The Roles of the Ecclesial Orders in the Governance of the Church

Abstract

This Editorial reflects ecclesiologically on the place and role of the ecclesial orders in the governance of the church. By ‘the ecclesial orders’ I mean the var-iegated vocational structure of the baptized people of God. I take these orders to be fourfold: bishops, presbyters, deacons and lay people. That list is not in order of theological importance! A moment’s reflection teaches us that there can be no hierarchy of callings in the body of Christ. All the baptized are level in status before God, having a full and equal standing in Christ; all are called to discipleship and service. The prestige that accrues to the office of say arch-bishop, but not to the office of lay minister of communion, is purely a matter of human perception. Even the sacred aura that hovers around certain ministries but not others exists only for human eyes. Bishops and lay people might be thought of as standing at the opposite ends of a spectrum of Christian callings. But this would be an egregious error: there is no such spectrum. Considered biblically and ecclesiologically, the church is a perfectly level playing field. While lay Christians are of course not in Holy Orders, they are intentionally placed within the overall ordering of the community of the baptized in the service of the missio dei . Laity are just as fully ecclesial persons as the ordained are. Then it is also good to remember that bishops are also priests and deacons and belong to the laos ; that presbyters are also deacons and members of the laos ; and that deacons remain within the laos too. An order, once bestowed