn ecclesiastical rite, consisting in a slight cutting of the hair with certain words, celebrated by a suitable minister, signifying by the institution of the Church that a baptized male is transferred from the lay state into the lot of the Lord and the clerical state" (St. Alphonsus, loc. cit.).

b) Episcopate and Presbyterate are often designated by the one name of Priesthood; hence Bishops are called priests of the first order, presbyters priests of the second order. Therefore many enumerate only seven orders. Now the priesthood, which, as was said, includes Episcopate and Presbyterate, the Diaconate, and the Subdiaconate are called major or sacred Orders; the others are called minor Orders.

c) "In the following canons," so says canon 949, "by the name of major or sacred orders are understood presbyterate, diaconate, subdiaconate; but by the name of minor orders, acolytate, exorcistate, lectorate, porterate." And canon 950 says: "In law the words 'to ordain,' 'order,' 'ordination,' 'sacred ordination,' comprehend besides episcopal consecration the orders enumerated in canon 949 and the first tonsure itself, unless something else is drawn from the nature of the matter or from the context of the words."

IV. Episcopate, Presbyterate, and Diaconate are of divine institution. But the Episcopate by divine law is a grade distinct from the Presbyterate and superior to it.⁴ Subdiaconate and the minor orders do not seem to be of divine institution.

1. That the Episcopate and Presbyterate, together with the office of certain ministers, are of divine institution, the Council of Trent defined in these words: "If anyone says that in the Catholic Church there is not a hierarchy instituted by divine ordination, which consists of Bishops, Presbyters, and Ministers, let him be anathema."⁵ Canon 108, § 3 agrees.

2. That Bishops are superior to presbyters, the Council of Trent likewise teaches, although it does not expressly say "by divine law": "If anyone says that Bishops are not superior to Presbyters, or that they do not have the power of confirming and ordaining, or that the power which they have is common to them with Presbyters, let him be anathema."⁶

3. That the minor orders are not of divine institution is proved especially from this, that in the most ancient documents, where the different grades of the Hierarchy are discussed, only Episcopate, Presbyterate, and Diaconate are enumerated.⁷

With these things premised, we shall speak first of Order considered in itself, then of its ministration, then of the reception of Order, and finally of certain matters which regard both ministration and reception.

¹ The ecclesiastical hierarchy taken generally is: the body of clerics who, according to various grades, enjoy sacred power in the Church. It is distinguished into the hierarchy of Order and the hierarchy of Jurisdiction, according as the sacred power concerns the ministry of divine worship, for example the dispensation of the sacraments, etc., or the governance of the faithful.

² Session 23, canons 2 and 4.

³ Among the Greeks only four Orders are conferred: two major, namely Priesthood and Diaconate, and two minor, namely Subdiaconate and Lectorate. But the Maronites have the order of Cantorate, to which tonsure is attached; and the Armenians have four minor orders just as the Latins do.

⁴ Bishops are superior to presbyters both by reason of teaching and governance and by reason of Order. The first is proved in the treatise on the Church; the second is discussed here.

⁵ Session 23, canon 6.

⁶ Session 23, canon 7.

⁷ Gasparri, De sacra ordinatione, n. 41.