Holy Orders

The Sacrament of Holy Orders is the continuation of Christ's priesthood, which He bestowed upon His Apostles; thus, the Catechism of the Catholic Church refers to the Sacrament of Holy Orders as "the sacrament of apostolic ministry."  In the Sacrament of Holy Orders, a man is incorporated into the priesthood of Christ, at one of three levels: the episcopate, the priesthood, or the diaconate.

There is only one Sacrament of Holy Orders, but there are three levels.  The first is that which Christ Himself bestowed upon His Apostles: the episcopate.  A bishop is a man who is ordained to the episcopate by another bishop (in practice, by several bishops).  He stands in a direct, unbroken line from the Apostles, a condition known as "apostolic succession."

Ordination as a bishop confers the grace to sanctify others, as well as the authority to teach the faithful and to bind their consciences.  Because of the grave nature of this responsibility, all episcopal ordinations must be approved by the Pope.

The second level of the Sacrament of Holy Orders is the priesthood.  No bishop can minister to all of the faithful in his diocese, so priests act, in the words of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, as "co-workers of the bishops."  They exercise their powers lawfully only in communion with their bishop, and so they promise obedience to their bishop at the time of their ordination.

The chief duties of the priesthood are the preaching of the Gospel and the offering of the Eucharist.

The third level of the Sacrament of Holy Orders is the diaconate.  Deacons assist priests and bishops, but beyond the preaching of the Gospel, they are granted no special charism or spiritual gift.  Deacons can baptize, witness marriage, and preside at other liturgical events.  In the Eastern Churches, both Catholic and Orthodox, the permanent diaconate has been a constant feature.  In the West, the office of deacon was reserved to men who intended to be ordained to the priesthood.  The permanent diaconate was restored in the West by the Second Vatican Council.  Married men are allowed to become permanent deacons, however if his spouse passes away before he does, he cannot marry again.  

Each level of ordination confers special graces, from the ability to preach, granted to deacons; to the ability to act in the person of Christ to offer the Mass, granted to priests; to a special grace of strength, granted to bishops, which allows him to teach and lead his flock, even to the point of dying as Christ did.