Am I still a priest?
I left the ACNA in 2023. Just received my Letters Dimissory. But I still can’t decide if ordination conferred something real and permanent, or if it was only ever a jurisdictional authorization.
What say you?
@joshuapsteele fwiw, just one more opinion from the internet; in my denomination, ordination is not considered to be an ontological state. To be ordained in my denomination, you need to be approved to go to seminary, you need to graduate in good standing with the academic requirements of the MDiv, in good standing with the assessments of the seminary faculty, and in good standing with the office of the bishop of the synod that authorized you to pursue the ministry of Word and Sacrament (pastor/priest, verbiage depending on whether you’re an American Lutheran or a European Lutheran). But you are not eligible to be ordained – in my denomination, at least – until a congregation calls you to be their pastor, and calls you with a near-unanimous vote (not a good idea to accept a call if 75% of the congregation votes “yes” but 25% vote that they do not want you to be their pastor). So: seminary, synod, and a congregation all have to resoundingly vote yes before you can be ordained. If I was no longer under call (serving a parish, or serving under a synod-authorized special call such as a chaplaincy) for long enough, I would no longer be eligible for another call without pursuing further credentialing. So that is the jurisdictional authorization part.
But as to your more philosophical question, whether ordination confers something real and permanent, I’m not sure. However, I believe being in ministry definitely does. Being in ministry changes people over time, or it should. I think of it this way: To say I have been ordained is similar to saying I have been married. That is indeed meaningful and important and something no one can take away from me. But I think ordination is more like a wedding ceremony and marriage license - you’re approved to embark on the adventure, but that is not in itself the actual adventure; being in ministry is more like a marriage, living the adventure itself. It is the formational experiences of being in the ministry that conferred real and permanent changes for me, but it is the ordination that prepared me for the ride.
If any of that makes sense.
@annahavron Interesting. I hadn’t heard of the “I would no longer be eligible for another call without pursuing further credentialing” part before! Which Lutheran body do you belong to? I’ve never been involved with Lutheranism but always considered myself a Lutheran-leaning Anglican 😂
@joshuapsteele ELCA, and my understanding is that if someone is on leave from call for too long or is no longer on the roster, but did not leave due to misconduct, they can seek call with the permission of the bishop, but will also need to go through some kind of process before they can return to the parish. I believe the bishop has some discretion on what’s required, but they want to know you before they let you go back into the parish.
@annahavron @joshuapsteele I’m thinking here of someone I met at a vocations conference who was returning to the ministry after being in a completely different field for 20 years.
@annahavron ah, OK, that checks out. It’s not like “Welp, it took you a bit too long to find the next church position, so, back to seminary for you!”