And he said to them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; but whoever does not believe will be condemned" (Mark 1b:14-1b). But even those who were directly called by Christ by Ap. Paul (Acts 9:1-8), needed the laying on of hands (Latin for confirmation) to be filled with the Holy Spirit: "Ananias went and entered the house, and laying his hands on him, said, 'Brother Saul!

The Lord Jesus, who appeared to you in the way you walked, sent me so that you might receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. And immediately it was as if scales fell from his eyes, and suddenly he regained his sight; and he arose, and was baptized" (Acts 9:17-18). Later, he was ordained to serve as an evangelist in the Church: "As they served the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.

Then they fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, and sent them away" (Acts 13:2-3). The ordination gave Ap. Paul has the right of a bishop to ordain others: "And having ordained for them elders for each church, they prayed with fasting, and committed them to the Lord, in whom they believed" (Acts 14:23). Jehovah's Witness: In our translation, this text sounds somewhat different: "They also appointed elders for them in every congregation, and after prayer and fasting they committed them to Jehovah, in whom they believed" (N.M. – Acts 14:23).

As you can see, there is no word "ordination" here. In Greek, the word ceirotonew means, as it is said in the dictionary of A.D. Weisman, giving a vote in the people's assembly by raising a hand or electing, confirming someone in office. Orthodox: This is not entirely true, because in the Apostolic Church, as well as now, consecration was performed through the laying on of hands, this tradition came from the Old Testament. We've read about it.

If we look at the text about Paul's ordination, we can see this: "While they were serving the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. Then they fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, and sent them away" (Acts 13:2-3). Here in Greek it says: epiqenteV taV ceiraV, which literally means: epiqenteV (

put, laid, vzvali – from the Greek verb "epitiqhmi") taV ceiraV (hands). There are no other options in this case, and therefore the Synodal translation is correct when it speaks of ordination. It is also known from the history of the Church that the election of candidates for the priesthood always preceded ordination. It is strange that the translators of Novy Mir confused the first with the second. So, let's continue.

Apostles or their successors, bishops, could ordain and confirm (Acts 8:14-17; 1 Tim. 5:22). Not only presbyters and bishops were ordained, but also deacons: "They set them before the Apostles, and these prayed, and laid hands on them" (Acts 6:6). Not all Christians perform pastoral ministry: "And some God has ordained in the Church, first, apostles, secondly, prophets, thirdly, teachers; furthermore, to others He gave miraculous powers, as well as the gifts of healing, help, guidance, and various tongues. Are all the Apostles? Are all prophets? Are they all teachers? Are all miracle workers? Does everyone have the gifts of healing? Does everyone speak in tongues? Are all interpreters?" (1 Corinthians 12:28-30).

Jehovah's Witness: There are moral requirements for those who perform various services in Christian congregations: "But a bishop must be blameless, the husband of one wife, sober, chaste, decent, honest, loving strangers, teachable, not a drunkard, not a murderer, not quarrelsome, not covetous, but quiet, peaceable, not covetous, ruling his house well, keeping his children in obedience with all honesty; for whoever does not know how to govern his own house, will he take care of the Church of God?

He must not be one of the new converts, lest he become proud and fall into condemnation with the devil. It behooves him also to have a good testimony from those without, so that he may not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil" (1 Tim. 3:2-7). It seems to me that such requirements are not always taken into account in modern Orthodoxy. For example, as far as I know, all your bishops are monks.

And here it is said, "The bishop must be blameless, the husband of one wife." Celibacy clergy are a problem in Christendom today. For many, it ends in a moral crisis. Suffice it to recall the recent noisy scandals around some Catholic and Orthodox bishops. Orthodox: Celibacy in the Church is established for those "who can contain, let him contain," as it is written: "There are eunuchs who are castrated from men; and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven. Whosoever is able to bear, let him receive" (Matt. 19:12).

The purpose of celibacy is expediency in the matter of church service. Up. Paul was clear on the matter: "And I want you to be careless. He who is unmarried cares about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord; but a married man cares about worldly things, how to please his wife..." (1 Corinthians 7:32-33); and above he said: "Nevertheless, even if you marry, you will not sin; and if a virgin marries, she will not sin.

But such will have sorrows in the flesh; And I feel sorry for you. I say to you, brethren, the time is short, so that those who have wives must be as if they had none" (1 Corinthians 7:28-29). We do not implore the importance of marriage, but at the same time we remember that it is necessary to marry in order not to be inflamed: "To the celibate and widows I say, It is good for them to remain as I am. for it is better to marry than to be inflamed" (1 Corinthians 7:8-9).

But let us return to the question of ordination. It is said: "And no one accepts this honor of his own accord, but he who is called of God, even as Aaron was" (Hebrews 5:4). Let us compare this text with another: "Do not neglect the gift that abides in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of hands of the priesthood" (1 Tim. 4:14). Thus, it is obvious that a person cannot place himself in a priestly position and sanctify (ordain) himself

but is ordained by God "according to prophecy," "with the laying on of hands of the priesthood." In the historical Christian churches it is known exactly from which of the apostles and through which bishops the succession of ordination is preserved to the present day. And this is a historically established fact of the continuity of the presence of the gift of God – charisma – in the Church of Christ: "For this reason I remind you to stir up the gift of God, which is in you through my ordination" (2 Tim. 1:6).