Ordination to Priesthood (Teachings of the Orthodox Church)

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If I speak with the languages of men and of angels, but don't have love, I have become sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but don't have love, I am nothing. If I dole out all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but don't have love, it profits me nothing. Love is patient and is kind; love doesn't envy. Love doesn't brag, is not proud, doesn't behave itself inappropriately, doesn't seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil; doesn't rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will be done away with.

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	Ordination to Priesthood (Teachings of the Orthodox Church)

QUESTION:

I am interested in the priesthood, and I am new to the Orthodox faith, coming over from Roman Catholic, where I was a member of a religious order. Can you tell me what I need to do?

ANSWER:

Assuming that you are now a member of a parish of the Orthodox Church in America, one would normally enroll in one of the OCA's seminaries and obtain a MDiv degree in preparation for ordination to the priesthood. It is also recommended that one who has converted to Orthodoxy be an active member of a parish for an appreciable period of time prior to entering seminary.

If you are an older individual who perhaps already has an MDiv, you might consider the OCA's late vocations program. However, study at one of the seminaries is highly recommended for anyone capable of doing so.

Published in January 2011.

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