ordination
Religious ceremony by which a person is accepted into the priesthood or monastic life in various religions. Within the Christian church, ordination authorizes a person to administer the sacraments.
Ordination of women
Many Protestant denominations, such as the Methodists and Baptists, ordain women as ministers, as do many churches in the Anglican communion. In 1988, the first female bishop was elected within the Anglican communion (in Massachusetts, USA). The Anglican Church in England and Australia voted in favour of the ordination of women priests in November 1992, and the first women priests were ordained in England in 1994. The Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches refuse to ordain women.
Buddhist ordination In Buddhism, ordination is entry into the Sangha (monastic orders). It is considered a necessary step towards enlightenment within the Theravāda school. Applicants need their parents' permission, and must be without debt or serious illness. On the day before ordination, the applicants wear richly decorated clothes to symbolize Siddartha Gautama's life before he left the palace. These clothes are replaced by a simple robe and a shaven head upon ordination. |
