Three of the seven Sacraments set men in peculiar relations to God. Baptism makes us citizens in His Kingdom; Confirmation makes us soldiers of Christ, and Order makes us public officials in the Church. The word itself implies that there is a certain order or gradation in those officials, and, indeed, the very nature of society implies that there must be order. The Sacrament, therefore, by which bishops, priests and other ministers of the Church are constituted is known as Holy Order. Now, we may look on the Church in two ways, first, as a society with a government, or, secondly, as a society which worships God through the Liturgy. Though the same officers fulfill the duties of government and of public worship, they are organized in a different fashion for each end.
The conferring of the Sacrament of Orders sets apart certain men, as we have seen, for the service of the Church. From the Greek word for church, "Ecclesia," they are called in general "Ecclesiastics," or people belonging to the Church. In the Old Testament the tribe of Levi was set apart for this purpose, but in the New Testament men of every tribe and people may be chosen. We read in the Acts of the Apostles how a successor to Judas was elected:
In those days Peter rose up in the midst of the brethren and said, Men brethren, the Scripture must needs be fulfilled which the Holy Ghost spake before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who was the leader of them that took Jesus. For he was numbered amongst us, and had received his lot in this ministry. Now, he hath obtained a field with the reward of his iniquity, and, being hanged, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. And it became known to all the dwellers at Jerusalem, insomuch that in their language that same field was called Haceldama, that is to say, The Field of Blood. For it is written in the book of Psalms:Let his habitation be made desolate.Of the men therefore that have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus came in and went out among us, beginning from the Baptism of John unto the day that He was taken up from us, must one become a witness with us of His resurrection. And they appointed two, Joseph, called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. And they prayed and said, Thou Lord who knowest the hearts of all men show of these two the one Thou hast chosen to take the place of this ministry and apostleship from which Judas hath by transgression fallen that he might go unto his own place. And they gave lots unto them, and the lot fell upon Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven Apostles." (Chapter 1)
And let no man dwell therein.
His bishopric let another take.
Now, the Greek for lot is "kleros", and those who obtained the lot in the ministry were known as "clerici," that is to say, clerics, clerks or clergymen. Saint Jerome says:
Let the cleric who serves the Church of Christ first interpret His name, and, finding the definition of His name, let him strive to be what he is called. For, if "kleros" in Greek is "lot" in Latin, clerics are, there fore, so called either because they are of the lot of the Lord, or because the Lord is their lot that is, the portion of clerics. He, therefore, who is either himself the portion of the Lord, or has the Lord for his portion, ought so to live that he may both himself possess the Lord and be possessed by the Lord. He who possesses the Lord, and says, with the prophet, The Lord is my portion, can have nothing besides the Lord; for if he have anything besides the Lord, the Lord will not be his portion." (On the Life of Clerics.)
The profession of clergymen is also called the "ministry," which means "service," because our Lord told His disciples that they should be as the servants of all.
"Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles lord it over them; and they that are the greater exercise power upon them. It shall not be so among you; but whosoever will be the greater among you, let him be your minister, and he that will be first among you, shall be your servant, even as the son of man is not come to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life, a redemption for many." (Matthew 20)
As in every government there are degrees, so there are various grades in the ministry. The body of persons entrusted with the Church Government is known as the "Hierarchy," from the two Greek words meaning "Sacred Government." The head of the Church is the Pope; then come the Bishops, then the priests, then the other ministers. "Cardinals," who form the Senate of the Church, are the clergy of the city and suburbs of Rome, though the title is given to many who do not live in Rome. "Patriarchs" were the Bishops of the churches founded directly or indirectly by the head of the Apostles, Saint Peter, and they had rule over many other Bishops. They were originally the Bishops of Antioch, Alexandria and Rome. When the city of Constantinople was founded its Bishop took this title, and it has been given to various other cities since then. An Archbishop is the head Bishop in a Province containing a number of other Bishops. A Bishop is the head of a diocese (No. 60). A Parish Priest or Pastor (shepherd) is the representative of the Bishop in a parish, or subdivision of a diocese. Parish comes from a Greek word meaning "neighborhood." Besides these, there are various other officials who help either the Bishop or the parish priest. A Bishop who helps a Bishop is known as a "Coadjutor"; a priest who helps a Pastor is known as an Assistant Priest. The word "Curate" is employed in the English-speaking countries of Europe for assistant, but in the other countries Curate means a Pastor.
In the ministry, however, or the service of the altar, clerks are divided into two classes or Orders the greater or "Major Orders," and the lessor or "Minor Orders." Those in major Orders are Bishops, Priests, Deacons and Sub-deacons; those in minor Orders are Acolytes, Exorcists, Readers and Porters. In early times it was the custom to shave a portion of the head as a sign that one intended to devote himself to the clerical state. This was known by the Latin word for shaving, "Tonsure." Those who had received the first Tonsure were known as clerics or clerks. The Porters had charge of the Church doors, and it was their duty to see that only those who had a right to be present at the service were admitted. The necessity for such an officer may be seen from No. 32 on the discipline of the secret. The "Reader," or "Lector," was set aside to read to the people various portions of the Sacred Scripture. The "Exorcist" had charge of those who were possessed by the devil, and received power to exorcise or cast out evil spirits. The "Acolyte" served at the altar, like the boys now known as Mass-servers. The word is merely the Greek for an attendant. The Major Orders have already been explained, with the exception of the Deacon and Sub-deacon, in No. 19. The "Deacons" were appointed by the Apostles to attend to the temporal affairs or business of the Church and to assist at the divine service. We read in the Acts of the Apostles:
"Now, in those days, when the number of the disciples was increasing, there arose a murmuring of the Greeks against the Hebrews because their widows were neglected in the ministration. And the twelve called the multitude of the disciples together and said, It is not fit that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Ghost and of wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word. And the saying pleased all the multitude, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip and Prochorus, and Nicanor and Timon, and Parmenas and Nicolas, a proselyte of Antioch; whom they set before the Apostles; and when they had prayed they laid their hands on them. (Chapter 6)
The deacon also read the Gospels, made proclamations to the people and assisted the priest at the altar. The "Sub-deacon" assists the deacon and also reads certain portions of the Scripture.
In ancient times the churches were organized with a set complement of ministers. Thus, there was in Rome a staff consisting of one Bishop, forty-six Priests, seven Deacons, seven Sub-deacons, forty-two Acolytes, forty-two Exorcists, forty-two Readers and fifty-two Porters. In modern times, however, churches are not organized on such an elaborate scale. One of the chief purposes of all those lesser Orders was to prepare candidates for the priesthood. That preparation was carried on under the eye of the Bishop, and the aspirants were trained in the minor offices. Now, the training is carried on in colleges called seminaries. And it is only there that we find the orders lower than the priesthood employed. As the priesthood contains them all, whenever it becomes necessary a priest acts as a deacon or sub-deacon. The office of acolyte in our churches is performed by boys known as altar boys and a layman known as a Sexton (contracted from Sacristan), takes the place of the Porter, and also attends to that part of the deacon's duty which dealt with the Sacristy of Diaconicum described in No. 72.
In the great society called the State we have a number of lesser societies, associations or corporations composed of persons banded together for some special object, as, for instance, the transaction of business, the promotion of education, the advancement of science. In like manner, in the universal society called the Church we have a number of particular societies established, in the first place, for the sanctification of their members, and, in the second place, for the carrying out of certain works tending to the sanctification of others, such as the celebration of the Liturgy, preaching, teaching, nursing the sick, relieving the poor. You will remember the great movement which produced the monks. Those monks who kept up the old practice of living alone were called "solitaries," "hermits," "anchorites." Those who grouped themselves into monasteries and followed a rule were styled "regulars," from the Latin "regula," a rule. "When a number of monasteries, or houses, followed the order of a common center they were said to belong to a Religious Order. Religious Orders that lived on alms were called Mendicant Orders. Their members were Friars, which means Brothers. Lay Brothers, or simply Brothers, is commonly applied to the members of Religious Orders who are not clerics. The Orders of women are very numerous, and are devoted to every work of charity. Their members are termed Nuns or Sisters. A general name for all persons belonging to Religious Orders is "Religious." The clergy who serve the diocese are called Seculars. The clergy who are members of communities are called Regulars.
- taken from The Mass, by Father Peter Christopher Yorke