Dear Friends

The last Sunday in June or the first Sunday in July are the usual days for ordinations in the Church of England. At this time in the cathedrals up and down the country those who have completed their theological training will be ordained deacons by their bishop, and those who have served their first year of curacy as deacons return to be ordained priests. A deacon is a Clerk in Holy Orders in law but may not preside at the Holy Communion neither may he give a blessing or pronounce the absolution. His ministry is one of service and proclamation. The following year the sacramental functions are added upon admission to priest’s orders. Bishops have the additional functions of confirming, consecrating and ordaining. Bishops, priests and deacons form the three major orders of the sacred ministry of Catholic Christianity both Roman and Anglican.

From time to time there have been ministers who remain in deacon’s orders because that is the kind of service they feel called to give. It was suggested in the 1960s that all lay readers be admitted to the diaconate, thereby giving their ministry clerical status. This proposal was never put into effect. In some diocese, but not this one, they have what is called a local ordained ministry(LOM). This refers to readers or other local people of good standing who are ordained deacon and priest after limited training. These ministers, however, are restricted to working in their home parish and always under the supervision of an incumbent, i.e., a paid career parish priest. In the St Albans diocese, however, the official view is that a priest by definition is available for the full range of priestly ministry so that a lower tier of clergy would be improper. The point is a fair one. Even so, the reality is that many are ordained today who fit that category perfectly.

The place of an ordained person in the community is often quite confused. Can vicars feel free to speak their mind on all matters or should they stick to