Altar book of the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran
Church : a translation
ORDINATION TO THE HOLY MINISTRY.
The President
shall then say:
Give me thine hand in token thereof.
The person to be ordained shall then rise, and give his
hand, first to the President, then to the Pastors from right to left. After this
he shall again kneel.
The President shall then say:
I commit unto thee, in the Name of the Father, and of
the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, the sacred office of the Gospel Ministry, with
authority and power, as a right servant of God and of Jesus Christ, to declare
God's Word both in public and in private, to administer the Holy Sacraments in
accordance with their institution, to bind sin upon the obstinate and to loose
it upon the penitent, and further to perform whatsoever belongeth to this thy
holy calling in accordance with the Word of God and the practices of our
Church.
Let us all pray.
The President shall then lay his hand upon the head of
the person being ordained, the Pastors doing the same. If more than one is being
ordained, the Pastors shall distribute themselves in equal numbers about each
one of the Candidates. The President moves his hand from one to the other during
the following prayer:
Merciful and everlasting God: By the Word of Thine
only begotten Son Thou hast taught us that the harvest truly is great, but the
laborers are few; and that we should pray the Lord of the harvest that he send
forth laborers into His harvest. Hear, therefore, the prayer we offer in behalf
of him whom we ordain this day to be a servant in Thy Church.
Lord, keep him in Thy Name, and sanctify him in Thy
truth, strengthen him in faith and in love toward Thee, and bestow upon him
through Thy Spirit the gifts of ministration, that he may become a right
laborer in Thy harvest. Help him to proclaim Thy Word with boldness and fidelity,
to counsel, comfort, and rebuke with all meekness and wisdom, and in all things
conduct himself as a good steward of Thy manifold grace.
Be with him in every conflict and trial, and make him
patient and humble in heart; for Thy power is made perfect in weakness.
Make fruitful his labors according to Thine own good
pleasure, and when his day of toil shall end, receive him with joy in Thine own
presence, there to inherit a portion with all Thy saints in everlasting bliss.
Hear us, for the sake of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Our Father, who art in heaven; Hallowed be Thy Name;
Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven; Give us this
day our daily bread; And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who
trespass against us; And lead us not into temptation; But deliver us from evil;
For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever.
Amen.
From the heart let all say, Amen.
The Pastors
answer:
Amen.
The President:
In the Name of Christ, Amen.
A stanza of an appropriate Hymn, such as the first of
No. 39 in the Hymnary, shall then be sung, during which the President kneels in
silent prayer at the Altar, while the persons ordained together with the other
Pastors kneel around the Altar Circle. Thereupon the President and the persons
ordained go into the Sacristy.
The act of Ordination thus performed, the Hymn before
the Sermon shall be sung, after which a Sermon shall be preached, either by the
person ordained, or by one of the other Pastors, as the President shall determine.
At the Conclusion of the Sermon, the person newly ordained
shall take the oath of ordination.
If more than one person be ordained, the Ritual shall
be modified accordingly.
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