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Text Box: and receive the power and grace to perform their sacred duties. Q. 979. Besides bishops and priests, who are the other ministers of the Church? A. Besides bishops and priests, the other ministers of the Church are deacons and subdeacons, who, while preparing for the priesthood, have received some of the Holy Orders, but who have not been ordained to the full powers of the priest. Q. 980. Why is this Sacrament called Holy Orders? A. This Sacrament is called Holy Orders because it is conferred by seven different grades or steps following one another in fixed order by which the sacred powers of the priesthood are gradually given to the one admitted to that holy state. Q. 981. What are the grades by which one ascends to the priesthood? A. The grades by which one ascends to the priesthood are: 1. Tonsure, or the clipping of the hair by the bishop, by which the candidate for priesthood dedicates himself to the service of the altar; 2. The four minor orders, Porter, Reader, Exorcist, and Acolyte, by which he is permitted to perform certain duties that laymen should not perform; 3. Sub-deaconship, by which he takes upon himself the obligation of leading a life of perpetual chastity and continence in accordance with his station in life, and of saying daily the divine office; 4. Deaconship, by which be receives power to preach, baptize, and give Holy Communion. The next step, priesthood, gives him power to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Divine Liturgy (Mass) and forgive sins. These orders are not all given at once, but at times fixed by the laws of the Church. Q. 982. Are not the different orders separate Sacraments?

Text Box: A. These different orders are not separate Sacraments. Taken all together, some are a preparation for the Sacrament and the rest are but the one Sacrament of Holy Orders; as the roots, trunk and branches form but one tree. Q. 983. What name is given to sub-deaconship, deaconship and priesthood? A. Sub-deaconship, deaconship and priesthood are called major or greater orders, because those who receive them are bound for life to the service of the altar and they cannot return to the service of the world to live as ordinary laymen. Q. 984. What double power does the Church possess and confer on her pastors? A. The Church possesses and confers on her pastor, the power of orders and the power of jurisdiction; that is, the power to administer the Sacraments and sanctify the faithful, and the power to teach and make laws that direct the faithful to their spiritual good. A bishop has the full power of orders and a Full Ecumenical Council of the Bishops alone has the full power of jurisdiction. Q. 985. How do the pastors of the Church rank according to authority? A. The pastors of the Church rank according to authority as follows: 1. Priests, who govern parishes or congregations in the name of their bishop; 2. Bishops, who rule over a number of parishes or a diocese; 3. Archbishops, who have authority over a number of dioceses or a province. These may also be Metropolitan Archbishops; 4. Primates, who have authority over the ecclesiastical or Church provinces of a nation, and are usually a Metropolitan Primate; 5. Patriarchs, who have authority over a Church Jurisdiction which usually corresponds to its national jurisdictional name. Thus the Patriarch of Moscow is the Metropolitan Archbishop of Moscow and the Patriarch of the

Text Box: Russian Orthodox Church; the Patriarch of Jerusalem is the Metropolitan Archbishop of Jerusalem; the Pope of Rome is the Bishop of Rome or the Metropolitan Archbishop of Rome and the Patriarch of the Roman Catholic Church. 6. The Jurisdictional Synod of Bishops. Q. 986. How do the prelates or higher officers of the Church rank in dignity? A. The prelates or higher officers of the Church rank in dignity as they rank in authority, except that in dignity all Bishops of whatever rank are equal, then Vicars General and Vicars Apostolic who may be of any rank but usually are Mitered Archpriest or above in rank, then Mitered Archpriests, then Archpriests which generaly correspond to Monsignor in the Roman Church, then those specially appointed by their Bishop ranking according to the powers delegated to them. Q. 987. Wht is the Synod of Bishops, its duties and authority? A. Each Orthodox Church, Religious Order, or Jurisdiction, is slightly different, but generally, the Synod elects the Patriarch or Primate, and nominates and appoints new bishops usually under the direction or request of the Patriarch or Primate. Usually the Synod is the repository of the final temporal authority of its Jurisdiction,. +

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