Article 6. The Sacrament of Holy Orders

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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.

(On the institution and mission of the apostolic ministry by Christ, see above, no. 874 ff. Here only the sacramental means by which this ministry is handed on will be treated.)

Subsections

I. Why Is This Sacrament Called "Orders"?

II. The Sacrament of Holy Orders in the Economy of Salvation

III. The Three Degrees of the Sacrament of Holy Orders

IV. The Celebration of This Sacrament

V. Who Can Confer This Sacrament?

VI. Who Can Receive This Sacrament?

VII. The Effects of the Sacrament of Holy Orders

In Brief