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18
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
THE
SACRAMENT OF ORDINATION
THE
SACRAMENT OF ORDINATION
Sacraments (or
Mysteries) are holy actions of the Church by which spiritual life is
imparted to those receiving them. Ordination, means "to set in place"
or "to select by the outreached hand,"
Gifts
These were not due to
laying on of hands.
They are charismatic.
It is a direct gift
of God to the Church.
Eph 4:8-13
Therefore it is said,
"When he ascended on
high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men."….
And his gifts were
that
some should
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
we all attain to the
unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature
manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ;
Evangelists were often laid hands upon to empower them in their
ministry as they go out. This follows the biblical procedure as given
in
Act 13:2-3 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy
Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which
I have called them." Then after fasting and praying they laid their
hands on them and sent them off.
The following are set
in place by the laying on of hands which releases the Power of the
Holy Spirit for special duties within the church. These are:
Bishops
Christ ordained the
Twelve, Apostles, "You did not choose Me, but I chose you and
appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit
should remain" (John 15:16). After the assumption they laid hands on
others to receive the Spirit,
New Testament and the
Church Fathers recognize the Twelve as the first bishops or overseers
in the Church. The word Episkopen is used in Act 1:20 (Gr. Episkopen,
is translated as. "Bishopric"; Acts
1:20
. Peter said, "Let another take his office")
Deacons
Acts 6:1-6 describes
the first ordination of deacons. "Seek out from among you seven men of
good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, "the apostles
said, "whom we may appoint [Gr. Kathistemi, "to set down" or "ordain"]
over this business" (Acts 6:3). Once they are elected the procedure
for ordination was laying on of hands. ( "They laid hands on them"
(Acts 6:6)). In this process seven men were chosen, They were not
to supposed to be preaching of the Word but rather appointed to the
ministry of charity by being the servants to the people of God. Then
these men they called “deacons” and they were then sent into the local
community to attend to the needs of the sick, marginalized, orphans,
and widows. This was when communion was a real feast and these
deacons served at the tables. Among them were great ministers of the
word and powerful people like Stephen. When the feast evolved as
symbolic “Eucharist”, these became the priestly role.
Presbyters - Priests
The first account of
the ordination of elders or presbyters is in described in Acts 14:23.
The apostles Paul and Barnabas "appointed [lit. "Elected by
stretching forth the hand"] elders in every church, and prayed
with fasting," then "commended them to the Lord in whom they had
believed."
Paul tells Titus, "For
this reason I left you in
Crete, that you should
set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint [set in place,
ordain] elders in every city as I commanded you"
(Titus 1:5).
Ordination is seen as
an eternal appointment, "for the gifts and the calling of God are
irrevocable" (Rom. 11:29).
Praying over the candidate
 
Left: Laying on of hands
Right: Pouring chrism on the head
during ordination.
Ordination was ordained by YVH for at
least three ministerial services.
These are
Prophet, Priest, and
King
One of the symbols of
sacrament of ordination in these was the anointing oil
 
In April, 1988 The Shemen
Afarshimon, the Holy Anointing Oil, from the Holy Temple, was found by
the archealogists. The Pharmaceutical Department of Hebrew University
identified the substance inside the small jug as one similar to the
Shemen Afarshimon of Psalm 133.
Anointing of prophets:
“Also you shall anoint ..
And Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah you shall anoint as
prophet in your place.”
1
Kings 19:16
Ordination of Prophet
Elisha by Elijha was using the anointing oil, however the real power
of prophecy came with the transfer of the mantle – Passing the Mantle
This gave Elisha the status and position once held by Elijah The
clothings were part of the sacrament of ordination and are still used
as status symbols
Ordination of
Kings
“ Also you
shall anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over
Israel. ”
1 Kings
19:16
Anointing
of David as King by Samuel
Anointing
of kings:
Judges 9:8, 15;
Saul (1 Samuel 9:16; 10:1; 15:1),
David (1 Samuel 16:3, 12:13; 2 Samuel 2:4, 5:3, 12:7, 9:21; 1
Chronicles 11:3), Solomon (1 Kings 1:39; 1 Chronicles 29:22)
Coronation ofGustav
III of Sweden
Ordination of
Priests
Ordination
of Aaron
“Then you shall take the anointing oil, and pour it on his head and
anoint him. (Exodus 29:7)
The kohanim
are the priests--the children and descendents of Aaron--who did the
services in the Mishkan (tabernacle) and then later in the Beit
Hamikdah (the Temple) in Jerusalem. They had to wear special
clothing. These clothing were
1) the ketonet
-- a long linen shirt;
2) michnasayim
-- pants made of linen;
3) mitznefet
or migba'at -- a hat or cap;
4) avnet -- a
long sash (belt) wound above the waist.
The Kohen Gadol--the "High
Priest," had to wear four extra garments:
5) the efod, a sort of very
fancy apron, made of blue, purple and red-dyed wool, linen and gold
thread;
6) the choshen, a very
special garment which was worn on the chest, containing twelve
precious stones inscribed with the names of the twelve tribes of
Israel;
7) me'il -- a cloak of blue
wool, with gold bells and pomegranates hanging from the bottom;
8) the tzitz -- a golden
plate worn on the forehead like a sort of band, with the words "Holy
to G-d" engraved on it.
Anointing of
high priest:
Exodus 29:7,
29; 40:13; Leviticus 6:20; 8:12; 16:32; Numbers 35:25; Psalm 133:2
Anointing of
priests:
Exodus 28:41;
30:30; 40:15; Leviticus 4:3; 8:30; Numbers 3:3
“Then Moses took some of the
anointing oil and some of the blood which was on the altar, and
sprinkled it on Aaron, on his garments, on his sons, and on the
garments of his sons with him; and he consecrated Aaron, his
garments, his sons, and the garments of his sons with him.”
Leviticus 8:30
These ordination
procedures are reflected in todays ordination services. The dress of
the priests and bishops follow the similar pattern as a strong
communication medium as semiotic symbols.
The sacrament of
Holy Orders
is usually administered by a Bishop where such an office is
in existence. Otherwise elders do the job. In places where the
church is newly formed, a company of elders do the ordaining by laying
on of hands.
The prayer is to "fill
with the gift of the Holy Spirit this man ... that he may be worthy to
stand in innocence before Your holy alter, to proclaim the gospel of
Your Kingdom, to minister the word of Your truth, to offer You
spiritual gifts and sacrifices, to renew Your people through the laver
of regeneration."
As such the
definition of the priest is “A brother who is set apart to serve the
brothers” This is the definition handed down to me from my father.
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