HOLY ORDERS.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIII, Issue 305, 21 December 1912, Page 5

HOLY ORDERS.

SERVICE AT ST. SEPUXCHBJES. FIVE PRIESTS ORDAINED. AND TWO DEACONS ADMITTED. j A service of impressive solemnity took [ place at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre this morning, the occasion being the ordination of five priests in holy orders and the admission of two deacons. The priests ordained were the Revs. G. H. Gavin, \V. J. Piggott, G. T. Eobson, A. Drake, anu H. R. Hel«. The deacons admitted were K. Poata and K. Karaka. The officiating clergy were the Bishop of Auckland ( the Re\\* Dr. Crossley), the Bishop oi Melanesia (the Right Rev. Dr. Wood), the Yen. Archdeacons Calder and Hawkins, the Rev. W. G. Monckton (examining chaplain), and the Revs. W. E. Gillam and W. Lush (Bishop's chaplains <. Many nsore members of the clergy and Isity* assisted. The Litany was intoned by the Rev. Canon Richards, and the ordination sermon was preached by the Rev. Cecil A. B. Watson, vicar of St. Paul's. There was a. large attendance throughout the service, -which was of three hours' duration. — -ONCE A PKIEST ALWAYS A PRIEST." HOLY.. AWFTJL, AND RESPONSIBLE. The preacher took as his text the following words from St. John, 2!) — " Thomas answered and said unto him, JMy Lord and my God.' Jesus saith unto him, " Thou hast seen mc; thou haet believed; bleesed are they that have not seen and yet have believed.' " The occasion was oue which came all to unfrequently, bidding them look below the surface of things and face, principles of deeprnt moment. To many an ordination wns but a picturesque survival of an ancient custom used in appointing officers in a particular society, bearing a more or less useful aspect. But to those who hj'l gauged the meaning of the incarnation as the divine mode of reconciliation between God and man, an ordination stood for more, much more, than that. The speaker dwelt briefly on the subject oi the Christian ministry and the method of conferring holy orders. The effect of the service of ordination, he said, was to impress an indelible mark or character on the person drdained. Ihis did not mean that a man's moral character vets miraculously altered at ordination, bat that the priest, by virtue of his ordination, was brought into a special relationship to God—a relationship which was permanent. It was indelible. As in baptiem the indelible ettaraeter of worship was bestowed so that we could never "oe other than children (bad or good) of God, so in ordinatiou the character of priesthood was indelibly impressed upon the recipient. ■" Tuere is r.o such thing ac removing one"s orders." said Mr Wateon. " A priest may commit mortal sin, he may be deposed from office, or he may adopt a I.iyman'o dress, and change his whole attitude toward* the Christian faith, but once a prkst, always a priest. Nothing whatever can alter that character. 1 know a man in this city who once took orders a=. a priest in the Anglican Church. He ie now a hotelkeeper in Auckland. Yet he is stiil a p,rkst. If lie desired to resume his priestly duties to-morrow, and received permission to officiate, he would not need to b«j reordained. This ' priestly character ' bestowed on the clergy at ordination ha? nothing to do with any change in their own spiritual life in the eight of God. The gift of thfi Holy Spirit in ordination does give special grace to a man to enable him to keep the solemn vows which the bishop calls upon him to make, but the ■priretly character' is what givea him authority to exercise the office of prifrtt. to offer the eucharistic sacrifice, to bless and to absolve. How holy, awful, and responsible an office it is." Holy orders, said the preacher, was the most exacting of professions. The disciple was not his master. There were no intervals of leisure. It could never ba laid aside. On furlough or at work the same obligations ever bound them. The oidained were at all times under ordere as messengere, watchmen, and stewards o.f the Lord; as messengers to lose themselves in the message they had to deliver, aye, to commend their message by the influence it showed upon their j own lives; as watchmen to be straining every dense to catch the first wnrnin!; sound of impending spiritual danger to their flock and to themselves, as well as . to catch the first gleams of dawn, the first sounds of triumph, to cheer the weary watchers of the nisrhtj as stewards

to minister the words and sacraments faithfully, diligently, unwearicdly. without money and without price. To the brethren about to be ordained he would say. " Be prayerful, brave, and patient. : ' The message they had to deliver was not th<:ir owu, but that of the Master. It was their joy now to spread that message far and wide, and co ha.sten the coming of their Lord and Master. Jrsus Christ, their Great High Priest, from whose eternal priesthood they alone derived authority and power, and through wlicee never-failing intercession he prayed that all present, bishops. prie=t% deacons, and laity, might find forgiveness, help, and comfort in time of neei." CONSUMMATION OF PRIESTHOOD. THE CLOSING SCENES. The ceremony of ordination was beautifully impressive, and the officiating clergy carried out their respective duties with much p-mooLhness. The laying on of hands wae exceptionally solemn, and the Bishop's charges were delivered with force fulness. At the close of prayer the Bishop and all priests Jn attendance laid their hande severally upon each one of the candidates for the order of priesthood, the latter kneeling the -while. Then the Bishop delivered to each one the Bible aa an authority "to preach the word of God and to minister the sacraments in the congregations where they should be lawfully appointed thereunto." Aft»r the singing of the " Xicene Creed : ' the Bishop continued in the service of the communion, which was partaken of by the candidate*. t!;e officiating priruis, a;:<! a brge number of the congregation.' The of the- benediction by t!:e Bi,hop marked the closing event 6l a memorable service.