Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 11.djvu/311

 ORDERS

279

ORDERS

errors the "Hlstoria Ecclesiastica" gives a very vivid picture of the times and is of great historical value. A competent authority has declared it the best French history of the twelfth century. Ordericus was also something of a poet and there are manuscripts of his collected Latin poems. The best text of the " Historia Ecclesiastica" is that edited by Le Provost for the "Soci6t6 de I'histoire de France" (5 vols., 1838-55). The fifth volume contains a valuable introduction by L. Delisle. There is also a text in Migne, vol. CLXXXVIII. A French translation was published in Guizot's "Collection des m^moires" and an Eng- lish translation in Bohn's "Antiquarian Library" (4 vols., 1853-5).

MoLiNiER, Les sources de Vhistoire de France, II, 219; Freeman, Norman Conquest, IV, 495-500.

F. F. Urquhart. Orders, Anglican. See Anglican Orders.

Orders, Holy. — Order is the appropriate disposi- tion of things equal and unequal, by giving each its proper place (St. Aug., " De civ. Dei," XIX, xiii). Order primarily means a relation. It is used to designate that on which the relation is founded and thus generally means rank (St. Thom., "Suppl.", Q. xxxiv, a. 2, ad 4um). In this sense it was applied to clergy and laity (St. Jer., "In Isaiam", XIX, 18; St. Greg, the Great, "Moral.", XXXII, xx). The meaning was restricted later to the hierarchy as a whole or to the various ranks of the clergy. TertuUian and some early writers had already used the word in that sense, but generally with a quali- fying adjective (Tert., "De exhort, cast.", vii, ordo sacerdotalis, ordo ecclesiasticus; St. Greg, of Tours, "Vit. patr.", X, i, ordo clericorum). Order is used to signify not only the particular rank or general status of the clergy, but also the outward action by which they are raised to that status, and thus stands for ordination. It also indicates what differentiates laity from clergy or the various ranks of the clergy, and thus means spiritual power. The Sacrament of Order is the sacrament by which grace and spiritual power for the discharge of ecclesiastical offices are conferred.

Christ founded His Church as a supernatural soci- ety, the Kingdom of God. In this society there must be the power of ruling ; and also the principles by which the members are to attain their supernatural end, viz., supernatural truth, which is held by faith, and super- natural grace by which man is formally elevated to the supernatural order. Thus, besides the power of juris- diction, the Church has the power of teaching (magis- terium) and the power of conferring grace (power of order). This power of order was committed by our Lord to His Apostles, who were to continue His work and to be His earthly representatives. The Apostles received their power from Christ: "as the Father hath sent me, I alsosend you"(John, XX, 21). Christ pos- sessed fullness of power in virtue of His priesthood^of His office as Redeemer and Mediator. He merited the grace which freed man from the bondage of sin, which grace is applied to man mediately by the Sacri- fice of the Eucharist and immediately by the sacra- ments. He gave His Apostles the power to offer the Sacrifice (Luke, xxii, 19), and dispense the sacraments (Matt., x.xviii, 18; John, xx, 22, 23); thus making them priests. It is true that every Christian receives sanc- tifying grace which confers on him a priesthood. Even as Israel under the Old dispensation was to God "a priestly kingdom" (Exod., xix, 4-6), thus under the New, all Christians are "a kingly priesthood" (I Pet., ii, 9); but now as then the special and sacramental priesthood strengthens and perfects the universal priesthood (cf. II Cor., iii, 3, 6; Rom., xv, 16).

Sacrament of Order. — From Scripture we learn that the .\postles appointed others by an external rite (imposition of hands), conferring inward grace. The fact that grace is ascribed immediately to the ex-

ternal rite, shows that Christ must have thus ordained. The fact that xcipovrovitv, x^poToi'ta, which meant elect- ing by show of hands, had acquired the technical meaning of ordination by imposition of hands before the middle of the third century, shows that appoint- ment to the various orders was made by that exter- nal rite. We read of the deacons, how the Apostles " praying, imposed hands upon them" (.\cts, vi, 6). In II Tim., i, 6 St. Paul reminds Timothy that he was made a bishop by the imposition of St. Paul's hands (cf. I Tim., iv, 4), and Timothy is exhorted to appoint presbyters by the same rite (I Tim., v, 22; cf. Acts, xiii, 3; xiv, 22). In Clem., "Horn.", Ill, Ixxii, we read of the appointment of Zachseus as bishop by the imposi- tion of Peter's hands. The word is used in its techni- cal meaning by Clement of Alexandria ("Strom.", VI, .xiii, cvi; cf. "Const. Apost.", II, viii, 36). "A priest lays on hands, but does not ordain" (x"po^frc[ oi> xE'Po™"") "Didasc. Syr.", IV; III, 10, 11, 20; Cornelius, "Ad Fabianum" in Euseb., "Hist. Eccl.", VI, .xliii.

Grace was attached to this external sign and con- ferred by it. "I admonish thee, that thou stir up the grace of God which is in thee, through (5id) the in- position of my hands" (II Tim., i, 6). The context clearly shows that there is question here of a grace which enables Timothy to rightly discharge the office imposed upon him, for St. Paul continues "God hath not given us the spirit of fear: but of power, and of love, and of sobriety." This grace is something per- manent, as appears from the words "that thou stir up the grace which is in thee " ; we reach the same con- clusion from I Tim., iv, 14, where St. Paul says, "Neg- lect not the grace that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with (i^erd) imposition of hands of the priesthood." This text shows that when St. Paul ordained Timothy, the presbyters also laid their hands upon him, even as now the presbyters who assist at or- dination lay their hands on the candidate. St. Paul here exhorts Timothy to teach and command, to be an example to all. To neglect this would be to neglect the grace which is in him. This grace therefore en- ables him to teach and command, to discharge his office rightly. The grace then is not a charismatic gift, but a gift of the Holy Spirit for the rightful discharge of official duties. The Sacrament of Order has ever been recognized in the Church as such. This is attested by the belief in a special priesthood (cf. St. John Chrys., "De sacerdotio"; St. Greg, of Nyss., " Oratio in baptism. Christi"), which requires a special ordination. St. Augustine, speaking about baptism and order, says, "Each is a sacrament, and each is given by a certain consecration, ... If both are sac- raments, which no one doubts, how is the one not lost (bv defection from the Church) and the other lost?" (Contra. Epist. Parmen., ii, 28-30). The Council of Trent says, "Whereas, by the testimony of Scripture, by Apostolic tradition, and by the unanimous con- sent of the Fathers, it is clear that grace is conferred by sacred ordination, which is performed 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. XXIII, c. iii, can, 3).

Nu.MBER OF Orders. — The Council of Trent (Sess. XXIII, can. 2) defined that, besides the priesthood, there are in the Church other orders, both major and minor (q. v.). Though nothing has been defined with regard to the number of orders it is usually given as seven: priests, deacons, subdeacons, acolytes, exor- cists, readers, and doorkeepers. The priesthood is thus counted as including bishops; if the latter be numbered separately we have eight; and if we add first tonsure, which was at one time regarded as an order, we have nine. We meet with different numberings in different Churches, and it would seem that mystical reasons influenced them to some extent (Martene, " De antiq. eccl. rit.", I, viii, 1, 1; Denzinger, "Kit. orient.",