The Ordination Process

by Beth Maynard

The idea that God might be asking you to explore a career in the ordained ministry can be scary.  Maybe you think you’re not sure enough yet to do anything about it.  Or maybe you don’t really know what’s involved in preparing to be a clergyperson.   This guide will try and give you a look inside the ordination process.

God calls every Baptized Christian in some way.  Some of us are called to be teachers, some parents, some construction workers, some pilots – you get the idea.  The majority of Christians are called to follow Jesus as laypeople, doing most of their ministry in the world, but God also calls a smaller number to ordained leadership as deacons, priests, and bishops.  Because clergy will spend most of their lives working within the Episcopal Church, the Episcopal Church has developed some ways to help them be sure about their calling.

We call this process “discernment”— which just means trying to figure out what God is calling you to do.  Exactly how the process of discernment about ordination works varies depending on where you live – one diocese may not do it just the same as another.  But there’s a general outline of things that are usually included.

The first “official” step is talking to your priest.  You may even find out she or he isn’t really all that surprised by your interest.  Your priest will listen, offer you some things to think about, and give feedback on whether the hints you’ve been getting about ordination seem to make sense.  Maybe your priest will invite you to lead the prayers more often, or become a lay visitor, or do some other things that will help you get a taste of what ordained people do. 

So if you’ve ever suspected ordination might fit you, your own parish priest is the first place to go.  Yes, it can feel less intimidating to chat with someone on the Internet, a friend, or a member of another church about the idea, but your priest can be of much more help.  Also, he or she knows what the process towards ordination is like in your diocese and (unlike this essay!) will be able to answer all your questions about its specifics.

Often the next step involves putting together a support group from your parish.  They will meet with you for a while, or you may go to a vestry meeting to talk about your interest in ordination.  Your local parish, eventually, will be asked to recommend you for the discernment process in your diocese, and it remains your spiritual home during the process.  (Sometimes when people are in a more mobile stage of life — say, just getting out of college — and don’t really have a settled parish home, a priest they know can help them through this step in a creative way.)

After a local church and priest have agreed that it makes sense for you to be exploring ordination, your diocese will have a way for some people from the wider area to talk with you as well.  Sometimes you might meet with the Bishop, who is a representative of the whole catholic Church, or the Bishop may have a group of lay and ordained people who help with interviews.  A group of people who are interested in being ordained might get together on a retreat weekend, you may be invited to a dinner, someone might want to talk to you one on one, or your diocese may have some other way of getting to know you which they find works best.  At some point you’ll also need to provide school transcripts and letters of recommendation, and eventually you’ll have medical and psychological tests to make sure you’re healthy as well.

If you and your parish and your diocese (by whatever method) all agree that it looks like God might be leading you towards ordination, you’ll be accepted as a “postulant.”  This is an old word that comes from the Latin word for “to ask” – you’re asking for God to show you if ordination is his will for you.  Usually people go to seminary for three years at this point, although there are exceptions – some postulants may do an internship or something else first, or may take another educational path.  Most people have finished a college degree before going to seminary, but not everyone.

Seminary and the ordination process is a very exciting time, when you’ll be growing and stretching yourself in ways you never imagined.  You’ll find out a lot about the Bible, the history of Christianity, ethics, worship, and the how-to’s of ministry (things like preaching, hospital calling, running a parish, and pastoral care.)  You may visit many diverse parishes, do an internship in some setting that’s totally new for you, or finally conquer your fear of public speaking.  You will meet different people whom God has touched, who feel the same passion for Christ you do. 

And you will have all kinds of company along the path.  During your postulancy, people from your diocese and your Bishop will continue to work with you to try and find ways to help you feel sure of what God is doing in your life and to help you become the best clergyperson you can be.  There’s no cookie-cutter concept of a priest; it’s all about finding your own gifts and imagining how God wants to use you for the benefit of the Church and the world.

If, after your postulancy, you and the people who are accompanying you agree that God is inviting you to be ordained, your Bishop will make you a “Candidate for Holy Orders.”  During your candidacy you will finish your academic preparation and anything else your diocese has asked you to do.  Most Bishops also ask that at this point you take what’s called the GOE or General Ordination Examination, which helps you find out if there are any areas of ministry you still need additional work in before being ordained.

Postulancy and candidacy often last three years (just like seminary does), although that time can be shortened depending on circumstances.  Adding in the months you spent talking to your priest and others beforehand, the ordination process usually takes about as long as a college degree.  When you’re just starting, that can feel like ages.  But when you’re actually doing it, you’ll probably find none of the time is really wasted.  Even the time you’re spending reading this essay is time God is using in your life.  In fact, why not stop for a minute now and talk with him about that?