ORDERS
281
ORDERS
tain that a bishop's ordination is a sacrament. With
regard to the sacramental cliaracterof tlie other orders
see Deacons; Minor Orders; Subdeacons.
Matter wid Form. — In the question of the matter and form of tliis sacrament we nuist distinguish be- tween the three higher orders and the subdiaconate and minor orders. Tiie Church having instituted the latter, also determines their matter and form. With regard to the former, the received opinion maintains that the imposition of hands is the sole matter. This has been undoubtedly used from the beginning; to it, exclusively and directly, the conferring of grace is as- cribed by St. Paul and many Fathers and councils. The Latin Church used it exclusively for nine or ten cen- turies, and the Greek Church to this day knows no other matter. Many scholastic theologians have held that the tradition of the instruments was the sole matter even for the strictly hierarchical orders, but this position has long been universally abandoned. Other scholastics held that both imposition of hands and the tradition of the instruments constitute the matter of the sacrament; this opinion still finds defenders. Appeal is made to the Decree of Eugene IV to the Armenians, but the pope spoke "of the integrating and accessorj' matter and form, which he wished Arme- nians to add to the imposition of hands, long since in use amongst them, that they might thus conform to the usage of the Latin Church, and more firmly adhere to it, by uniformity of rites" (Bened., XIV, " De syn. dioc", VIII, X, 8). The real foundation of the latter opinion is the power of the Church with regard to the sacrament. Christ, it is argued, instituted the Sacra- ment of Order by instituting that in the Church there should be an external rite, which would of its own na- ture signify and confer the priestly power and corre- sponding grace. As Christ did not ordain His Apostles b}' imposition of hands, it would seem that He left to the Church the power of determining by which par- ticular rite the power and grace should be conferred. The Church's determination of the particular rite would be the fulfilling of a condition reciuired in order that the Divine institution should take effect. The Church determined the simple imposition of hands for the East and added, in the course of time, the tradition of the instruments for the West — changing its sym- bolical language according as circumstances of place or time required.
The question of the form of the sacrament naturally depends on that of the matter. If the tradition of the instruments be taken as the total or partial matter, the words which accompany it will be taken as the form. If the simple imposition of hands be consid- ered the sole matter, the words which belong to it are the form. The form which accompanies the imposi- tion of hands contains the words "Accipe spiritum sanctum ", which in the ordination of priests, however, are found with the second imposition of hands, to- wards the end of the Mass, but these words are not found in the old rituals nor in the Greek Euchology. Thus the form is not contained in these words, but in the longer prayers accompanying the former imposi- tion of hands, substantially the same from the begin- ning. All that we have said about the matter and form is speculative ; in practice, whatever has been pre- scribed by the Church must be followed, and the Church in this, as in other sacraments, insists that any- thing omitted should be supplied.
Effect of the Sacrament. — The first effect of the sac- rament is an increase of sanctifying grace. With this, there is the sacramental grace which makes the recip- ient a fit and holy minister in the discharge of his office. As the duties of God's ministers are manifold and onerous, it is in perfect accord with the rulings of God's Providence to confer a special grace on His min- isters. The dispensation of sacraments requires grace, and the rightful discharge of sacred offices presupposes a special degree of spiritual excellence. "The external
sacramental sign or the power of the order can be re-
ceived and may exist without this grace. Grace is
required for the worthy, not the valid, exercise of the
power, which is immediately and inseparably con-
nected with the priestly character. The principal
effect of the sacrament is the character (q. v.), a
spiritual and indelible mark impressed upon the soul,
by which the recipient is distinguished from others,
designated as a minister of Christ, and deputed and
empowered to perform certain offices of Divine wor-
ship (Summa, III, Q. Ixiii, a. 2). The sacramental
character of order distinguishes the ordained from the
laity. It gives the recipient in the diaconate, e. g.,
the power to minister officially, in the priesthood, the
power to offer the Sacrifice and dispense the sacra-
ments, in the episcopate the powerto ordain new priests
and to confirm the faithful. The Council of Trent de-
fined the existence of a character (Sess. VII, can. 9).
Its existence is shown especially by the fact that ordi-
nation like baptism, if ever valid, can never be re-
peated. Though there have been controversies with
regard to the conditions of the validity of ordination,
and different views were held at different times in ref-
erence to them, "it has always been admitted that a
valid ordination cannot be repeated. Reordinations
do not suppose the negation of the inamissible charac-
ter of Order — they presuppose an anterior ordination
which was null. There can be no doubt that mistakes
were maae regarding the nullity of the first ordination,
but this error of fact leaves the doctrine of the initer-
ability of ordination untouched" (Saltet, "Les Re-
ordinations", .392).
Minister. — The ordinary minister of the sacrament is the bishop, who alone has this power in virtue of his ordination. Holy Scripture attributed the power to the Apostles and their successors (Acts, vi, 6; xvi. 22; I Tim., V, 22; II Tim., i, 6; Tit., i, 5), and the Fathers and councils ascribe the power to the bishop exclu- sively. Con. Nic. I, can. 4, Apost. Const. VIII, 28 " A bishop lays on hands, ordains ... a presbyter lays on hands, but does not ordain." A council held at Alexandria (340) declared the orders conferred by Caluthus, a presbyter, null and void (.\thanas., "Apol. contra Arianos", ii). For the custom said to have existed in the Church of Alexandria see Egypt. Nor can objection be raised from the fact that chor- episcopi are known to have ordained priests, as there can be no doubt that some chorcpiscopi were in bish- ops' orders (Gillman, "Das Institut der Chorbischofe im Orient," Munich, 1903; Hcfele-Leclercq, "Con- ciles", II, 1197-1237). No one but a bishop can give any orders now without a delegation from the pope, but a simple priest may be thus authorized to confer minor orders and the subdiaconate. It is generally denied that priests can confer priests' orders, and his- tory, certainly, records no instance of the exercise of such extraordinary ministry. The diaconate cannot be conferred by a simple priest, according to the ma- jority of theologians. This is sometimes questioned, as Innocent VIII is said to have granted the privilege to Cistercian abbots (1489), but the genuineness of the concession is very doubtful. For lawful ordination the bishop must be a Catholic, in commimion with the Holy See, free from censures, and must observe the laws prescribed for ordination. He cannot lawfully ordain any except his own subjects without authoriza- tion (see below).
Subject. — Every baptized male can validly receive ordination. Though in former times there were sev- eral semi-clerical ranks of women in the Church (see Deaconesses), they were not admitted to orders prop- erly so called and had no spiritual power. The first requisite for lawful ordination is a Divine vocation; by which is understoodthe action of God, whereby He selects some to be His special ministers, endowing them with the spiritual, mental, moral, and physical qualities required for the fitting discharge of their or-
