Q: I would like to ask for clarification.
1. It is true that there are three degrees of the sacrament of order: diaconate, presbyterate and episcopate. Is there any sacerdotal ordination? I know that sacerdoce is a function meaning, the one who is offering a sacrifice. In this sense, even the bishop is a sacerdoce. Is it correct to talk about the sacerdotal ordination or it should be presbyteral ordination.
2. My second question is about the bishop. Some people are talking about the consecration of a bishop to mean his ordination. Is there any sacrament or consecration or it is maybe an old expression because it is true that through the sacrament of baptism, all of us we are consecrated.
Always thank you
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A: The Latin word sacerdos may refer to a priest or a bishop. Consequently at ordination we usually speak of diaconal, presbyteral, or episcopal ordination to make clear which one is under discussion.
The Apostolic Constitution of Paul VI and the Ordination rite itself make use of the word “consecrate” in relation to all three levels of ordination. Paul VI called the key moment the “consecratory prayer,” for example, and the prayer of ordination of priests has the bishop recall the prayer of Jesus that the Father consecrate the apostles in the truth (John 17:17).
Still, the ritual calls the key moment the Prayer of Ordination, and it is more common to speak of these rites as ordinations, not consecrations.
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