Choosing a career in ministry isn't for everyone, but if you feel the call of the Holy Spirit is leading you into the priesthood, there are a number of important steps to follow.
Prerequisites for the Priesthood
Unlike Catholic priests, the priesthood in the Episcopal Church is not restricted by gender, sexual orientation, or marital status. Episcopal priests may be women or men, gay or straight, and are permitted to marry and have children. Your identity isn't as important to the church as your choices, your faith, and your love for God.
In order to become a priest, you'll be pursuing a Masters degree in Divinity. Therefore, in order to enter the priesthood, you'll need a B.A. (or equivalent) from an accredited college or university. Your degree need not be in religion, however — any major will do.
You'll also need to be a full member in good standing of the Episcopal Church. This means that you'll need to have been baptized and confirmed in the church before you begin the process of becoming a priest.
The Discernment Process
The first step in the journey towards becoming an Episcopal priest is called "discernment." This is a time of thought and reflection, when a potential priest-to-be must consider seriously whether or not he or she would be right for the ministry (and whether or not the ministry would be right for him/her).
As you are moving through this process, be thinking about the effect that your choices would be having on your life and the lives of your family members. Would your husband or wife be willing to give up a job, and would your kids be willing to change schools, if you needed to move out of the city (or the state) in order to attend seminary?
To begin the process, speak with the priest of your home parish. He or she can give you guidance and explain fully how the discernment process works.
Eventually, a potential Episcopal priest must meet with a discernment committee, which will often consist of the local priest and the Vestry (the elected body of a church) that runs the home parish. The committee will ask the candidate a series of questions about faith, personal and professional goals, family situation, and anything else that might affect one's ability to carry out the duties of the clergy.
Once the committee has approved your decision to pursue the priesthood, you will need to meet with the bishop of your diocese. You will also need to meet with your diocese's Commission on Ministry, which usually can be achieved at a yearly meeting where everyone who is currently engaged in the discernment process can come together and meet.
Often, potential candidates will be asked to meet with a general practitioner and/or a mental health professional, who can help to determine whether or not the Episcopal priest candidate is healthy enough to continue in the process. Background checks may also be performed; this is a required element in many dioceses.
Postulancy
After you have been approved by your committee, the bishop, and your diocese's Commission on Ministry, you'll officially be named as a postulant for Holy Orders. This indicates that you are ready to begin pursuing your Masters of Divinity degree.
An aspiring priest must decide where to attend seminary in order to begin the theological education. There are ten accredited Episcopal seminaries in the country: Berkeley Divinity School at Yale (New Haven, CT); Bexley Hall at Colgate-Rochester (Rochester, NY); Church Divinity School of the Pacific (Berkeley, CA); Episcopal Divinity School (Cambridge, MA); Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest (Austin, TX); General Theological Seminary (New York, NY); Nashotah House (Nashotah, WI); School of Theology of The University of the South (Sewanee, TN); Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry (Ambridge, PA); and Virginia Theological Seminary (Alexandria, VA). Although it is now closed temporarily to new applicants as of 2008, Seabury-Western Theological Seminary in Evanston, IL may also eventually reopen once more as an Episcopal seminary.
Candidates may also choose to attend a non-Episcopal seminary in order to complete the Masters degree requirements. However, the candidate will still need to acquire a Certificate in Anglican Studies from an Episcopal seminary before he or she can be ordained in the Episcopal Church.
Applying to seminary will often require an application form, several essays and letters of recommendation, an interview, and (for some, but not all) an application fee. Remember to check the deadline for when each step of the application process must be completed. At many seminaries, both merit-based and need-based financial aid is available for qualifying students.
Seminary
Seminary education usually takes three years to complete. First-year students are call "juniors," second-year students are "middlers," and students in their final year are known as "seniors." At some point during your studies you will become a candidate for ordination, and after, you will probably be required to attend a candidacy conference.
Senior students take the General Ordination Exams (GOEs) in January. These exams must be completed successfully in order to graduate from seminary.
Diaconal Training
Following your graduation from seminary, you'll be ordained as a transitional deacon, a sort of "junior priest" position that allows you to experience hands-on parish training under the guidance of an experienced, ordained priest. This training lasts a minimum of six months, after which you can be ordained as a priest and go on to lead services in a parish of your own. Sometimes, depending on your diocese, you may be ordained as a transitional deacon before you graduate; others must wait until after graduation.
Some people choose to remain as deacons, as they may prefer the pastoral opportunities there. These deacons are known as vocational deacons, because they are called to be deacons (either in parishes or as chaplains at hospitals, camps, and schools), not rectors, as their main vocation.
Becoming a priest isn't easy. However, for those who have experienced God's call to service, the priesthood is a rewarding way of helping others to experience God's love!
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