| On the Candidacy, Ordination, and Reception of Clergy |
The bishops of the United American Orthodox Catholic Church (UAO) issue the following statement of principles and norms for those who seek ordination or incardination so that prospective applicants may judge whether our jurisdiction provides the ecclesiastical home they seek and may know clearly what criteria the bishops will use in considering an application.
1) The ministry of the Church of Jesus Christ involves the proclamation of the Gospel in word and in life to draw people to the Lord Jesus Christ, teaching with Apostolic authority and zeal to “perfect the saints,” and diligent and worthy administration of the Sacraments to bring the Grace of God into the lives of His people. Those who seek ministry ought to be already involved in ministry to people and in need of orders to better serve, or, at least, ought to have the possibility and the determination to begin an active ministry and a realistic vision of what that ministry can be. “Paper priests,” tax dodgers, ego boosters, romantics, and nostalgics will not be received.
2) Ministry in a Christian church presupposes Christian faith. We will receive only those who can conscientiously and in every detail subscribe to the Nicene and Chalcedonian Creeds, without mental reservation, simulation, or prevarication. That is to say, inter alia, that the formulations of these creeds are not only to be accepted but to be received as the Church has always understood them. (E.g., the Resurrection of Jesus means the physical resurrection of the man, Jesus.)
3) We are Orthodox Catholic. This means that those who join themselves to us must know the great differences between Eastern and Western Christianity and accept the positions of the Eastern Orthodox Churches: an apophatic rather than emphatic theology; a spiritual rather than intellectual and juridical religion; a local and collegial rather than a centralized and authoritarian ecclesial structure; acceptance of the monarchy of the Father in Trinitarian faith by the removal of the filioque clause added to the Nicene Creed by the Roman Church; recognition that the dogmatic formulations of the Western Church since the Great Schism of 1054 are schismatic and not authoritative; and that only the first Seven Councils are to be considered ecumenical.
4) Christians are called to holiness of life. St. Paul tells us that we ought to avoid even the appearance of evil. Christian ministers are expected to exemplify to an even greater degree that commitment to godliness and obedience. Involvement in any life style inconsistent with that ideal makes a man unfit for the ministry in God’s Church. Such life styles include: inappropriate occupations, such as professional gamblers, or purveyors of pornography, drugs or alcohol, etc.; disorderly family situations; and sinful sexual activities of every kind, including promiscuity, marital unfaithfulness, and homosexual activity.
5) It is suggested that political activism or other activities which create division and contention might limit your ministry to those who agree with you, and alienate those who are opposed to you in those areas which have nothing to do with religion. We will be reluctant to accept ministers who are likely to turn the pulpit into a rostrum from which to promote social, economic, or political theories, programs, or parties.
6) Liturgy is the form and sequence of the actions and words of the public worship of the Church. The daily and annual cycles of worship in the Eastern Church have been developed to reinforce the Orthodox Faith. Any attempt to separate Orthodox (Byzantine) worship from Orthodox spirituality would be disastrous. Drawing from various sources one can assemble Orthodox prayer books that will provide a prayer regime covering 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for the entire year. The decision on the parochial level is then, “not what prayers, but how many?” We recognize that there has long been an interest in Western-Rite Orthodoxy. Unfortunately, in the United States, this form of worship has been neither widely accepted nor demonstrated to be the long-term choice of many parishes. We have, therefore, chosen to pursue the development of parishes using only the accepted Eastern liturgies.
7) Some maturity of character in the area of respect of authority is expected. Your bishop will be a real bishop to you. Accountability will be exacted in all areas: doctrine, liturgical usage, finances, personal life, relationship with your congregation, etc. This is for your protection and the protection of the reputation of the Church of God. If you are simply looking then for someone to give you Holy Orders and turn you loose to “do your own thing,” we are not the jurisdiction you are looking for.
8) The ancient usage of the Church is that only male persons may be ordained to the ministry of the Church. Whether right or wrong, whether or not the result of societal conditions of two millennia ago--and the truth or untruth of such contentions cannot at this time be established, though we point out that priestesses were common in the society of that time, arguing that the use of the Church was a deliberately chosen rejection of societal standards--the fact of the matter is that ultimately the standard established by St. Paul must prevail; ordination of women is not the custom of the Churches. To violate that custom and to fly in the face of centuries of established practice and the strongly held position of a large proportion--possibly a majority--of the people would not contribute to peace in the Body of Christ. It would, instead, further rend the precious Body. As bishops, we cannot do this. Therefore, we must, with the greatest of sympathy for those sincere women who desire the priesthood for good and commendable reasons, nevertheless declare that we will not ordain women.
9) Married men in stable and godly marriages are, of course, acceptable for ordination or reception, providing that all other criteria is met. Men who are divorced and remarried may be received if it is determined that all was done properly and for good cause, and that no scandal will accrue to the Church. It is understood that the canonical use of the Church applies; after ordination, a married man who is divorced for exceptional cause or loses his wife to death must commit himself to celibacy if he would continue his ministry.
10) The course of study for ordination is difficult and involves much reading, the understanding of complicated theological concepts, the ability to express one’s thought effectively both verbally and in writing, and the intellectual discipline to do individual research. Whatever the level of education, we will be seeking men who meet these criteria.
11) St. Paul exhorted the Church to be of one mind and speak with one voice. In furtherance of this ideal, men who have been validly ordained in other Orthodox bodies will be received as valid priests or deacons, but will be asked to undertake a curtailed course of study, as needed.
12) Those who come to us from non-sacerdotal bodies must understand that they must first be sacramentally joined to the Orthodox Church, to be re-ordained only after a course of study tailored to their needs.
13) Should the diocesan ordinary of the person applying have any questions, he will submit the matter to an appropriate commission of the Church and await their input before making his decision. One should not, therefore, be impatient if things do not proceed as quickly as one might desire. All will be done with due expedition, but hasty judgment will be avoided by all bishops.
14) Validly consecrated bishops will be received with great joy and all brotherliness. After the initial contact, the presiding bishop will personally handle all matters pertaining to one’s reception. Prudent bishops will naturally understand that inquiries will be made and that, after reception, there will probably be a period of service in the position of auxiliary before ordinary status is conferred, depending upon circumstances.
15) While we understand the position of the early centuries of the church supported the use of married bishops, we are also aware that this has not been the case in recent centuries. We need only to look at the experience of the first bishop assigned to the Autonomous American Orthodox Church, Aftimios Ofiesh, to find that the practice is soundly rejected by the majority of Orthodox jurisdictions today. We must, therefore, with the greatest of sympathy for those sincere men who desire to adhere to the ancient practice, nevertheless declare that will not accept married bishops.
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