Holy Orders
The Catholic and Orthodox sacrament of ordination.
Holy Orders is the sacrament of ordination conferring the three degrees of bishop, priest, and deacon, recognized as a sacrament by the Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican traditions. The rite is celebrated by a bishop with the laying on of hands and the prayer of ordination. Catholic Holy Orders is reserved to baptized males (CIC c. 1024); Orthodox practice is similar; Anglican practice in TEC ordains women to all three orders, while ACNA practice varies by diocese with no women bishops. The Catholic Latin Rite normatively requires celibacy of priests; the Orthodox priesthood is normally married (with the marriage taking place before ordination to the diaconate).