Faith & Order Statements

5. Ordination to Christian ministry has its historical and theological antecedents in the Jewish concept of commissioning for office, in Jesus’ sending out the Seventy and the Twelve, and in the need of the early church for leadership and guidance in its carrying out the continuing ministry of Jesus Christ.

The “laying on of hands” symbolizes the historical antecedents and the continuity of the ministry. By tradition, prayers of intercession for the one to be ordained and the invocation of the Holy Spirit also are a part of the rite of ordination.

6. The offices and orders of ministry grew out of the ramification of the church’s ministry and mission as it developed in the early centuries of the Christian Era.

As the church grew and expanded throughout the Roman Empire in the first three centuries of the Christian Era it became more and more important to be able to distinguish true Christian teaching and practice from that which was false. “Canon, Creed, and Bishop” came to be the three touchstones for consensus about the Christian tradition: the 66 books of the Bible; the baptismal formula we now know as the “Apostles Creed”; and the bishops, ordained in an unbroken line by the disciples of the Apostles, who could be relied upon to teach truly and interpret the Bible and the Creed(s) authoritatively.

Ignatius of Antioch (d. 117) emphasized the unity of the church symbolized in the three-fold ministry:

Pay heed to the bishop, the presbytery, and the deacons . . . do nothing apart from the bishop; keep your bodies as if they were God’s temple; value unity; flee schism; imitate Jesus Christ as he imitated the Father. (Philadelphians 7)

Deacons were, at first, those who served and did charitable works in order to allow the bishops the freedom to shepherd and preach. Later, deacons came to be assistants (sort of like “personal secretaries”) to the bishops. As parishes grew, presbyters (also called, variously, elders and priests), took on responsibility for preaching, sacramental ministry, and pastoral guidance in local congregations. Bishops came to be “overseers” of the church in a particular geographical area called a “diocese.” (The word and the concept were drawn from the model of civil administration in the Roman Empire.)

These ministries were exercised (and their corresponding orders used) in both the Eastern and Western churches.

7. By medieval times, the Roman Church had developed a complex structure of ordained ministries, some of which were regarded as sacramental.

In addition to the bishop there were three major orders of ministry (priest, deacon, and subdeacon) and a long list of minor orders to which ministers were ordained: acolytes, exorcists, readers, doorkeepers, and others. The major orders were understood to convey grace and confer power.

8. In the 15th century the Jednota Bratrska (Unity of the Brethren, our forbears among the Bohemian and Moravian Brethren) maintained the tradition of diocesan bishops, parish priests, and deacons who assisted and served.

9. The Reformers of the 16th Century drew a distinction between “ordination to a new status” and “ordination for the exercise of a new function.”

Roman Catholic theology understands ordination to effect an “ontological change” in the one who is ordained. A priest is a different kind of human being than a lay person. The sacrament of ordination imprints an “indelible character” on the soul of the one ordained. This is important primarily because of the high emphasis on the sacramental priesthood. A priest is one who, through the special indwelling of the Holy Spirit, is able to “confect” the sacrifice of the Mass. All of this betokens a change in the theological and personal status of the ordained minister.

Luther and Calvin, on the other hand, taught that the ordained pastor remained the same person he (yes, he) was before ordination. The only thing that changed was the tasks for which the pastor was now responsible. Ordained people still remained part of the laos, the people of God. The Protestant tradition is that ordination affects what the minister does, not who the minister is.

For historical reasons, most of the churches of the Reformation lost the three-fold orders of ministry. Ordination came to be defined as ordination to the single ministry of Word and Sacrament under the orders of the Church. As a Lutheran, this was Count Zinzendorf’s basic understanding. Even when he allowed the Renewed Moravian Church to recover the three-fold ministerial orders of the Ancient Unity he had a functional understanding of ordained ministry.

10. Although the Moravian Church, like most Protestant communions, today defines the ministry of the ordained primarily in functional terms, the notion of the status of the ordained is not entirely absent from our theological tradition and practice.

Something does change: the identity, if not the essence, of the one who has received the laying-on of hands. He or she has been called, appointed and publicly recognized as a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This identity is not revoked even when the person ordained ceases to exercise the functions of ordained ministry or changes the context for her or his ministry. Pastors are installed and not re-ordained when they take a new call. Ministers who have been ordained in another church body ordinarily are received as deacons rather than re-ordained when they become pastors in the Moravian Church. The assumption is that the call and ordination that was originally granted “carries over” into a new setting for ministry. This is a matter of ecumenism and ecclesiology. Insofar as the Moravian Church recognizes the other church body as part of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church, it accepts as valid the ministerial orders of the other communion. In cases where the different church bodies have different understandings of the functions which pertain to the various offices of ministry (as, for instance, in the case of deacons, whose ministries are rather different in the Moravian Church, the Lutheran Church, and the Episcopal Church) some discussion and decision-making may be required in the transfer of ministers. A basic principle is that the minister be expected to exercise the same ministry in the receiving denomination that he or she was ordained to exercise in the sending denomination.

11. Ordination and ministry belong primarily to God, secondarily to the church, and only derivatively to the individual ordained person.

This is why we tend to speak of the “inner call” in which God summons the individual to ministry and the “outer call” in which the church as an institution examines and ratifies the divine call to which the candidate testifies before ordaining him or her to the ministry and appointing that person to a particular charge. There is a process of testing and affirmation of the individual’s call. Once it is recognized as genuine and useful to the ministry of the larger church then ordination can occur. Candidates do not write their own ordination services, nor are they allowed to frame the ordination vows that they will take. This is the business of the whole church. There is no natural “right” to ordination, no “equal opportunity employment” provision—although the church, of course, will want to recognize the potential gifts for ministry inherent in any and all of the people of God.

12. Ordained ministry involves a unique combination of rights and responsibilities.

Martin Chemnitz (1522-86), who systematized Lutheran theology in the generation after Luther, said that the rite of ordination is five-fold:

(1) Ordination is a public testimony by which the call of God is openly declared to be approved by the church; (2) through ordination the ministry is committed formally to the ordinand; (3) through the ordinand’s solemn vow, the one who has been called “becomes obligated to the church in the sight of God to render the faithfulness in ministry that the Lord requires”; (4) through ordination “the church is reminded that it is to recognize that this pastor has divine authority to teach”; and (5) in ordination the whole church prays earnestly to “commit to God” the ministry of the one who is called , expecting that God will accompany this ministry.

13. To be ordained and called means to live “under the orders of the church.”

In order to exercise authority one must first submit to authority. One metaphor is that of military service: the one who is ordained no longer has unlimited individual freedom to decide where and how she or he will live and serve, but rather must obey the authoritative orders of the body to which he or she is responsible. It is expected that the church will exercise the authority to order carefully and with due consultation of the one who receives the orders. But ultimately the ordained one, just like a military officer, must accept the orders—or resign the “commission.” Perhaps the testimony of St. Paul will sound better to Christian ears, although it is even more demanding than a military commission: “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Gal. 2:19b-20)

14. Historically, ordination has been considered a lifelong, indelible covenant. The Moravian Church has accepted this understanding and should continue to do so.

St. Paul told the Romans that “the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” (Rom. 11:29). Since at least the fourth century CE the church’s tradition has drawn an analogy between baptism and ordination: it cannot be erased, nor should it be repeated. Practically, this means that one is “ordained for life,” although the church may direct the person under Holy Orders to cease to exercise the functions of ordination, either temporarily or permanently. Likewise, the ordained minister may request relief from the responsibility to carry out such functions.

Thomas Oden notes that “like the baptized . . . it is possible for the duly ordained to neglect, reject, or re-interpret the gift of ministry.” He goes on to say that:

[I]n most church bodies procedures exist by which ordained ministers can elect to follow other paths than full-time ministry of word, sacrament, and order. In these cases, ordination is not, strictly speaking, withdrawn or withheld, but rather it is inactive or quiescent and could by due process be reactivated.

Indeed, the Book of Order of the Southern Province specifies in 858 (c) that:

Neither leave of absence nor withdrawal from the ministry of the Moravian Church implies abrogation of ordination but only the cessation of official service within the Moravian Church. Persons who are not currently on the active roll of the Moravian Church ministry should not perform any of the functions of an ordained minister within the Moravian Church without specific authorization from the Provincial Elders’ Conference or one of the District Executive Boards.

In the early 21st century Provincial Elders are rightly concerned about the liability under law which the Moravian Church in America may incur for the actions of clergy ordained and called by the Church. It is the recommendation of the Faith and Order Commission that such concerns should be addressed by the adoption of such by-laws as are necessary to govern those who are employed by and function under the authority of the Church, rather than by changing the church’s traditional understanding of ordination as lifelong and irrevocable.

Finally, one more proposition, for meditation and consideration:

15. “Reverend” is an adjective, not a noun.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Baptism, Eucharist, and Ministry. Faith and Order Paper 111. Geneva: World Council of Churches, 1982.

The Book of Order of the Moravian Church (Unitas Fratrum) Northern Province. Bethlehem, 1999.

The Book of Order of the Moravian Church in America, Southern Province. Winston-Salem, 2002.

Burcaw, Robert T., editor. The Moravian Book of Worship Manual for Worship Planners. Bethlehem: Inter-Provincial Board of Communications, 1995.

The Church Order of the Unitas Fratrum (Moravian Church), 1995.

Martos, Joseph. Doors to the Sacred: A Historical Introduction to Sacraments in the Catholic Church. Expanded edition. Tarrytown, New York: Triumph Books, 1991.

Oden, Thomas. Becoming a Minister. New York: Crossroad, 1987. Volume 1 of the Classical Pastoral Care series.

Oden, Thomas. Pastoral Theology: Essentials of Ministry. New York: Harper & Row, 1983.

?í?an, Rudolf. The History of the Unity of Brethren: A Protestant Hussite Church in Bohemia and Moravia. C. Daniel Crews, trans. Bethlehem and Winston-Salem: The Moravian Church in America, 1992.

Richardson, Cyril C., ed. Early Christian Fathers (New York: Macmillan, 1970).

Schaff, Philip, and Henry Wace, eds. A Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church. Second series. New York: Scribner’s, 1906.

Willimon, William H. Pastor: The Theology and Practice of Ordained Ministry. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2002.

	The Moravian Interprovincial Faith & Order Commission
	Statements of the Moravian Interprovincial Faith & Order Commission
[BACK] On Ordination Forwarded to the Provincial Elders' Conferences (PECs), Northern and Southern Provinces: 3/03 For the Service of God and the Good Order of the Church: Historical Statements and Theological Principles Proposed Toward the Development of a Moravian Understanding of Ordination (March, 2003) This paper was prepared for the Inter-Provincial Faith and Order Commission of the Moravian Church in America. It was intended to provide a background for the Commission’s consideration of the theology of ordination and especially of the “indelible character” of Holy Orders. The Commission adopted this document on March 11, 2003 and submitted it to the Provincial Elders’ Conferences. 1. Christian ministry is the ministry of the Triune God, through the whole church, exercised by all the people of God. Any Christian theology of ministry must begin with the missio Dei: the work of God in the world at all times and in all places. The church’s ministry is to carry out the work of God. This responsibility belongs to all who are baptized. Thomas Oden expresses this in a concise paragraph: Ministry in the Christian community is a participation in the ministry of Christ. It is the ministry of the Father through the Son by the Holy Spirit. It is a ministry offered to the whole church as gift and task. Baptism, confirmation, and responsible church membership are visible signs of acceptance of this ministry. All believers are called to witness to the Gospel, visit the sick serve the needy, and assist in the building up of the community. This general ministry is committed to every Christian (Matt. 5:16, 28:18-20). 2. Within the ministry of the people of God (the laos, from which the word “laity” is derived) some members are called and set apart for special ministry. The Ground of the Unity of the Unitas Fratrum says: The Unitas Fratrum recognizes the priesthood of all believers but also has specially appointed ministers who receive commission and authority for their service from the hands of Jesus Christ, Whom the Church acknowledges as its Chief Elder. All members may gladly and confidently carry on their work in and for the congregation and by their devotion and faithfulness. All can render service to the whole Church . . . At the same time the Unitas Fratrum gratefully acknowledges the gift of the offices of the ministry which it has received from the Lord. It recognizes and confesses that in reality it is its Lord and Head Jesus Christ who call and ordains . . . The 1999 Book of Order of the Northern Province makes the same point in a briefer statement: The ministry of the ordained is an expression of the ministry of the whole people of God and a response to the call and gifts of Christ who is Chief Elder of the Church and its ministry. The fact that a candidate for ordination in the Moravian Church traditionally is seated in the congregation for the first part of the ordination service and then comes forward to “answer the call” emphasizes that Moravian clergy—as those in other churches similar to ours—are “called out from the people of God into a particular ministry.” 3. The act of ordination recognizes, authorizes, commissions, and empowers the person ordained for a ministry of Word and Sacrament under the orders of the church. Ordained ministers preach, administer the sacraments, and provide pastoral care according to the discipline of the church. Other ministries—such as financial and organizational management, teaching, counseling, chaplaincy, ecumenical leadership—may be vitally important for the life and work of the church, but they require ordination only insofar as they are related to the central tasks of Word and Sacrament. As ministers of the Lord Jesus Christ, ordained persons exercise Christ’s offices of prophet, priest, and wise ruler. 4. The purpose of ordained ministry is to prepare, support, and assist all baptized Christians in their ministry. The World Council of Churches Faith and Order paper on “Baptism, Eucharist, and Ministry” (BEM) articulates this: The chief responsibility of the ordained ministry is to assemble and build up the body of Christ by proclaiming and teaching the Word of God, by celebrating the sacraments, and by guiding the life of the community in its worship, its mission, and its caring ministry. There is strong scriptural foundation for this ministerial task: The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. (Eph. 4:11-13) 5. Ordination to Christian ministry has its historical and theological antecedents in the Jewish concept of commissioning for office, in Jesus’ sending out the Seventy and the Twelve, and in the need of the early church for leadership and guidance in its carrying out the continuing ministry of Jesus Christ. The “laying on of hands” symbolizes the historical antecedents and the continuity of the ministry. By tradition, prayers of intercession for the one to be ordained and the invocation of the Holy Spirit also are a part of the rite of ordination. 6. The offices and orders of ministry grew out of the ramification of the church’s ministry and mission as it developed in the early centuries of the Christian Era. As the church grew and expanded throughout the Roman Empire in the first three centuries of the Christian Era it became more and more important to be able to distinguish true Christian teaching and practice from that which was false. “Canon, Creed, and Bishop” came to be the three touchstones for consensus about the Christian tradition: the 66 books of the Bible; the baptismal formula we now know as the “Apostles Creed”; and the bishops, ordained in an unbroken line by the disciples of the Apostles, who could be relied upon to teach truly and interpret the Bible and the Creed(s) authoritatively. Ignatius of Antioch (d. 117) emphasized the unity of the church symbolized in the three-fold ministry: Pay heed to the bishop, the presbytery, and the deacons . . . do nothing apart from the bishop; keep your bodies as if they were God’s temple; value unity; flee schism; imitate Jesus Christ as he imitated the Father. (Philadelphians 7) Deacons were, at first, those who served and did charitable works in order to allow the bishops the freedom to shepherd and preach. Later, deacons came to be assistants (sort of like “personal secretaries”) to the bishops. As parishes grew, presbyters (also called, variously, elders and priests), took on responsibility for preaching, sacramental ministry, and pastoral guidance in local congregations. Bishops came to be “overseers” of the church in a particular geographical area called a “diocese.” (The word and the concept were drawn from the model of civil administration in the Roman Empire.) These ministries were exercised (and their corresponding orders used) in both the Eastern and Western churches. 7. By medieval times, the Roman Church had developed a complex structure of ordained ministries, some of which were regarded as sacramental. In addition to the bishop there were three major orders of ministry (priest, deacon, and subdeacon) and a long list of minor orders to which ministers were ordained: acolytes, exorcists, readers, doorkeepers, and others. The major orders were understood to convey grace and confer power. 8. In the 15th century the Jednota Bratrska (Unity of the Brethren, our forbears among the Bohemian and Moravian Brethren) maintained the tradition of diocesan bishops, parish priests, and deacons who assisted and served. 9. The Reformers of the 16th Century drew a distinction between “ordination to a new status” and “ordination for the exercise of a new function.” Roman Catholic theology understands ordination to effect an “ontological change” in the one who is ordained. A priest is a different kind of human being than a lay person. The sacrament of ordination imprints an “indelible character” on the soul of the one ordained. This is important primarily because of the high emphasis on the sacramental priesthood. A priest is one who, through the special indwelling of the Holy Spirit, is able to “confect” the sacrifice of the Mass. All of this betokens a change in the theological and personal status of the ordained minister. Luther and Calvin, on the other hand, taught that the ordained pastor remained the same person he (yes, he) was before ordination. The only thing that changed was the tasks for which the pastor was now responsible. Ordained people still remained part of the laos, the people of God. The Protestant tradition is that ordination affects what the minister does, not who the minister is. For historical reasons, most of the churches of the Reformation lost the three-fold orders of ministry. Ordination came to be defined as ordination to the single ministry of Word and Sacrament under the orders of the Church. As a Lutheran, this was Count Zinzendorf’s basic understanding. Even when he allowed the Renewed Moravian Church to recover the three-fold ministerial orders of the Ancient Unity he had a functional understanding of ordained ministry. 10. Although the Moravian Church, like most Protestant communions, today defines the ministry of the ordained primarily in functional terms, the notion of the status of the ordained is not entirely absent from our theological tradition and practice. Something does change: the identity, if not the essence, of the one who has received the laying-on of hands. He or she has been called, appointed and publicly recognized as a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This identity is not revoked even when the person ordained ceases to exercise the functions of ordained ministry or changes the context for her or his ministry. Pastors are installed and not re-ordained when they take a new call. Ministers who have been ordained in another church body ordinarily are received as deacons rather than re-ordained when they become pastors in the Moravian Church. The assumption is that the call and ordination that was originally granted “carries over” into a new setting for ministry. This is a matter of ecumenism and ecclesiology. Insofar as the Moravian Church recognizes the other church body as part of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church, it accepts as valid the ministerial orders of the other communion. In cases where the different church bodies have different understandings of the functions which pertain to the various offices of ministry (as, for instance, in the case of deacons, whose ministries are rather different in the Moravian Church, the Lutheran Church, and the Episcopal Church) some discussion and decision-making may be required in the transfer of ministers. A basic principle is that the minister be expected to exercise the same ministry in the receiving denomination that he or she was ordained to exercise in the sending denomination. 11. Ordination and ministry belong primarily to God, secondarily to the church, and only derivatively to the individual ordained person. This is why we tend to speak of the “inner call” in which God summons the individual to ministry and the “outer call” in which the church as an institution examines and ratifies the divine call to which the candidate testifies before ordaining him or her to the ministry and appointing that person to a particular charge. There is a process of testing and affirmation of the individual’s call. Once it is recognized as genuine and useful to the ministry of the larger church then ordination can occur. Candidates do not write their own ordination services, nor are they allowed to frame the ordination vows that they will take. This is the business of the whole church. There is no natural “right” to ordination, no “equal opportunity employment” provision—although the church, of course, will want to recognize the potential gifts for ministry inherent in any and all of the people of God. 12. Ordained ministry involves a unique combination of rights and responsibilities. Martin Chemnitz (1522-86), who systematized Lutheran theology in the generation after Luther, said that the rite of ordination is five-fold: (1) Ordination is a public testimony by which the call of God is openly declared to be approved by the church; (2) through ordination the ministry is committed formally to the ordinand; (3) through the ordinand’s solemn vow, the one who has been called “becomes obligated to the church in the sight of God to render the faithfulness in ministry that the Lord requires”; (4) through ordination “the church is reminded that it is to recognize that this pastor has divine authority to teach”; and (5) in ordination the whole church prays earnestly to “commit to God” the ministry of the one who is called , expecting that God will accompany this ministry. 13. To be ordained and called means to live “under the orders of the church.” In order to exercise authority one must first submit to authority. One metaphor is that of military service: the one who is ordained no longer has unlimited individual freedom to decide where and how she or he will live and serve, but rather must obey the authoritative orders of the body to which he or she is responsible. It is expected that the church will exercise the authority to order carefully and with due consultation of the one who receives the orders. But ultimately the ordained one, just like a military officer, must accept the orders—or resign the “commission.” Perhaps the testimony of St. Paul will sound better to Christian ears, although it is even more demanding than a military commission: “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Gal. 2:19b-20) 14. Historically, ordination has been considered a lifelong, indelible covenant. The Moravian Church has accepted this understanding and should continue to do so. St. Paul told the Romans that “the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” (Rom. 11:29). Since at least the fourth century CE the church’s tradition has drawn an analogy between baptism and ordination: it cannot be erased, nor should it be repeated. Practically, this means that one is “ordained for life,” although the church may direct the person under Holy Orders to cease to exercise the functions of ordination, either temporarily or permanently. Likewise, the ordained minister may request relief from the responsibility to carry out such functions. Thomas Oden notes that “like the baptized . . . it is possible for the duly ordained to neglect, reject, or re-interpret the gift of ministry.” He goes on to say that: [I]n most church bodies procedures exist by which ordained ministers can elect to follow other paths than full-time ministry of word, sacrament, and order. In these cases, ordination is not, strictly speaking, withdrawn or withheld, but rather it is inactive or quiescent and could by due process be reactivated. Indeed, the Book of Order of the Southern Province specifies in 858 (c) that: Neither leave of absence nor withdrawal from the ministry of the Moravian Church implies abrogation of ordination but only the cessation of official service within the Moravian Church. Persons who are not currently on the active roll of the Moravian Church ministry should not perform any of the functions of an ordained minister within the Moravian Church without specific authorization from the Provincial Elders’ Conference or one of the District Executive Boards. In the early 21st century Provincial Elders are rightly concerned about the liability under law which the Moravian Church in America may incur for the actions of clergy ordained and called by the Church. It is the recommendation of the Faith and Order Commission that such concerns should be addressed by the adoption of such by-laws as are necessary to govern those who are employed by and function under the authority of the Church, rather than by changing the church’s traditional understanding of ordination as lifelong and irrevocable. Finally, one more proposition, for meditation and consideration: 15. “Reverend” is an adjective, not a noun. BIBLIOGRAPHY Baptism, Eucharist, and Ministry. Faith and Order Paper 111. Geneva: World Council of Churches, 1982. The Book of Order of the Moravian Church (Unitas Fratrum) Northern Province. Bethlehem, 1999. The Book of Order of the Moravian Church in America, Southern Province. Winston-Salem, 2002. Burcaw, Robert T., editor. The Moravian Book of Worship Manual for Worship Planners. Bethlehem: Inter-Provincial Board of Communications, 1995. The Church Order of the Unitas Fratrum (Moravian Church), 1995. Martos, Joseph. Doors to the Sacred: A Historical Introduction to Sacraments in the Catholic Church. Expanded edition. Tarrytown, New York: Triumph Books, 1991. Oden, Thomas. Becoming a Minister. New York: Crossroad, 1987. Volume 1 of the Classical Pastoral Care series. Oden, Thomas. Pastoral Theology: Essentials of Ministry. New York: Harper & Row, 1983. ?í?an, Rudolf. The History of the Unity of Brethren: A Protestant Hussite Church in Bohemia and Moravia. C. Daniel Crews, trans. Bethlehem and Winston-Salem: The Moravian Church in America, 1992. Richardson, Cyril C., ed. Early Christian Fathers (New York: Macmillan, 1970). Schaff, Philip, and Henry Wace, eds. A Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church. Second series. New York: Scribner’s, 1906. Willimon, William H. Pastor: The Theology and Practice of Ordained Ministry. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2002.