Ordination in the early church

Choosing and ordaining clergy: rites, qualifications, and who may ordain. Part of Church office.

Didache 15.1Anonymous · ca. 50–150 (often ca. 100) · Choose worthy bishops and deacons, who also serve as prophets and teachers.
1 Clement 42.4Clement of Rome · ca. 95–97 (range ca. 70–100) · The apostles appointed bishops and deacons from their first converts.
1 Clement 42.5Clement of Rome · ca. 95–97 (range ca. 70–100) · Scripture foretold bishops and deacons.
1 Clement 44.2Clement of Rome · ca. 95–97 (range ca. 70–100) · The apostles provided for others to succeed the leaders they appointed.
1 Clement 44.3Clement of Rome · ca. 95–97 (range ca. 70–100) · Leaders rightly appointed and blameless should not be removed.
Apostolic Tradition 2 (English)Hippolytus of Rome · early third century
Apostolic Tradition 2 (Latin)Hippolytus of Rome · early third century · The bishop-elect receives the laying on of hands in silent prayer for the Spirit, and one bishop begins the prayer of ordination.
Apostolic Tradition 3Hippolytus of Rome · early third century · The ordination prayer asks that the new bishop shepherd the flock and serve as high priest without reproach.
Apostolic Tradition 7Hippolytus of Rome · early third century · A presbyter is ordained by the bishop's hand with the presbyters also touching him, and the bishop prays for the Spirit of grace and counsel, recalling the elders chosen by Moses.
Apostolic Tradition 8Hippolytus of Rome · early third century · The deacon is ordained by the bishop alone, because he is ordained not to the priesthood but to the bishop's service; the presbyters join in laying hands only on a presbyter.
Apostolic Tradition 9Hippolytus of Rome · early third century
Apostolic Tradition 11Hippolytus of Rome · early third century
Apostolic Tradition 13Hippolytus of Rome · early third century
Exhortation to Chastity 7Tertullian · ca. 208 · Since clergy must be married only once, and laypeople are also priests who may have to baptize or offer in need, laypeople too must keep to one marriage.
Homilies on Joshua 23.2Origen · ca. 238–250 (Rufinus's translation ca. 400–410) · From the lots cast for Jonah, Solomon’s proverb, the choice of Matthias, and Paul’s language of being called “by lot,” Origen concludes that a lot cast in faith and with prayer reveals God’s hidden will.
Homilies on Leviticus 6.3Origen · ca. 238–250 (Rufinus's translation ca. 400–410) · The people's presence at the high priest's consecration shows that the most worthy must be chosen openly; his two tunics signify knowing the law in letter and spirit, while the apostles keep only the inner, spiritual one; the ephod signifies works.
Homilies on Numbers 22.4Origen · ca. 238–250 (Rufinus's translation ca. 400–410) · Moses, not daring to choose his own successor, teaches church leaders never to hand on office by kinship or popular favour but to leave the choice to God; spiritually, Moses’ death is the end of the letter of the law, and Jesus leads the second people into the inheritance and gives the soul rest from inner warfare.
Letter 29.1Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Cyprian informs his clergy that, needing messengers to Rome, he has ordained Saturus a reader and Optatus a subdeacon, both already approved by common counsel.
Letter 38.1Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Cyprian announces that he has ordained Aurelius, a young man who twice confessed Christ, as a reader without the usual consultation, since God had already approved him.
Letter 55.8Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Cornelius rose through every church office, was made bishop against his will by God's judgment, the clergy's testimony, the people's vote, and the bishops, to the vacant chair of Peter; anyone made bishop after him is outside the church.
Letter 59.5Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Heresies and schisms come from disobedience to the one bishop who judges in Christ's place; a bishop lawfully made is made by God's will, while those made outside the church are not.
Letter 67.4Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · From Moses to the apostles, bishops, priests, and deacons were chosen before the whole people, so that the unworthy might be exposed and ordinations be lawful.
Letter 67.5Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · By the custom of neighboring bishops ordaining before the people, Sabinus was lawfully made bishop in Basilides' place; Basilides' deceiving of Stephen of Rome to win reinstatement cannot undo that ordination.
Letter 72.2Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Clergy who went into schism or were ordained by heretics may be readmitted only as lay communicants, not keep their office.
Letter 75.7Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Heretics agree among themselves because all blaspheme the Creator; even the Montanists, who claim new prophecy, lack the Spirit, and a council at Iconium rejected heretical baptism.
Apostolic Church Order 16Anonymous · ca. 300 · The choice of a bishop: where a church has fewer than twelve men, three men from neighbouring churches examine the candidate, who must be of good report, temperate, the husband of one wife or unmarried, and able to interpret Scripture.
Canons of Hippolytus, canon 2Anonymous · 4th century · A bishop is to be chosen by the whole people, who pray for him before one of the bishops lays a hand on his head.
Canons of Hippolytus, canon 3Anonymous · 4th century · The prayer for a new bishop, the kiss of peace, and the opening dialogue of the eucharistic prayer, with blessings of oil and firstfruits.
Canons of Hippolytus, canon 4Anonymous · 4th century · A presbyter is ordained like a bishop with the same prayer, but does not sit on the throne and may not ordain.
Canons of Hippolytus, canon 5Anonymous · 4th century · The deacon serves the bishop and presbyters, reports the sick and the hidden poor, and is ordained with a prayer naming Stephen as model.
Canons of Hippolytus, canon 7Anonymous · 4th century · Readers receive the Gospel book without laying on of hands; an unmarried subdeacon needs his neighbors' testimony to his purity and must be of mature age.
Church History 2.1.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Matthias replaced Judas; seven deacons, including Stephen, were ordained; Stephen became the first martyr, winning the crown his name signifies.
Church History 3.23.6Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Clement (quoted): after Patmos, John visited nearby cities to appoint bishops and order churches.
Church History 6.8.4Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Later, jealous of Origen's fame, Demetrius denounced the deed when bishops in Palestine ordained Origen presbyter.
Church History 6.43.9Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Novatian had the drunken bishops ordain him by force in a sham ceremony.
Church History 6.43.17Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Novatian was ordained presbyter only by the bishop's special favour, over objections to his clinical baptism.
Homilies 3.63Anonymous · 4th century (reworking earlier material) · Peter chooses Zacchaeus as bishop of Caesarea; Zacchaeus begs to be spared the title of ruler.
Recognitions 3.65Anonymous · Greek original 3rd–4th century; Rufinus's Latin translation before 407 · Peter announces that he will ordain Zacchaeus as their shepherd, stay three months, and then follow Simon to the Gentiles.
Recognitions 3.66Anonymous · Greek original 3rd–4th century; Rufinus's Latin translation before 407 · Peter ordains Zacchaeus bishop of Caesarea with twelve presbyters and four deacons, and gives the church its instructions.
Recognitions 6.15Anonymous · Greek original 3rd–4th century; Rufinus's Latin translation before 407 · After three months at Tripolis Peter baptizes Clement and many others, celebrates the Eucharist, ordains Maro bishop with presbyters, deacons, and widows, and leaves for Antioch.
Recognitions 10.68Anonymous · Greek original 3rd–4th century; Rufinus's Latin translation before 407 · Simon is driven out of Antioch; Peter ordains a bishop and presbyters at Laodicea, baptizes and heals many, and sets out for Antioch, where the leading citizens meet him in penance.
Testament of Our Lord 1.20Anonymous · ca. 350–500
Testament of Our Lord 1.21Anonymous · ca. 350–500
Testament of Our Lord 1.29Anonymous · ca. 350–500
Testament of Our Lord 1.30Anonymous · ca. 350–500
Testament of Our Lord 1.33Anonymous · ca. 350–500
Testament of Our Lord 1.38Anonymous · ca. 350–500
Testament of Our Lord 1.39Anonymous · ca. 350–500
Testament of Our Lord 1.44Anonymous · ca. 350–500
Letter of the Egyptian bishops to MeletiusAnonymous · ca. 306 · Four imprisoned Egyptian bishops rebuke Meletius for ordaining clergy in parishes not his own, against the ancient law, the honour of their bishop Peter, and Paul's warning to Timothy, while they and Peter suffered persecution.
Canon 12Anonymous · 314 · Those who sacrificed before their baptism may be ordained, since baptism washed them clean.
Canon 13Anonymous · 314 · Country bishops may not ordain presbyters or deacons, nor may city presbyters act in another district without the bishop's written permission.
Canon 11Anonymous · ca. 315 (approximate) · No one is to be ordained presbyter before thirty, the age at which Christ was baptized and began to teach.
Canon 12Anonymous · ca. 315 (approximate) · Someone baptized on a sickbed is not normally to be ordained presbyter, unless his later zeal and a lack of candidates justify it.
Canon 1Anonymous · 325 · Men who castrate themselves may not be or remain clergy, but those castrated by others or for medical reasons may.
Canon 4Anonymous · 325 · A bishop is to be ordained by at least three bishops of the province with the written consent of the rest, confirmed by the metropolitan.
Demonstration 14.25Aphrahat · 337-345 · Church leaders prize rank in ordination and titles over the fear of God and good works; Aphrahat confronts a domineering leader whose life contradicts his teaching, citing Ezekiel's shepherds and Christ's woes.
Demonstration 14.28Aphrahat · 337-345 · Leaders who claim to be chosen from the womb are reminded that Aaron did not exalt himself and Moses repeatedly refused office.
Life of Constantine 3.62.3Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 337–339 · The bishops are to choose and ordain a worthy candidate according to church rule.
Encyclical Letter 2Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 339 · Athanasius tells how the prefect announced that Gregory of Cappadocia was coming from the court to replace him, against the canons and the will of the people.
Canon 12Anonymous · ca. 343–381 · Bishops are appointed by the metropolitan and neighboring bishops from men long tested in faith and life.
Canon 10Anonymous · 343 or 347 · A wealthy man or lawyer chosen as bishop must first serve for a considerable time as reader, deacon and presbyter, since Paul forbids hasty ordinations.
Canon 13Anonymous · 343 or 347 · A rich man, lawyer or official chosen as bishop must first pass over time through the grades of reader, deacon and presbyter, since Paul forbids ordaining a neophyte.
Defence against the Arians 5Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 349–357 · The Egyptian bishops deny that Athanasius caused any killings, recount the origins of the hostility of Eusebius’s party, defend Athanasius’s election, and attack Eusebius’s moves from see to see.
Defence against the Arians 12Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 349–357 · The bishops argue that Ischyras was never validly ordained, since Colluthus was only a presbyter, and that he has been rewarded for his accusation with a church and perhaps a bishopric.
Defence before Constantius 28Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 353–357 · Athanasius tells how, once the true bishops were removed, the Arians sold bishoprics to the wealthy, even to pagans and catechumens, and exiled the monks and ascetics Alexander had made bishops.
Defence before Constantius 31Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 353–357 · After quoting Constantius’s letter ordering the rulers of Axum to send Frumentius to George for examination, Athanasius explains that he turned back into the desert, fleeing not from cowardice but as Christ commanded, to keep his persecutors from bloodguilt.
On Saint Athanasius 1.9Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer argues that bishops are chosen by God and ordained by catholic bishops, as Joshua succeeded Moses by the laying on of hands, so the emperor's intrusion of George into Athanasius's see is an attack on God's ordination.
Letter 53Basil of Caesarea · ca. 357–378 · Basil warns the country bishops against taking money for ordinations, even after the fact, as simony that sells the gift of God.
Letter 54Basil of Caesarea · ca. 357–378 · Basil orders the country bishops to restore the old canons for admitting minor clergy, to send him lists of ministers, and to expel those admitted without examination.
Letter 62Basil of Caesarea · ca. 357–378 · Basil consoles the church of Parnassus on its bishop's death and urges them to provide for a worthy successor.
Letters 81, 82Basil of Caesarea · ca. 357–378 · Basil offers bishop Innocent a holy presbyter as his successor; a second letter asks Athanasius to write to the Eastern bishops seeking communion, offering to hold the letters until they reply.
Letter 120Basil of Caesarea · ca. 357–378 · Basil sends Meletius a memorandum for a letter to the Western bishops and reports that Anthimus has irregularly ordained Faustus for Armenia.
Letter 121Basil of Caesarea · ca. 357–378 · Basil greets Theodotus through Sanctissimus and tells him how Faustus, refused by Basil, got himself ordained by Anthimus.
Letter 122Basil of Caesarea · ca. 357–378 · Basil explains to Poemenius that he refused letters and communion to the Armenians because Anthimus ordained Faustus without the votes of the Armenian bishops.
Letter 130Basil of Caesarea · ca. 357–378 · Basil explains to Theodotus why he has broken with Eustathius of Sebasteia, who has attacked him, offered an Arian creed, and reportedly re-ordained clergy.
Letter 138Basil of Caesarea · ca. 357–378 · Basil, prevented by illness from visiting Eusebius, asks his counsel about Evagrius's demands from Rome, the orthodox at Sebasteia, and a bishop for Iconium.
Letter 161Basil of Caesarea · ca. 357–378 · Basil greets Amphilochius on his unwilling ordination as bishop of Iconium and counsels him to steer his church through the storms of heresy and to reform bad customs.
Letters 190, 191Basil of Caesarea · ca. 357–378 · Basil advises Amphilochius on providing bishops for Isauria, reports on Nyssa, answers questions on the manna and Pharaoh's chariots; then (Letter 191) he welcomes Amphilochius's first letter of communion and proposes a meeting of the like-minded.
Letter 290Basil of Caesarea · ca. 357–378 · Basil tells his old friend Nectarius that he will not appoint church leaders to please men, but will give his testimony and leave the choice to God.
Moral Rules (Moralia) 70Basil of Caesarea · ca. 360-370 · Basil's seventieth rule, in thirty-seven chapters, on those entrusted with preaching the word: how they are to be appointed, what and how they must teach, and how they are to care for, lead and, when necessary, leave those entrusted to them.
Letter 151Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 360–390 · Gregory explains that the ordination was made at the people's unanimous request for a neglected district, and offers a fair settlement of Simplicia's claim.
Letter 297Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 360–390 · Gregory announces that Eulalius has been made bishop of Nazianzus, and answers objections that a bishop cannot be ordained in the lifetime of another: Gregory was bishop of Sasima, not Nazianzus.
Letter 299Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 360–390 · Gregory asks a bishop to stop Helladius's hostile interference over Nazianzus, explaining that illness alone made him ask the bishops of his country to give the Church its own bishop.
Oration 2.40Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · The war of the passions and the sanctity required of priests under the old law show that no one should accept the priesthood before being purified himself.
Oration 10.3Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Gregory ends his speech to Basil by describing his consecration as high priest, then, in a new oration, compares Basil and Gregory of Nyssa to Moses and Aaron and asks Gregory of Nyssa why his help came so late.
Oration 18.15Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Gregory describes his father’s consistent life, his ordination, his reform of a neglected church, and his orthodox teaching on the Trinity, and alludes to a quarrel in the church that he settled.
Oration 18.32Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Gregory tells how his father resisted the emperor Julian, defended the forced election of a bishop of Caesarea, and, near death, travelled to Caesarea to secure Basil’s election.
Oration 43.24Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · When the friends left Athens, Basil went first and Gregory soon followed; Basil was made presbyter in due order, and Gregory deplores the disorder by which unworthy men are hastily raised to the episcopate.
Oration 43.25Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · As Saul was among the prophets and Jeroboam among the kings, so unworthy men now become bishops overnight, while the worthy keep the lowest place.
Oration 43.37Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · After the death of Bishop Eusebius, Basil was elected bishop of Caesarea despite opposition; Gregory's aged father, carried there almost dead to vote and consecrate, returned restored.
Commentary on 1 Timothy 3:6Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · A new convert should not be ordained, since sudden honor breeds pride and the devil’s fall.
Commentary on 1 Timothy 3:8–10Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · Deacons, the ministers of the priests, must be upright; Paul passes from bishops to deacons because bishop and presbyter share one ordination, the bishop being first among the presbyters.
Commentary on 1 Timothy 4:13–14Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · A bishop must devote himself to reading, exhortation, and teaching, since grace for this was given at his ordination by prophecy and the laying on of hands, and he will answer for himself and his hearers.
Commentary on 1 Timothy 5:21–22Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · Under solemn charge Timothy must test candidates’ lives before ordaining anyone, lest he share in their sins.
Commentary on 2 Timothy 1:3–5Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · Paul thanks God, whom he served like his Jewish forefathers, for Timothy’s inherited sincere faith, and urges him to rekindle the grace of his ordination, since God’s Spirit gives power, love, and sobriety, not fear.
Question 11, section 1Ambrosiaster · ca. 370–384 · Isaac meant to bless Esau, but God directed the blessing to Jacob, showing that blessing comes from God through the priestly office, not from the minister’s will.
Question 11, section 2Ambrosiaster · ca. 370–384 · Caiaphas prophesied because of his office, which shows that the Spirit’s grace attends ordination, not personal worth, and only the ordained can bless.
Question 93, section 2Ambrosiaster · ca. 370–384 · Ambrosiaster distinguishes three gifts of the Spirit: the grace of ordination given when Christ breathed on the apostles, the general gift to all believers at Pentecost, and the temporary power of miracles given to the apostles.
Question 97, section 20Ambrosiaster · ca. 370–384 · The Spirit works all things as the finger of God, calls and appoints apostles and bishops, and is called God in the story of Ananias and in Paul’s language of the temple.
Question 101, section 9Ambrosiaster · ca. 370–384 · Deacons’ part as witnesses and escorts at the ordination of presbyters gives them no superiority: lay people testified for the first deacons, and an escort serves the one it escorts.
Letter 51.1Jerome · ca. 370–419 · Epiphanius explains to John of Jerusalem why he ordained a monk of Jerome's monastery as deacon and presbyter by force, outside John's authority.
Letter 51.2Jerome · ca. 370–419 · Epiphanius defends his ordination by the practice of the Cypriot bishops and denies having promised John not to ordain anyone.
Letter 82.8Jerome · ca. 370–419 · Jerome defends his brother Paulinian's ordination as presbyter by Epiphanius, arguing it lay outside John's jurisdiction and that his age of thirty was no bar.
Letter 146.2Jerome · ca. 370–419 · Jerome rejects the Roman custom as grounds for exalting deacons and compares bishops, presbyters and deacons to Aaron, his sons and the Levites.
Letter 147.10Jerome · ca. 370–419 · Jerome denies that Sabinianus's ordination by a good bishop protects him, citing the sons of Samuel and Eli and the fate of Uzzah.
Canon 4Anonymous · 374 · Candidates who declare themselves guilty of a mortal sin at their ordination, truly or falsely, are to be excluded from orders.
Panarion (Adversus Haereses), Haer. 1-64 30.5.8Epiphanius of Salamis · 374-377 · Josephus remarried to avoid ordination by the Arians.
Apostolic Canon 1Anonymous · ca. 380 · A bishop is ordained by two or three bishops; presbyters and other clergy by one.
Apostolic Canon 29Anonymous · ca. 380 · Ordination bought with money brings deposition and excommunication.
Apostolic Canon 35Anonymous · ca. 380 · A bishop may not ordain outside his own territory.
Apostolic Canon 68Anonymous · ca. 380 · Ordination is not repeated, except for those ordained by heretics.
Apostolic Constitutions 2.2.3Anonymous · ca. 380 · At ordination a bishop’s character, wife, children and household are examined.
Apostolic Constitutions 3.11.3Anonymous · ca. 380 · Only bishops may ordain to any order.
Apostolic Constitutions 3.20.1Anonymous · ca. 380 · A bishop must be ordained by at least two or three bishops; presbyters, deacons and other clergy by one.
Apostolic Constitutions 7.31.1Anonymous · ca. 380 · Bishops, presbyters and deacons must be tested men of good character, able to teach.
Apostolic Constitutions 8.2.8Anonymous · ca. 380 · The bishop is chosen by all the people, questioned three times before them, and ordained by three bishops with the Gospels held over his head.
Apostolic Constitutions 8.5.3Anonymous · ca. 380 · The ordination prayer asks the Spirit for the new bishop, who then offers the sacrifice, is enthroned, greets the church and preaches.
Apostolic Constitutions 8.16.2Anonymous · ca. 380 · The bishop lays his hand on the presbyter's head.
Apostolic Constitutions 8.17.2Anonymous · ca. 380 · The bishop lays hands on the deacon.
Apostolic Constitutions 8.21.2Anonymous · ca. 380 · The bishop lays hands on the subdeacon.
Apostolic Constitutions 8.22.2Anonymous · ca. 380 · The bishop lays his hand on the reader.
Apostolic Constitutions 8.23.2Anonymous · ca. 380 · Confessors are honored but not ordained by virtue of their confession.
Apostolic Constitutions 8.26.2Anonymous · ca. 380 · Exorcists are not ordained, for their gift comes from God and is evident to all.
Apostolic Constitutions 8.27.1Anonymous · ca. 380 · Simon legislates on the number of bishops required to ordain a bishop.
Apostolic Constitutions 8.27.2Anonymous · ca. 380 · A bishop must be ordained by at least two bishops.
Apostolic Constitutions 8.27.3Anonymous · ca. 380 · In necessity one bishop may ordain with the written consent of others.
Apostolic Constitutions 8.46.9Anonymous · ca. 380 · The apostles ordained bishops, presbyters and deacons for distinct functions; no one may usurp a higher office, and even Stephen kept to his diaconate.
Section 4Anonymous · 382 · The bishops report the canonical ordinations of Nectarius at Constantinople, Flavian at Antioch, and Cyril at Jerusalem and ask the West to accept them for the sake of unity.
Petition to the Emperors (Libellus precum) 17Faustinus · ca. 383–384 · In the East the Arians deposed and reordained bishops who had signed their formula, and the exiled Nicene bishops decreed by letter that such bishops could be received only to lay communion as penitents.
Petition to the Emperors (Libellus precum) 29Faustinus · ca. 383–384 · At Oxyrhynchus in Egypt, bishop Theodore, after being demoted and reordained by the Arian George, persecuted the strict Nicene congregation and its bishop Heraclidas, finally sending his clergy to demolish their church and altar.
Petition to the Emperors (Libellus precum) 31Faustinus · ca. 383–384 · Theodore, reordained by an Arian and long in communion with the Meletian bishop Apollonius, has nevertheless been handed Apollonius's basilica as a Catholic under the emperors' edict, and now reordains Meletian clergy himself.
On the Life of Moses 417Gregory of Nyssa · ca. 385–395 · Every passion is a fall, so mastering pleasure does not excuse ambition for the priesthood; the budding of Aaron’s rod shows that the priesthood is from God, and its nut, hard outside and nourishing within, shows what a priest’s life should be, unlike the luxury of many clergy.
Letter 1 to Himerius of Tarragona, chapter 8Siricius, bishop of Rome · 385 · Siricius rebukes the Spanish metropolitans for ordaining men married several times, contrary to the law's and Paul's rule of one wife.
Letter 1 to Himerius of Tarragona, chapter 9Siricius, bishop of Rome · 385 · Siricius sets the stages and intervals of a clerical career from childhood lector to bishop, for a man married once to a virgin.
Letter 1 to Himerius of Tarragona, chapter 10Siricius, bishop of Rome · 385 · An adult convert may be ordained only if married once to a virgin, passing through the lower orders over set intervals.
Letter 1 to Himerius of Tarragona, chapter 13Siricius, bishop of Rome · 385 · Worthy monks may be ordained, but must pass through each grade at the set intervals.
Letter 1 to Himerius of Tarragona, chapter 14Siricius, bishop of Rome · 385 · Former penitents may not be ordained; penitents, twice-married men, and husbands of widows ordained in ignorance are not to be promoted.
Letter 4 to Anysius of Thessalonica, chapter 1Siricius, bishop of Rome · 385 · Siricius renews his order that no bishop be ordained in Illyricum without the consent of Anysius of Thessalonica, after rival ordinations had produced, in effect, three bishops in one church.
Letter 5 to the bishops of Africa, chapter 2Siricius, bishop of Rome · 385 · Eight rules for all catholic bishops: no ordination without the primate's knowledge; no bishop ordained by a single bishop; no former soldiers after baptism, no clerics marrying widows, no laymen married to widows in the clergy; no poaching or receiving of other churches' clerics; Novatianist and Montensian converts received by laying on of hands.
Letter 6 to various bishops, chapter 2Siricius, bishop of Rome · 385 · Some are introducing new practices against the canons; ordinations, above all of bishops, must follow examination of life and service, not favour.
Letter 6 to various bishops, chapter 3Siricius, bishop of Rome · 385 · Men who served in the army or the civil service, or who seek office through patrons, are not to be made bishops; candidates should be approved by people and bishop.
Letter 6 to various bishops, chapter 4Siricius, bishop of Rome · 385 · Wandering men claiming to be monks, whose life, baptism and faith are unknown, must not be ordained deacons, presbyters or bishops; they should be helped with travel money instead.
Letter 6 to various bishops, chapter 5Siricius, bishop of Rome · 385 · Neophytes and laymen are not to be ordained presbyters or deacons directly, as had been done under pressure from heretics; clergy should be chosen from those already serving.
Letter 10, canons of the Roman synod to the bishops of Gaul, chapter 8Siricius, bishop of Rome · 385 · Only those who have kept chaste since baptism, or who are 'the husband of one wife', may be ordained; a man who sinned sexually after baptism owes penance and cannot become a priest, even if he later married.
Letter 10, canons of the Roman synod to the bishops of Gaul, chapter 13Siricius, bishop of Rome · 385 · Former magistrates who used the sword, torture or public shows must do penance and may not be made bishops; Nicaea excluded eunuchs and men fresh from public office; ordination must not be bought or won by popular favour.
Letter 10, canons of the Roman synod to the bishops of Gaul, chapter 15Siricius, bishop of Rome · 385 · Bishops must be chosen from the clergy after service in lower orders, not from neophytes.
Letter 10, canons of the Roman synod to the bishops of Gaul, chapter 18Siricius, bishop of Rome · 385 · Bishops must not ordain in another's diocese; Nicaea requires the metropolitan with at least three bishops to ordain a bishop; intruders risk their own office.
Letter 10, canons of the Roman synod to the bishops of Gaul, chapter 19Siricius, bishop of Rome · 385 · Laymen excommunicated after trial who have been ordained by another bishop must be removed, or their ordainers reported to Rome.
Letter 51.4Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Augustine argues that by accepting without rebaptism those baptized by Maximianist bishops, the Donatists have conceded the validity of baptism outside their communion.
Letter 126.1Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Augustine gives Albina his account of how the crowd at Hippo demanded Pinianus as presbyter and insulted Alypius, and how he refused to break his promise.
Letter 126.2Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Augustine explains that he kept both his promises, neither ordaining Pinianus against his will nor urging him to accept, and could not safely leave with or without Alypius.
Letter 126.3Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Augustine relates how Pinianus offered to swear that he would reside at Hippo if not ordained against his will, and how the people demanded that any future ordination be at Hippo.
Letter 185.44Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Receiving Donatist clergy in their offices is like grafting, a slight wound to the church's strictness healed by peace and love.
Letter 185.47Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Receiving converted clergy in their offices follows the precedent of the Roman council of 313 and the Donatists' own treatment of the Maximianists.
Letter 213.1Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · The official record of 26 September 426 at Hippo, in which Augustine, now old, names the presbyter Eraclius as his successor before clergy and people, who acclaim him.
Letter 213.2Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Augustine asks the people to pray that God confirm the choice of Eraclius and notes that the proceedings are being officially recorded.
Letter 213.3Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Augustine asks for the decision to be confirmed by the record and by prayer, and the people acclaim Eraclius as their future bishop.
Letter 213.4Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Augustine explains that Eraclius will not be ordained bishop during his lifetime, since his own ordination as co-bishop with Valerius had broken a canon of Nicaea.
Sermon 298.1Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · The feast of Peter and Paul deserved a larger crowd; the first and the last of the apostles, Stephen’s ordainer and persecutor, both atoned for their sins and now speak to all nations through their letters.
Homily 10.1 on 1 TimothyJohn Chrysostom · ca. 392-397 · Chrysostom explains Paul's qualifications for an overseer, reading “the husband of one wife” as restraining the excess of second or plural marriage rather than requiring marriage.
Homily 10.2 on 1 TimothyJohn Chrysostom · ca. 392-397 · Chrysostom explains why Paul asks for a measured virtue in overseers, a well-ruled household, no recent convert, and a good name among outsiders, and suggests “the husband of one wife” was meant not to narrow the choice.
Against Jovinianus 1.34Jerome · 393 · Jerome answers the objection that Paul appointed married clergy: Paul's requirements were a concession to new converts, and married clergy are bound to continence.
Canon 2Anonymous · 394 (or 396)
Life of Saint Martin 5Sulpicius Severus · ca. 396–397 · Martin joins Hilary of Poitiers, is made an exorcist, and on his journey home converts a robber in the Alps.
Life of Saint Martin 9Sulpicius Severus · ca. 396–397 · Martin is lured from his monastery and acclaimed bishop of Tours; a chance reading of Ps 8 silences the opposing bishop Defensor.
Against Faustus the Manichaean 22.58Augustine of Hippo · ca. 398–400 · Augustine applies the story to monks and scholars drawn by the church into ordained ministry, whose labour brings honour to the contemplative life they left.
Canon 45Anonymous · 397 · The bishop of Carthage may take clergy requested by any church to be ordained as its leader, after first asking their own bishop; a bishop with only one presbyter may still have to give him up.
Tractates 16Gaudentius of Brescia · ca. 397-410 · Gaudentius's sermon on the day of his consecration as bishop of Brescia: he accepted only under pressure from Ambrose, the bishops, and the people's oath, praises his predecessor Philastrius, and asks Ambrose, as Peter's successor and mouth of the bishops, to preach after him.
Canon 3Anonymous · ca. 398 · Bishops who irregularly ordained other bishops are pardoned this time, but future irregular ordinations will cost the ordained his office and the ordainer his authority.
Against the Letter of Parmenian 2.28Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400 · Ordination, like baptism, is a sacrament that schismatics do not lose and the Catholic Church does not repeat; returning Donatist clergy are not reordained, and what they had to their ruin comes to be had healthfully through correction.
Against the Letter of Parmenian 2.30Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400 · Whether non-Christians can baptize is left to a council, but schismatics both have and can give baptism and ordination, wrongly but truly; the sacraments remain holy in the bad, for reward in the good and for judgment in the bad.
Against the Letter of Parmenian 2.31Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400 · The Donatists readmitted Felicianus, condemned at Bagai, in his rank with those he had baptized in schism, without rebaptism or reordination, proving Tyconius’s saying of them: ‘What we want is holy.’
On the Good of Marriage 32Augustine of Hippo · 401 · Augustine sums up the three goods of marriage, offspring, faithfulness, and sacrament, the last making the bond indissoluble while both spouses live.
Letter 2, chapter 1Innocent I, bishop of Rome · 401–417 · No bishop may ordain without the metropolitan’s knowledge, nor may a single bishop ordain alone, as Nicaea decreed.
Letter 2, chapter 7Innocent I, bishop of Rome · 401–417 · No bishop may ordain a cleric of another church without his own bishop’s consent, as Nicaea decreed.
Letter 3, chapter 2Innocent I, bishop of Rome · 401–417 · Innocent orders an inquiry into the bishops Rufinus and Minicius, who ordained bishops in other churches against the canons of Nicaea.
Letter 3, chapter 4Innocent I, bishop of Rome · 401–417 · Past irregular ordinations of lawyers, officials, curials and sponsors of shows are let stand for peace, but future ones will be void and their ordainers deposed.
Letter 3 to the bishops of Spain, chapter 6Innocent I, bishop of Rome · 401–417 · Innocent sets out who may not be ordained (soldiers, advocates, officials, curials after baptism) and who may, excluding men married to a non-virgin or twice married, since a marriage before baptism still counts.
Letter 7, chapter 2Innocent I, bishop of Rome · 401–417 · Innocent condemns the installation of a new bishop of Constantinople while John was alive and unheard, declaring such an ordination null.
Letter 16, chapter 1Innocent I, bishop of Rome · 401–417 · Innocent tells Marcian of Naissus to receive clerics ordained by Bonosus before his condemnation, if their claim is true.
Letter 17 to the bishops of Macedonia, chapter 2Innocent I, bishop of Rome · 401–417 · Innocent refutes the view that a marriage contracted before baptism does not count toward digamy, since marriage is not a sin that baptism forgives, and the sons of such a marriage are legitimate.
Letter 17 to the bishops of Macedonia, chapter 3Innocent I, bishop of Rome · 401–417 · Innocent argues that those ordained by heretics received not honour but condemnation through the laying on of hands, and so cannot hold clerical rank.
Letter 24, chapter 1Innocent I, bishop of Rome · 401–417 · Innocent affirms that Nicaea gave Antioch authority over its whole diocese, as Peter’s first see, and that no bishop there should be ordained without its bishop’s consent.
Letter 24, chapter 2Innocent I, bishop of Rome · 401–417 · Church provinces are not to follow imperial divisions; Cyprus must keep the Nicene canons on ordination; Arian clergy are received only as laymen, since heretics cannot give the Spirit in ordination.
Letter 37 to Felix of Nuceria, chapter 5Innocent I, bishop of Rome · 401–417 · Candidates must pass through the lower orders over the set intervals before the priesthood, and Felix is to choose only men beyond reproach.
Apology against Rufinus 1.32Jerome · ca. 401–402 · Jerome defends his teaching that baptism washes away all sins, so that a man married twice before baptism may become a cleric, and denies seeking office or wealth.
Tractates on the Gospel of John 41.10Augustine of Hippo · ca. 406–420 · Church officers must be without crime, not without sin; freedom from crime begins freedom, but in this life weakness remains, and we are free only in the part in which we delight in God's law.
Letter 1, chapter 2Zosimus, bishop of Rome · 417–418 · Zosimus gives the bishop of Arles the right to ordain bishops in the provinces of Vienne and the two Narbonenses, under pain of deposition for any who bypass him.
Letter 4, chapter 1Zosimus, bishop of Rome · 417–418 · Zosimus denounces Ursus and Tuentius, made bishops in Gaul against the canons, one of whom had been condemned by the very bishop who later ordained him.
Letter 4, chapter 2Zosimus, bishop of Rome · 417–418 · Zosimus lists the faults in the ordination of Ursus and Tuentius: no consent of the metropolitan of Arles, no provincial bishops, the deposed Lazarus taking part, the wrong day, and seizure of Arles’s territory.
Letter 4, chapter 5Zosimus, bishop of Rome · 417–418 · The letter repeats Zosimus’s ruling giving the bishop of Arles authority to ordain in the provinces (as in 1.2).
Letter 5Zosimus, bishop of Rome · 417–418 · Zosimus annuls the rights of ordination that Proculus of Marseilles and Simplicius of Vienne obtained at the synod of Turin and restores them to the bishop of Arles.
Letter 6, chapter 1Zosimus, bishop of Rome · 417–418 · Zosimus cancels the privilege Hilary of Narbonne obtained by misrepresentation, since by ancient custom Arles ordains bishops in the Narbonenses.
Letter 6, chapter 2Zosimus, bishop of Rome · 417–418 · Zosimus forbids Hilary of Narbonne to ordain bishops, under pain of excommunication, and dates the letter 26 September 417.
Letter 7, chapter 2Zosimus, bishop of Rome · 417–418 · Zosimus forbids ordaining men from public service straight to high orders, on pain of the ordainer’s deposition, while letting past ordinations stand.
Letter 9, chapter 1Zosimus, bishop of Rome · 417–418 · Zosimus forbids ordaining monks or laymen directly as bishops and requires every cleric to pass through the orders of reader, exorcist, acolyte, subdeacon, deacon and presbyter.
Letter 10, chapter 1Zosimus, bishop of Rome · 417–418 · Zosimus urges Patroclus to stop Proculus of Marseilles, who still ordains after his condemnation, and declares those ordinations void.
Letter 11, chapter 1Zosimus, bishop of Rome · 417–418 · Zosimus tells the church of Marseilles that the deposed Proculus still ordains bishops and commits them to Patroclus of Arles to obtain a worthy bishop.
Letter 12, chapter 1Boniface I, bishop of Rome · 418–422 · Boniface reports the complaint of the church of Lodève that Patroclus of Arles ordained their bishop outside his province, against the Nicene rule of one metropolitan per province.
Letter 12, chapter 2Boniface I, bishop of Rome · 418–422 · Boniface authorizes Hilary of Narbonne to investigate the Lodève ordination as metropolitan and report, insisting that each province be ordained by its own metropolitan.
The Institutes 11.14John Cassian · ca. 419–426 · Vainglory stirs up a desire for ordination and daydreams of holy ministry and many conversions.
Canon 8Anonymous · 431 · The bishops of Cyprus keep their right to ordain their own bishops without Antioch's interference, and no bishop may seize another province; appended is the council's letter granting the retired metropolitan Eustathius of Pamphylia the honor of a bishop.
Canon 3Anonymous · 439 · Armentarius, the young man irregularly ordained for Embrun, is spared condemnation; a bishop may give him one rural church, outside the Maritime Alps, where he may confirm and celebrate but not ordain.
Canon 1Anonymous · date disputed (between ca. 442 and 506) · The newly baptized may not be ordained deacon or priest.
Canon 6Anonymous · 451 · No one is to be ordained without assignment to a particular church, shrine or monastery; such ordinations are void.