"Holy Orders" is the Sacrament through which an ordinand receives authority to
administer the sacraments and conduct other religious services.

Ordination is a sacred sign, accompanied by solemn ceremonies, with which the bishop,
by the imposition of hands, confers on the fit chosen persons a portion of grace
convenient for the ecclesiastical office to which they are raised. The episcopate, priesthood
and diaconate were instituted by Jesus Christ and delivered to us by the Apostles and their
successors; a man not ordained according to that institution cannot celebrate the Eucharist
or perform any office of a priest. As to the validity of the Ethiopian Church Orders, in 1730
Josef Simen Assemain, a converted Marionite who had received a Western education, was
selected by the Congregation of Propaganda in Rome to examine the whole question and
give a full form used in Ethiopian Ordinations. With sound theological arguments Assemain
declared that Ethiopian Orders were valid. A canonical ordination can never be repeated.

There are degrees of the Holy Orders: the major orders are the episcopate, priesthood and
diaconate, the minor ones include subdeacons, deaconesses who assist in the baptism and
confirmation of females, anagnosts or masters of ceremony, singers, door-keepers and others.

Much care is taken in the choice of a bishop; his character, age and absence of obstacles are
thoroughly considered before an appointment is made, according to the Epistle of St. Paul to
Timothy (1 Tim. 2:1-7). A bishop is consecrated by the laying on of the hands of three bishops
or two, saying the required prayers of consecration and being blessed as an ordinand.

The Bishop's jurisdiction is over the faithful, the priests, the deacons and all ministers. In
particular the bishop has the right to ordain candidates, try the clergy, consecrate holy oil,
holy vessels, celebrate all the church sacraments and manage the general affairs of the church.
When the Tabot is accidentally touched by a deacon or a layman it is the bishop who purifies
and bless it. He says the prayer of admission when candidates seek monastic seclusion and
makes the sign of the cross on the skull-cap which each monk wears.

Requirements of education and age for admission to the diaconate and priesthood are not severe.
Anybody who desires to enter the service of the church goes to a church school or any other
institution for ecclesiastical studies. He learns the syllabary and then the "Fidal Hawaria", the
first seven verses of the Epistle of St. John, then he reads books such as the Gospel, the
Tamira Maryam, the Miracles of Mary, the "Gabata Hawaria: i.e., seven Epistles, one of James,
two of Peter, three of John, and one of Jude, Psalter and a portion of St. John's Gospel. All these
documents are in Geez, the church language. When the boys are ready they receive the diaconate
from the bishop before marriage and later the priesthood after acquiring the technical knowledge
of the services.

The duties of the priest are to baptize and confirm, to conduct Mass and the daily services of
the Church, to solemnize marriage, to hear confessions, to perform the rite of Unction and to
hold funeral services. A priest must not engage in other gainful occupations, he gives his services
at all times and to every one irrespective of rank or wealth.

Purity of life is essential for deacons. During the divine service the deacon acts as acolyte. He
bakes the Eucharistic bread in the oven of Bethlehem and makes fresh wine before each Mass.
During the services he directs the actions and responses of the congregation. He is not allowed to
touch the Tabot or to baptize or to say any benediction and is only permitted to marry before ordination.

The clergy have binding obligations, which they either meet or are deposed. Before ordination
the candidates must be sure that the call comes to them from God, they must be blameless in
order to be a good example to the congregation, they must be well acquainted with the Bible and
church teachings. After ordination they should serve not as hired men working merely to their wages,
but as good shepherds who know that the sheep are theirs and that they are responsible for keeping
them from beasts and for feeding them, ready to offer any sacrifice for their sake.

Priests and Deacons may marry before ordination, Bishops never. Monks also are not married,
they keep celibate for life. priests are ordained on feasts of the Lord or of Mary or Sunday.
The hierarchy finally is : Patriarch, Archbishop, Bishop, Episcopos, Archimandrite, Priest, Deacon,
Subdeacon and Debteras.