"Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ." (Ephesians 4:11-13)
All baptized people are called to participate in the saving and reconciling work of Christ in the world. For a few, however, faithfulness to the demands of baptism is most appropriately exercised within the context of Holy Orders.
Are you called to lead a faith community, to chaplaincy or to an ordained ministry position?
There are three ordained orders in the Anglican Church: Deacons, Priests and Bishops. All three orders overlap but each has a distinct role.
Deacons – Sometimes thought of as ‘boundary riders’, their role is to move fluidly between the life of the Church and the life of the wider community, where they typically live and work. A Deacon may be sent by a Bishop to fulfil a particular mission. This is an exciting role!
Priest – The Priest’s role is generally based in a Church community, as they are called to be leaders of parishes, to be school chaplains, to teach, to be pastoral and to administer the sacraments. It is a privilege for priests to be able to journey with people through all the different phases of their lives.
Bishops – Bishops are the Church elders who oversee the many parishes in each diocese. They are pastors for both clergy and lay people. Bishops are people who have been Deacons and Priests and are then raised up to become leaders for the wider Church. They administer the sacraments of confirmation, receive new Anglicans into the Church and can ordain new deacons and priests.
If you are discerning a vocation, please contact the Bishop's Office.