What Are You Looking For? Part 2: The Liturgy and the Sacraments

The Sacrament of Holy Orders: The Hierarchy of the Church

The Sacrament of Holy Orders:  The Hierarchy of the Church

                Before we really begin to look at the Sacrament of Holy Orders, first we need to understand the structure of the Church.  Since the time of Jesus, the Church has been organized in a very specific way.  To understand the origins of the hierarchy of the Church, we need to go back to the Gospels, for that is where it had its beginning.  “When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’  They replied, ‘Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’  He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’  Simon Peter said in reply, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’  Jesus said to him in reply, ‘Blessed are you Simon son of Jonah.  For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.  And so I say to you, you are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.  I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.  Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”  (Matthew 16: 13-19 NABRE)

                This is the beginning of the Apostolic Succession found in the Catholic Church.  From that point on Peter began to be prepared by Jesus for the place of primacy that would become his on the Day of Pentecost.  All through the book of Acts we see the other apostles deferring to St. Peter’s judgment on all church matters.  To use modern terms, Peter was the first Pope, and the other apostles were bishops.  

                As the early church grew, it became clear that Peter and the others needed help, so a new office was created.  “So the Twelve called together the community of the disciples and said, ‘It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to serve at table.  Brothers, select from among you seven reputable men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom, who we shall appoint to this task, whereas we shall devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”  (Acts 6: 2-4 NABRE)  This new group of men became what we would call today Permanent Deacons.  Their job was to assist the Apostles doing all of the “little stuff” so that they would have time to do the “big stuff”. 

                So far we have Peter, the first Pope, the first Bishop of Rome, who is the “head bishop”, if you will, of the other bishops.  The same is true today.  Pope Benedict XVI is the Bishop of Rome.   And we have the deacons.  But the church continued its explosive growth and as the gospel was carried to “all the world” new bishops were ordained to serve the new Christian Churches in the apostolic ministry of administering the sacraments of the Church.   Eventually these bishoprics grew so large, with so many churches in them that they couldn’t carry out their apostolic ministry by themselves.  By the time St. James wrote his letter, a new word, and a new office had appeared.  This was the office of presbyter.  In St. James’ day, the word “presbyter” had the same meaning as our modern word, “priest”.  The presbyter (or priest) was to carry out the apostolic ministry under the authority of the local bishop, because the local bishop couldn’t be everywhere at once.

                The same is true today.  We have the Pope, the Bishop of Rome, who leads the entire Church.  His is the final authority, the final word on all matters, especially matters of faith and morals.  To put it in modern English, that’s where the buck stops.  Then there are all the local bishops, which are in charge of their diocese.  It is their responsibility to make sure that the priest and the faithful of their diocese are acting in accord with the Pope.  Then there are the priests that carry out the apostolic ministry in local communities under the authority of the local bishop.  They are assisted by the deacons, who help in a myriad of ways including performing weddings, funerals, and baptisms and assisting the priests with the Mass.  And finally there are the lay people.  That’s you and me.  The job of the Pope, the bishops, the priests and even the deacons is to equip us to take the gospel out into the world. 

                Some people have a problem with the thought of the Church, Catholic or otherwise, having a hierarchy.  But really, if you look at most corporations, you see the same hierarchical model is used.  There is always one person at the top, the CEO or owner.  Then there is a group of people that help him and carry out his vision for the company, the board of directors.  Then there are those that carry out the vision on the local level.  These would be the regional and district managers.  And so on.  The reason the corporate world uses this model is because it works.  Jesus knew that 2000 years ago when he told Simon, “You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church.”