The Ministry
A).
Candidacy for Ordination
I.
General Canons
1) Those wishing to be
admitted to Candidacy for the Ministry must be male, at least nineteen (19)
years of age, of good moral character, able to demonstrate an appropriate depth
of learning consistent with the ministry to which he is called, celibate,
abstinent if single, faithful if married, and able to demonstrate appropriate
devotion to the Lord Jesus and His One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.
2) Candidates shall have
been baptized as a Christian with water in the Name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit, and have been confirmed by a bishop of a recognized
Catholic communion not less than two (2) years prior to application for
candidacy.
3) Candidates must show
mental stability either through psychological examination or obvious stability
and accomplishments in life. If there is any doubt regarding the mental
stability of any Candidate he shall, at his own expense, submit to a thorough
psychological evaluation by an individual licensed or registered to do
psychological testing and evaluation within his or her legal psychological
jurisdiction. Any psychometrist selected must be approved by the Ordinary of
the Diocese or an adviser to the Ordinary who is familiar with psychological
credentials.
4) No individual who is
currently abusing substances, or has abused substances in the last three (3)
years may be admitted to Candidacy until he has completed a substance abuse
treatment program and has been substance-free for three (3) years. Substance
abuse shall mean any usage of illegal drugs whatsoever, or the excessive use of
prescription or over-the-counter drugs in a way not prescribed by the
prospective candidate's physician, or the excessive use of alcohol. It shall
also include excessive gambling, sexual addiction, or any other addictive
behaviors which have interfered with life, family or work.
5) Unless there is a good and sufficient pastoral
reason, no individual shall be ordained until he has been a candidate for a
minimum of eighteen (18) months, regardless of previous education.
a) A pastoral reason shall include:
i) The candidate's current operation
as a pastor or minister of the Gospel in a mission parish or another
denomination
where the current curé of the pastor
is joining The
ii) The need for missionary priests
in a location where there are no or an insufficient number of priests.
iii) The need for a priest to serve
a disadvantaged population and the inability of the Church to obtain an already
ordained priest to serve.
iv) Imminent death of an individual
who is currently a candidate for the ministry.
v) Terminal disease on the part of a
candidate which makes it unlikely that he would complete the eighteen (18)
month candidacy period.
6) Candidates shall
attend an approved theological seminary or complete a prescribed course of
reading for orders, culminating, in either case, in comprehensive examinations
as noted below.
7) All Candidates shall make a written report to
the Ordinary four (4) times a year, within one week of: The First Sunday of
Advent, the First Sunday after Easter, the First Sunday in July, and the First
Sunday of October. This report shall included:
a) The Candidate's progress in studies.
b) The Candidate's progress with the Rule of Life.
c) Frequency of attendance at Mass and saying of the Sacred
Offices.
d) The state of the Candidate's health.
e) The state of the Candidate's family.
f) The state of the Candidate's employment.
8) Failure to make such reports may result in the Candidate
being stricken from the list of Candidates for the Ministry.
II.
Steps to Ordination
1) Any man wishing to be
ordained to the Sacred Ministry must first contact the priest of his parish,
or, if no priest is available, the Ordinary of the Diocese in which he resides.
2) The priest of the
parish must write a recommendation to the Ordinary of the Diocese, who shall then
examine the man for fitness for ministry.
3) If the Ordinary of the
Diocese determines that the man is fit for ministry, he shall admit him to
Candidacy for the Diaconate.
4) Each Candidate must be
educated appropriately and demonstrate proficiency on comprehensive
examinations to the Board of Examining Chaplains.
5) Each Candidate must be
approved by the Standing Committee on the Ministry as to fitness and
appropriateness for ministry.
6) Each Candidate must show
forth in his life appropriate moral and ethical behavior as suits a member of
the Sacred Ministry.
7) A prospective Candidate shall be disqualified
if:
a) He has a felony conviction.
i) Such disqualification may be
dispensed by agreement of the Candidate's Ordinary and the Standing Committee
that
the Candidate has reformed his life
to such a degree that he will be an effective witness to the Gospel of Jesus
Christ.
b) He is engaging in sexual relations with any person other
than his lawful spouse.
c) He is homosexual.
d) He is divorced and remarried or intends to remarry.
i) Such disqualification may be
dispensed by the Ordinary of Candidate's Diocese if the Ordinary determines
that
a previous marriage was or was
likely invalid due to various impediments.
ii) If nullity of previous marriage
is determined by the Ordinary of the Candidate's Diocese, the Ordinary shall
issue a Decree of Nullity.
iii) In no case shall a decree of
nullity be issued for more than two (2) previous marriages.
iv) The Ordinary in these cases
shall thoroughly examine both Candidate and his wife to assure that they
understand the
concept of Christian Marriage, the
Sacramental Nature of Marriage, and the indissolubility of Christian Marriage.
e) His lifestyle or secular profession are such that
possible scandal would result from ordaining him.
f) He has abandoned his financial and moral obligations to
any children of previous marriages.
g) He has been convicted of sexual abuse of children or any
other sexual perversion.
i) This disqualification does not admit of exception.
8) Each Candidate for
Ordination shall be required to sign and swear adherence to the Statement of
Faith.
9) Each Candidate for
Ordination shall be required to sign a waiver indemnifying and releasing the
Church from all liability in employment, examination, training, and all other
issues whatsoever. The Candidate shall agree that, as a condition of candidacy,
he waives all rights to any legal action whatsoever, agreeing to pursue any
grievances exclusively within the governance of the Church.
10) Each Candidate for
Ordination shall, prior to being examined, make submission and swear/promise
obedience to a Bishop of this Church in good standing.
11) No Candidate shall be
permitted to proceed with examination unless he is under the authority of a
Bishop, or, if the see of his Bishop be vacant, under the temporary authority
and sponsorship of the Archbishop with a vow of obedience to the Bishop of his
see within five (5) days of such see being filled.
B).
The Board of Examining Chaplains
1) The
2) The Board of Examining
Chaplains shall consist of at least two (2) presbyters who shall come from
different dioceses.
3) All persons wishing ordination shall be
examined on, and must demonstrate proficiency in the following subjects:
a) Holy Scripture, including the Old Testament & New
Testament.
b) Moral Theology.
c) Dogmatic Theology.
d) Pastoral Theology.
e) Church History.
f) Homiletics.
g) Liturgics.
h) Parish Administration.
i) Christian Education.
4) Demonstrated
proficiency through a Seminary Education will not relieve the candidate of the
necessity for demonstrating proficiency through these comprehensive exams.
5) The Board of Examining
Chaplains shall return exams to candidates with an indication of passage or
failure. If the candidate fails in the examination, he shall be advised as to
the reasons for failure and given ninety (90) days from the date the returned
exam is postmarked to re-take the exam.
6) All exams shall be
open book examinations.
7) If a candidate does
not pass the examination by the third sitting, he shall be stricken from the
list of candidates for the ministry, and may not be re-admitted for two (2)
years. Re-admission shall require evidence of remedial education to remedy
candidate's educational deficiencies.
8) No Bishop shall, under
any circumstances, except as noted below, ordain an individual who is not
endorsed by the Board of Examining Chaplains.
9) Except that any
candidate may petition the
10) An override by the
a) Majority agreement that the case of the candidate denied
admission to ordination be reviewed.
b) Appointment of a committee of three (3) learned persons,
one of whom shall be a Bishop who is not the Ordinary of the candidate, to
review the examinations.
c) Majority agreement by the appointed committee that the
candidate's examinations are satisfactory and that the candidate shall proceed
to ordination.
d) The candidate's ordinary may then pass the candidate on
to the Standing Committee on the Ministry for evaluation of the candidate's character
and fitness for the ministry.
C).
Standing Committee on the Ministry
1) The College of Bishops
shall appoint a Standing Committee on the Ministry, which shall consist of at least
the following: One Bishop, two priests from different dioceses, and not sharing
a diocese with the appointed Bishop, and two learned lay-people, from different
dioceses, and not sharing a diocese with the appointed Bishop, nor a parish
with the appointed Priests.
2) Other priests may be
appointed to the Standing Committee, but no more than one (1) Bishop and two
lay people shall be appointed.
3) The Standing Committee
shall meet in person or by teleconference on a quarterly basis to review all
applications for ordination to the Diaconate, the presbyterate, or the
episcopate.
4) The Standing Committee
shall examine the Candidate regarding his theological orthodoxy, mode and
manner of living, mental stability, financial stability, and devotion to the
Lord and the Church, and general fitness for the Ministry.
5) The Standing Committee may use:
a) Personal examination
b) Letters of reference
c) Psychological examinations
d) Credit reports
e) Priestly recommendation
f) Personal knowledge of Candidate
g) Interviews with family, friends and others
h) Any other legal and ethical method of examination.
6) The Standing Committee
shall issue a recommendation within thirty (30) days of the quarterly meeting
of the Standing Committee to the Ordinary of the Diocese regarding the fitness
of the man for the Sacred Ministry of the Church.
7) The Ordinary of any
Diocese may request that the Standing Committee meet in extraordinary session
to consider any Candidate for good and sufficient reason.
8) The Ordinary of the
Diocese may choose to act upon the recommendation of the Standing Committee,
but is not required to do so, although the recommendations of the Standing
Committee should be ignored only for serious reasons and after serious
consideration.
9) If the Ordinary does
not accept the recommendation of the Standing Committee, he shall issue a
written report to the
D).
Of Ordinations in General
1) The following shall
apply to all ordained offices, notwithstanding any other canon specific to the
office.
2) Ordinations shall be
performed only by a validly consecrated Bishop of the Church, in person, after
serious examination of the Candidate's learning, past, and devotion.
3) All ordinations shall
be performed using either the Rite of Ordination of the Novus Ordo, or the Rite
of Ordination of the Tridentine Liturgy. No other Rite shall be used.
4) Ordinations must be
performed through a physical laying on of hands, and an invocation to the Holy
Spirit.
5) Only males may be
ordained to any of the three offices of the Sacred Ministry.
6) All ordained orders
must sign a "Statement of Faith," and swear to uphold the doctrine
and traditions of the One, Holy, Catholic and
7) Any man ordained must
swear obedience to the Bishop of his see and to the Archbishop-Metropolitan.
8) Any ordination which
departs from these canons is questionable, and the man must be ordained sub
conditione under these canons.
9) If it is discovered
that the Candidate misrepresented himself in any way, the ordination remains
valid, but the individual's ministry will be inhibited until a full
investigation of the facts may be made by the Ordinary or an individual
appointed by him. If the material misrepresentation is severe enough to
interfere with the effective conduct of ministry, the deacon, priest or bishop
making the misrepresentation shall be laicized and prohibited from practicing
his ministry within the
10) A deacon, priest, or
bishop inhibited in one diocese may not practice in another diocese of the