Little Mary:
An acquaintance of mine recently became an elder in his presbytereian church and I’m curious to know more about what that entails. Is it sort of like being a deacon in the Catholic church?
Thanks.
Both the Catholic Church and the Presbyterian communities use the term “ordained” but attach radically different meanings. It comes down to a difference between being and doing and — our believe in the sacramental presence of Jesus Christ himself in holy orders. Here’s the beginning of an answer, and I’m certain others will assist by posting their thoughts.
Our Catholic view considers holy orders as a sacrament. By ordination a deacon receives an indelible mark, a configuration to Christ. That all is discussed in our Catechism of the Catholic Church, and I should imagine you have access to one on your shelf or via the internet.
We speak of holy orders, one of the sacraments, as imparting a permanent character on the person, making an “ontological change,” or a change in the very being of the person. A deacon may retire from active ministry, but continues being a deacon. Like a priest who is dispensed from his obligations (laicization), a deacon remains a deacon even if laicized.
For us, “ CCC 1536 Holy Orders is the sacrament through which the mission entrusted by Christ to his apostles continues to be exercised in the Church until the end of time: thus it is the sacrament of apostolic ministry. It includes three degrees: episcopate, presbyterate, and diaconate.”
By contrast, the role of elder is a functional role, and not one that Presbyterians understand as a sacrament or as involving the same kind of change in being. It is a role of doing something in the Church. The Presbyterians do not consider ordination to be a sacrament. For them it is “the act by which the church sets apart leaders to serve in particular offices.”
Elders are elected and ordained in the Presbyterian Church in the U.S. This is discussed at
pcusa.org/101/101-unique.htm. In part it reads, “their primary charge is to seek to discover and represent the will of Christ as they govern.” However, the notion of ordination in the PCUSA has also changed over the years. A life time commitment is not required. See
pcusa.org/today/archive/believe/wpb0105.htm. As well, elders may serve as “commissioned lay pastors, preaching the Word and presiding at sacramental celebrations for congregations without pastors.”
Catholics would view their kind of service as exercising governance. The elders collectively serve as a board of governors over a part of the Presbyterian community.
Catholic deacons are called to orders by the bishop and ordained. While a community might propose a man to the bishop, deacons are not elected. They are not lay persons but clerics.
In the Catholic Church some limited powers of governance can be delegated to a deacon, but most powers of governance or of sanctification require sacerdotal order, i.e., being a bishop or priest: to celebrate the Eucharist, shepherd a diocese or parish as pastor, to absolve from sins, to administer confirmation or the sacrament of anointing of the sick.
Since preaching, baptizing, witnessing marriages or conducting other rites are ministerial rather than priestly functions, deacons may perform them. However, the root of the diaconate is that sacramental configuration to Christ the servant.
