Process for Ordination
within the
Catholic Church of the Americas
trains, forms, and ordains those Christian men and women regardless of marital status or sexual
orientation who are called by God's Spirit to a particular, formal, permanent ministry in Christ's
Church as a priest or deacon.
The PFPO is a process not unlike the process of being initiated as a Christian or the process of
meeting a future spouse -- growing to love that person and then entering into Christian marriage
with them. Processes like these take time -- they are more about building relationships than about
book knowledge.
The PFPO is about formation, not just education. It is about forming attitudes toward ministry, and
about helping to strengthen one's spiritual life -- i.e., your relationship with God and with Christ's
Church.
1. Discern your vocation.
2. Inquire about the Catholic Church of the Americas, then apply.
3. The process of formation.
4. Ordination.
These steps are described on these pages.
experience will still need about two to six months prior to ordination to learn about the Catholic
Church of the Americas and, more importantly, to develop and cultivate a relationship wity the
church, with the bishops, the vocation director and the other clergy in the church.
Candidates who have some theological/liturgical/pastoral education, formation, and/or experience
will often spend at least four months to a year prior to ordination in this process.
Candidates who are new to studying or doing theology, liturgy, and/or pastoral care will often
spend a year or two in this process.
upon which you should frequently reflect, over and over, until you can comfortably articulate to
other people your answer to it.
Do you enjoy telling other people about Jesus Christ and God's love for all of us?
Do you enjoy personal prayer time?
If you've had the opportunity to do so, do you find you enjoy leading and participating in public
prayer and worship?
If you've had the opportunity to do so, do you find you enjoy breaking open God's Word in
preaching?
These are some important questions, among others, that you should ask yourself, and reflect on,
as you discern a possible call to ordained ministry in Christ's Church. A spiritual director can help
you in this early stage.
Read up on the CCA from this website and any other hand outs from the office of the presiding
bishop and/or the director of vocations.
Read one or more of the books from the following reading list:
+ Bokenkotter, Thomas. (1977). A Concise History of the Catholic Church. NY: Doubleday and
Co., Inc.
+ Girzone, Joseph F. The Joshua Series. NY:Macmillan Publishing Co.
+ Link, Mark. (1991). Path Through Catholicism. TX: Tabor Publishing.
+ Nugent, Robert. ed. (1986) A Challenge to Love. NY: Crossroad Publishing Co.
+ Pruter, Karl. (1993). The Catholic Priest: A Guide to Holy Orders. CA: St. Willibrord's Press.
+ Pruter, Karl & J. Gordon Melton. (1983). The Old Catholic Sourcebook. NY: Garland
Publishing, Inc.
+ Spong, John Shelby. (1991). Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism: A Bishop Rethinks the
Meaning of Scripture. NY: Harper Collins Publishers.
+ Spong, John Shelby. (1988). Living in Sin: A Bishop Rethinks Human Sexuality. NY: Harper
Collins Publishers.
Inquire: Speak With Representatives of the CCA.
Speak with the bishops and the director of vocations. Speak with one or more of the CCA clergy,
seminarians, or lay persons. Do not be afraid to ask them questions, even if they are challenging
questions. If you live close enough, or are able to travel, visit a CCA parish or community one
Sunday.
Inquire: Ask yourself these important questions:
Does this ecclesial body, the CCA, feel right to you?
Is there a good fit between where you are coming from and the life and spirit of the CCA?
Do the theological emphases of Catholicism, in general, have some appeal to you?
Does the CCA liturgy appeal to you? If you are not from a Catholic background, do you think you
can successfully deal with a different order for public celebration of Eucharist than one in your
ecclesial body of origin?
Are you comfortable with the thought of pastoring a faith community which may only have five to
fifteen members? This is a typical parish size in the independent/autocephalous church
movement.
Apply
There is a formal application form available in the "Vocations" section of this website. Download it,
fill it out, write the required essays, and mail it along with the required supporting documents to the
vocation director.
several activities in which you will engage.
and discuss by telephone.
Strengthen your spiritual life and deepen your relationship to
God and to Christ's church.
Form your attitudes toward ministry.
assigned mentor.
Reside at a functioning CCA ministry or parish for a week end.
Organize a small intentional faith community and preside at non-Eucharistic prayer each
week.
Complete a home-based course of training in theology and ministry.
Take advantage of outside courses and study programs (optional).
costs.
assigned books and articles, completing the units of required study within the CCA, writing
reflection papers and discussions over the telephone.
Distance Learning vs. Classroom-based Instruction
In the PFPO, this "distance learning," for the most part, takes the place of classroom-based
"seminary" instruction. The CCA finds that given how spread out we are, it is neither practical
nor desirable for the church itself to offer a classroom-based curriculum or to mandate
enrollment in outside classroom-based courses or programs of study.
Each person in formation will have to complete seven courses. These courses are offered
through the CCA. They are
Old Testament
New Testament
Pastoral Counseling
Sacraments
Systematic Theology
Ethics
Church History
Persons who can show academic transcripts reflecting the completion of any of these courses,
will not be required to take them again -- at the discretion of the vocation director.
Who Gives the Assignments?
The reading/writing assignments will be made by the director of vocations who will also receive
your work as you complete it.
Pacing
Generally, you will be able to work at your own pace, subject to a mutual agreement between
yourself and the Director of Vocations.
You will need to be realistic when setting due dates: take into account things like overtime at
work, family contingencies, previously scheduled vacations, existing ministerial activities, and
such. Once you agree upon a date, you should use due diligence in meeting it; if it looks like
you cannot meet the date, you should let the Director of Vocations know prior to that date.
Typical Subject Matter
Scripture.
Pastoral Liturgy, including preaching and presiding.
Pastoral care.
The sacraments and sacramentals.
Church History, with a special emphasis on Independent/Autocephalous Churches in
the Apostolic Tradition.
Parish growth and evangelization.
Moral theology and sexual ethics.
Your Relationship with God and with
Christ's Church
strengthening your spiritual life, and deepening your relationship
with God and with Christ's Church.
Here are some helpful, practical, time-tested ways to do this:
prayer life. If you already have one, nurture it and keep it
up. You will draw life from it.
Some people pray some variation of the Liturgy of Hours
and/or an Office of Readings. Others engage in
Eucharistic adoration and/or receive the Eucharist daily.
Some meditate. Others pray the Rosary. Some listen to
recordings of Christian and/or worship music.
with him/her.
Keep a spiritual diary or journal.
Keep up, if at all possible, your communal prayer life. Prayer in community is important,
Eucharistic and otherwise. During your time of formation, if you have access to a
Eucharistic community where you will feel accepted, then, by all means, take advantage
of it. If not, discuss your particular situation with your assigned mentor.
Go on retreat periodically.
Attend local CCA functions and plan on attending the CCA Church Synod.
pastoral ministry. This, too, is important.
In a nutshell, the act of pastoral ministry is "being present" with someone, and accompanying
them, for a while, on their spiritual journey, more than "doing" a ritual "to" them. Experience
shows that pastoral ministry (listening, praying, healing, reconciling) tends to be more
successful ...
slowly, with their explicitly given permission.
when, if you have the opportunity to perform pastoral ministry as part of a team, you do
so.
when you realize that healing and reconciliation often take place over time, not in one
"session."
when you (and your team, if you're working collaboratively with a team), try to make use
of all the spiritual gifts you have.
when you (and your team, if you're working with a team) "pray up" both before and after
performing pastoral ministry.
when you offer advice sparingly, and only if the parishioner requests it.
when you (and your team, if you're working with one) concentrate more on worshipping
rather than on "problem solving."
when you (and your team, if you're working with one) consistently set boundaries, in
concert with the parishioner, such as concerning the time limits for each session
(typically, 10, 30 or 50 minutes) and the set of concerns to be prayed for/dealt with at
that session.
the Bishop, the Director of Vocations, and
Your Mentor
with your bishop, the director of vocations, and your mentor.
Due to geographical considerations, much of this will take place by telephone conversations,
e-mail or letter correspondence.
The Director of Vocations
The Director of Vocations is the person who will guide your entire formation program and will keep
in touch with you during the process. S/He will be the one with whom you will be in first contact.
S/He will direct the final decision as to your status within the CCA. One of his/her primary
responsibilities is to direct you in any procedural and/or academic problems. You will not have to
worry about keeping in touch with him/her because she/he will be the one keeping in touch with
you. If, at any time during this process, you decide that you do not want to continue, it is the
director of vocations who should be informed of this decision.
Mentors
An important person in your formation is your mentor. This person, usually an experience CCA
member of the clergy, is assigned to you by the vocation director. The mentor's role is to act as a
sounding board and guide for spiritual and ministerial problems. The mentor can also act as a
"big brother" or "big sister" in providing you with encouragement on an ongoing basis.
The mentor's relationship to you is different than that of the bishop since s/he (the mentor) is not
your spiritual head nor will s/he ordain you. In this process of formation, you will need to
communicate with your mentor no less than once a month.
The Director of Pastoral Support
Another person who can serve as a support for you is the Director of Pastoral Support. This
person can not only offer you pastoral support in your spiritual journey but can also help you on a
personal level. The Director of Pastoral Support will administer psychological tests as part of your
formation program and will send you a profile of your results. You are encouraged to call this
person to discuss these results.
months, either by e-mail or phone.
Important note: The Church believes that to prevent the abuse of authority and/or violation of
confidentiality that one person should not fill too many roles in your diaconal/priestly formation.
For example, one person should not (and must not) be your bishop, director of vocations, mentor,
spiritual director, confessor and psychotherapist.
Serving Christ's Church as an ordained person lacks
quite a bit of spiritual power and authority if you try to
do it by yourself, that is, when you are not in a
life-giving relationship to a spiritual head. In the
Christian churches that have retained the fullness of
the apostolic tradition, this person is the bishop.
Being in relationship with the bishop is not about blind
obedience, but is a matter of thoughtfully receiving and
acting upon direction given by him/her and
communicating back and forth with him/her on an
ongoing basis.
brother and sister clergy as well as several of the laity of the CCA. Many friendships are forged at
the conference.
The synod also allows for a quiet time away from the hectic aspects of one's life and affords one
some "down time" to meditate, pray and retreat to a spiritual place of peace, tranquility, and
communion.
Also, the Synod gives one the opportunity for ongoing education and/or training in that various
workshops are offered to strengthen one's theological and pastoral prowess.
Having a Parish, Organize a Small Faith
Community and Preside at Daily Prayer
(including yourself) are gathered, because it will help you to
become comfortable both with the role of presiding at public
prayer and with the Church's pattern of worship.
Obviously, you can only preside at a Communion service if
you have access to consecrated Eucharistic bread. You can
obtain this when you visit a CCA ministry nearby or at the
national Synod meeting.
Historically, deacons have performed a great variety of roles in apostolic Christendom. The
first deacons were selected to help with the practical details of the early Church's social
outreach (helping widows, feeding the poor, etc.). But Scripture also shows that many of them
wound up in evangelization and leadership roles.
Later, when a diocesan bishop went off to attend an ecumenical council (and taking all the
diocesan priests with him) for several months, the deacons were left behind with temporary
extraordinary faculty to even preside at Eucharist.
How the CCA Implements the Diaconate
In the CCA, the role of the deacon is seen as a hands-on ordained ministry (sacramental and
otherwise), with certain limitations, under the supervision and guidance of an experienced
nearby priest and/or bishop.
In the CCA, these are the liturgical and sacramental actions a deacon may perform:
Christian Initiation. In most cases a deacon may do anything and everything that needs
doing in the process of Christian Initiation, including administering Baptism/
Eucharist. Deacons may preside at Communion Services, and thus distribute the Sacred
Species previously consecrated by a priest or bishop. Deacons in the CCA may not preside at
the Eucharistic Celebration.
Deacons may assist a priest or bishop during the Mass or any other liturgy; in this role, the may
proclaim the Gospel passage, preach the homily, and lead certain specified prayers and
acclamations.
Pastoral Care. Deacons can bring Holy Communion to the sick and shut-ins. They may
provide pastoral/spiritual counseling to those in need.
Christian Marriage. Deacons may help to help prepare couples for Christian Marriage,
and may officiate during the sacrament of Christian Marriage.
Christian Funerals and Burials. Deacons may certainly provide care and comfort to
the living, and prayers on behalf of the deceased. Deacons may officiate at a Communion
Service of Christian Funeral, and at Christian Burial.
Non-Liturgical Roles. Deacons may perform any or all of the traditional works of mercy:
feeding the hungry, caring for the poor, visiting the sick and lonely, comforting the dying, and
speak out publicly on behalf of society's neglected and oppressed.
Deacons may preach and evangelize.
Deacons may take roles of institutional leadership and responsibility within the church.
What Diaconal Works Should You Perform?
Some newly-ordained deacons start small, and slowly "wade in." Others are more ambitious. It
really all depends on your personal energy level, how ready you feel, how ready your mentor
and the Bishop feel you are, and what works God has in mind for you to do.
programs of study while you are in the formation process for
ordination is not mandated.
However, if you have the time, energy, and money to do so,
the CCA does encourage you to voluntarily take advantage of
opportunities for outside study.
In the independent/autocephalous church movement there
are a number of already organized formal seminary programs.
For more information on these, please contact your Director
of Vocations.
measuring academic progress and personal growth, and determining "readiness" is the paper
trail:
The monthly reports your assigned mentor writes to the bishop.
Your written assignments on the internal course work.
Your written reflection papers.
Any other essays you are asked to write.
Your letters to your bishop - quarterly before the diaconate and monthly during the
diaconate
copy for your own files.
Ordination does require some financial resources.
The CCA does not charge for ordination or any other sacrament, for that matter.
Realistically, though, it does cost some money for the bishop and other staff to support a person
who is either a seminarian/candidate, deacon or priest: long-distance telephone calls, printing
cost, postage, this website, and so on.
Accordingly, from seminarians/candidates and clergy who are not impoverished, the national
church does ask for a voluntary contribution of $10.00 per month to help cover expenses -- this
is on top of any other expenses you may incur. If the Lord has blessed you with ample funds,
please feel free to contribute more. The cost of the educational requirements, if taken through
the CCA, is $25.00 per unit of instruction. These checks need to be made payable to the
"Catholic Church of the Americas."
If a bishop needs to travel to visit you or ordain you, it is expected that you will contribute the cost
of lodging and airfare/travel.
You will be responsible for the costs of your own books, your own travel to and from CCA
functions, the cost involved in attending those functions, and the cost of keeping up your own
ministry (books, periodicals, telephone, computer, Internet access, vestments, clerical clothing,
worship aids, licenses, liturgical supplies, and so on).
A note about vestments: a seminarian needs only an alb. A deacon needs an alb and at least
one deacon stole (five, if you can afford it -- white, purple, green, blue, and red). A priest needs
an alb and at least one stole, and, if you can afford it, at least five stoles and five chasubles.
Once you are ordained to the priesthood, you will need to continue your educations in an
ongoing fashion, and you will need to continue to send a written report to your bishop on your
ministry each month.
Some helpful way to continue your education:
Subscribe to and/or read informative periodicals like the National Catholic Reporter,
Celebration, and Ministry and Liturgy.
Continue to take advantage of outside courses.
Take advantage of nearby workshops, conferences and seminars.
If you have Internet access, subscribe to mailing lists like the Old Catholic List and The
Catholic Liturgy List.
If you are a subscriber to America Online (AOL) or other such online services, keep up
on some of the discussions that take place on the various Orthodox, Old Catholic and
Catholic boards.
Vocariously read books.
Pastoral Formation Process for
Ordination
1. You need to be a fully initiated Christian (have been Baptized, chrismated, and have received
first Eucharist.
2. You need to be at least 21 years of age.
3. You need to have successfully completed a few preparatory courses.
The CCA will not ordain anyone until they have reached the age of 25.
