Impediments and Advice on the Priestly Vocation
The following represents my own personal
reflections and are not necessarily representative of anyone else’s
opinions. I focus on the UOC-USA because
it is the Church I serve and the example I know best. With some minor modifications, these probably
work for other Churches and dioceses, as well.
Requirements for Ordination
The
Church is the Body of Christ. As such,
all of her members are called to bring His healing and salvation to our
suffering world. No Christian is exempt
from this work. Everyone has a vocation
in Christ. For a small group of
servants, this vocation expresses itself in the priestly ministries of the
deacon, priest, and bishop. Being a
priest is incredibly fulfilling and brings manifold blessings. A properly-trained priest who has given
himself over completely to Christ and His ministry is a source of joy to his
parish and a balm to the world. But a
poorly-trained priest, even one with a good heart and the best of intentions,
can do a great deal of damage; and a well-trained priest who has not submitted
himself to the love and disciplines of the Church can cause even more.
This
paper describes some of the ways that the Church protects her people from such
misfortune and how she helps ensure that those called to serve are put on the
proper path.
Educational Requirements for Ordination
No amount
of education at any seminary guarantees ordination. However, the UOC-USA does have minimum
educational standards that constitute necessary, but not sufficient,
qualifications for ordination.
Candidates
for the diaconate must have completed either a Master’s degree from St.
Sophia’s or any other recognized Orthodox Seminary; the Antiochian St.
Stephen’s Program (to include Summer residencies and projects); or the three
year post-diaconal weekend program for late vocations at St. Sophia
Seminary. Graduates of non-Orthodox
seminaries may be considered for ordination by augmenting their training with
classes at St. Sophia Seminary.
Candidates
for the priesthood must have either a Master’s of Divinity from St. Sophia
Seminary, a Master of Divinity from a recognized Orthodox seminary augmented by
classes at St. Sophia Seminary, or have completed both the Antiochian St.
Stephen’s Program (to include Summer residencies and projects) and the
three-year post-diaconal weekend program for late vocations at St. Sophia
Seminary. Graduates of non-Orthodox
seminaries may be considered for ordination completing the three-year post-diaconal
weekend program for late vocations at St. Sophia Seminary.
Impediments to Ordination
At some
point before ordination, the bishop decides whether the candidate is suitable
for ordination. Impediments to
ordination include both subjective elements – such as poor interpersonal
skills, spiritual immaturity and general unreliability – and objective (i.e.
“canonical”) concerns. The measuring of
both types of impediments is serious as it involves the spiritual health of
both the candidate and his potential flock.
As in confession, complete honesty on the part of the candidate is
essential (e.g. 1 Nicea 9 &10; II Nicea 2).
A Note on Discernment, the Canons, and
Economia
Ordination
is not simply about the candidate’s relationship with God or about changing an
individual’s attributes; it involves the entire ecclesia and it is through the
candidate’s interactions with the ecclesia that the process of discernment
takes place. This begins when the
candidate first talks with his parents, his spouse, his godparents, fellow
parishioners, and his confessor about ordination; then continues as he talks
and prays with other seminarians, professors, his spiritual director, and his
bishop. This process may or may not then
consummate with the service of ordination when, during the liturgical “work of
the people”, the bishop lays his hands on the ordinand and the people confirm
his actions through the acclimation of “AXIOS!”
To reiterate, discernment is a work of the Church, performed by and
within the Church.
The
application of Canon Law should be viewed as part of this interaction between
the candidate and the ecclesia. The
application of Church Tradition allows the great fathers and theologians of the
Church to be part of the discernment process.
The Orthodox Church is not fundamentalist when it comes to understanding
and applying the Canons. As with
Scripture, she interprets the Canons within the fullness of the Faith and
applies them according to the pastoral needs of the people. It should thus come as no surprise that some
of the Canons are not followed “to the letter”; in those cases, economia (i.e. exceptions or dispensation) is
granted so that the Faith may best be preserved and the salvation of the people
best pursued.
The
bishop is the pastor, servant, and leader of the local Church. It is his sacred calling to pastorally
interpret and apply the canons, not the candidate’s. Bishops may grant economia in specific
instances, but this comes as the result of their prayerful discernment for each
case. The fact that an exception was
made in one case (or even in many cases)
does not mean that it will be made in another, no matter how compelling the
case seems to be. Economia should
neither be assumed nor expected by applicants/candidates!
The
Canons list the following as being
impediments to ordination (this list is not all inclusive):
Violations of faith
- Candidates for ordination must be Orthodox
Christian men. No heretic or member of a
heterodox group can be considered for ordination.
- No candidate may be considered for ordination
who, after baptism/conversion, has denied Christ or blasphemed His servants
(Apostolic 62).
- The candidate may not be a member of any
other religion or secret society (Trullo 34).
Violations of purity
- The candidate must either be (and remain)
celibate or married to an Orthodox Christian woman, with this being each of
their first marriage and their marriage being chaste (Apostolic 17 &18;
Chalcedon 14; Trullo 6; see also Apostolic 61; Neocaesarea 8 & 9).
- The candidate must be free from the stain of
killing, to include murder, abortion, assisted suicide, and manslaughter,
whether intentional or unintentional.
This is true even if the act was legal (e.g. abortion or causing death
in war).
Violations of practice and good order
- The candidate may not hold a job that would,
in the normal course of his duties, lead him to violate priestly and Christian
norms. This includes jobs that would
require him to carry a weapon, administer abortifacients, commit usury, or
generally behave in a manner that is or might be perceived as being
inconsistent with Orthodox Christianity or the priestly ministry (Apostolic 83;
1 Nicea 17; Laodicea 36; Chalcedon 3; Trullo 9 & 24).
- Clergy at every level are responsible to
their bishop. Candidates should not
“shop around” for a bishop that is willing to ordain them or change parishes
without the blessing of their bishop (e.g. 1 Nicea 5; 1 Nicea 16).
- No candidate may offer money, goods, or
services in hopes of obtaining ordination (I Nicea 17).
- The candidate must run an orderly house, to
include raising all the children living under his roof as Orthodox Christians
(Chalcedon 14).
Considerations of age and time
- No one under thirty years of age, regardless
of their maturity, should be ordained to the priesthood; no one under
twenty-five should be ordained to the diaconate; and no one under twenty should
be ordained to the sub-diaconate (Trullo 14 &15).
- Newly baptized Christians should not be
ordained; moreover, it is best for candidates to spend some time at each
clerical rank before being ordained to the next one (1 Nicea 2; Sardica 10).
If this
list seems to set the bar unreasonably high (or at least higher than many of
our candidates and priests are able to reach), remember that the Law serves two
purposes: first, to instruct and guide us to perfection and second, to point
out our need for Christ’s mercy and help.
It is only through His grace that we are called Christians. None are worthy of anything good, but all are
called to theosis in Christ.
It is
heartbreaking when men are so wrapped up in their lust for the priesthood that
they lose their humility and gratitude for salvation itself. I have even spoken with men who want to be
priests so badly that they are willing to sell their soul (e.g. through
apostacy) to achieve it. Like Simon
Magus, such have failed the first test.
Additional
Considerations
While
none of the following rise to the level of canon law or constitute grounds for
automatic disqualification, they do constitute challenges to the candidate’s
ability to serve as a member of the clergy and should be prayerfully considered
and discussed with the relevant people (e.g. spiritual fathers, bishops, and
wives). The priesthood is martyrdom enough on its own, adding additional
“voluntary” stressors is imprudent and dangerous.
Think of
these less as “rules” and more as strong recommendations for setting oneself up
for success (and avoiding failure) in parish ministry.
Financial
considerations
- The UOC-USA has few parishes that provide
suitable benefits to support a family without assistance. Financial stress causes temptations within a
priest’s family and can compromise his ability to serve his flock with love and
objectivity. Candidates should work out
realistic post-ordination budgets well in advance to ensure their ability to
support their families should they be ordained.
- Priests should come into their ministry
without debt, to include student loans.
Candidates with debt should pay it off before ordination. There is no hurry to become a priest – the
Church can wait and so can candidates, especially if taking extra time sets
them up for success rather than failure.
In addition to paying off debt, candidates should consider building up a
three to six month “emergency fund” as they prepare for ordination. The combination of no monthly debt payments
and the presence of a well-funded emergency fund will improve their ability to
serve their flocks without reservation.
- Priests should come into their priesthood
with the kind of skills and work-ethic that will allow them to support their
family with little remuneration from their parish. Most of our priests are “bi-vocational.” The worker is worthy of his wages, but St.
Paul was a tent-maker.
- All of these financial considerations are
multiplied for diaconal candidates as deacons are given, at most, a small
stipend for their service.
- No one should consider becoming a priest
because the economy is bad, he has fallen on hard times, or he cannot find a
job in his preferred career.
Personal considerations
- The priesthood brings stress to marriages;
more stress than a troubled marriage or a reluctant Pani Matka/Dobrodika should
be expected to bear. Candidates need to
be honest about the ability of their marriages and spouses to handle this.
- The priest is always under scrutiny and
stress. Mental illnesses and addictions
do not disappear with ordination.
Breakdowns and lapses can scandalize and divide parishes.
- Physical ailments do not disappear with
ordination, either. Candidates should
make sure that they are physically ready to handle the isolation and physical
stress of the priesthood. It is a
sedentary job where the temptation is to work 24/7 and skimp on rest and
re-creation. As a result, priests often suffer from “diseases of civilization”
like obesity, type-two diabetes, and hypertension. Candidates who are overweight or in poor
health should correct their conditions and the habits that led to them before
ordination.
- Bishops and priests are looking for men who
would be good shepherds for people they love and good colleagues for
themselves. Gossipers, conspirators,
political ideologues, bigots, and complainers do not make good guides or
colleagues. Priests need not be saints,
but they should be trying really hard to become perfect.
- Related to this, candidates must have a
strong spiritual life, to include regular confession, a daily prayer rule, and
the peace of the Holy Spirit.
- Orthodox services witness to and participate
in God’s eternal beauty and the harmony of His creation. The priest’s leadership of these services
should be both agile and euphonious.
Candidates should develop their eyes, ears, bodies, and voices
accordingly. A clumsy or tone-deaf
priest is a distraction and inhibits the growth of his community.
Parish life
- Candidates should be tithing members of their
UOC-USA parish, attending all her services, and participating in her Mysteries
on a regular basis.
- Candidates should immerse themselves in
parish life as part of their preparation.
This does not just include service in the altar, at the kliros, and in
the choir (although each of these is important!), but also service on the
parish board, in the UOL, on committees, as teachers, and as volunteers at
parish functions.
- Candidates for the priesthood should have
demonstrated their love for and loyalty to the UOC-USA, her people, her
priests, her bishops, and her culture. A
familiarity with the Ukrainian language is useful and candidates should work to
master sound liturgical pronunciation in both English and Ukrainian well before
ordination. Saying portions of one’s
daily prayer rule in both English and Ukrainian will help.
- Candidates should be mission-minded
evangelists no matter what type of parish (e.g. ethnic, convert, mission,
mixed) they hope to serve. They should
be ready to seek and create opportunities to introduce people to Holy Orthodoxy
and deepen the faith of their parishioners who are already Orthodox. The Church does not call priests to serve as
caretakers or docents in her parishes, she calls them to evangelize.
- Candidates, and especially “late vocations”
should be consistent members of a single UOC-USA parish. Some people who take their academic theology
or national culture more seriously than their life in Christ move from parish
to parish looking for the place that “does everything right.” Candidates should be serious about their
service to their bishop and his flock.
The candidate who is so devoted to the priesthood that he shops around
for the perfect bishop or parish is like the man who loves marriage so much
that he divorces his wife to find a better one.
- The above is especially true for those who
jump from jurisdiction to jurisdiction looking for a bishop who would be
willing to ordain them. This is far
outside the norms of good canonical order and a sure sign of the candidate’s
lack of spiritual maturity and commitment.
An
article by Fr.
Anthony Perkins
Source: http://www.orthoanalytika.org/2013/09/10/some-thoughts-on-the-priestly-vocation-impediments-and-advice/
