The Hierarchy of the Church of Pakistan

What does 'ordained' mean? To be 'ordained' means to be selected and set apart for a particular purpose. When someone is ordained they are selected by the Church and they go through a particular ceremony, where a bishop will lay his hands on the ordination candidate and pray that the Holy Spirit will empower them in the same way that it has empowered him. In order, they are deacon, priest and bishop.

What is the difference between a deacon, a priest and a bishop? 1.A deacon can lead worship and prayer, preach, take blessed bread and wine to the sick and housebound, and is especially encouraged to reach out in practical ways to the disempowered and helpless. 2.A priest does all those things, but can also declare God’s blessing and forgiveness and preside at services of Holy Communion – where people receive bread and wine as Christ’s body and blood 3. A bishop in turn is able to do all those things but can also ordain others to be deacons and priests and confirm people at confirmation services.

What does a vicar do? There are only three levels of ordination in the Church. The most important of these have particular titles attached to them. Everyone starts as a curate or an assistant curate. You might become a vicar – that is, a priest with sole responsibility over a particular parish. But equally you might become a chaplain – working in a prison, a school, a university or a workplace. After a while you might be able to rise to positions of more responsibility, like an archdeacon, who has oversight of a number of vicars, or the dean of a cathedral who has charge of a whole cathedral and its people. To be any of these you have to be a priest first.

Are vicars Church of England? Are priests Roman Catholic? Now a days Vicars or rectors are of Church of England and priests are of Roman Catholic.

What does 'minister', 'pastor' or 'clergy' mean? You could use all of those for anyone ordained to any level, deacon, priest or bishop. But in different Christian denominations like Roman Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, Greek Orthodox and so on will often prefer one of those terms. For example Methodists like to call their congregation leaders ‘ministers’.

What does 'lay person' mean? The term refers to those who are not ordained. It’s usually used for congregation members, but can also be used more widely to include non- Christians.

What does 'lay reader' mean? Lay readers, officially called ‘Licensed Lay Ministers’, are non- ordained people who are nevertheless called to serve in the Church. To become a lay reader requires passing a selection conference and undergoing a period of training. They are licensed by the diocesan bishop, which makes it possible for them to lead certain worship services, preach, conduct pastoral care, and distribute the bread and wine at services of Holy Communion. When clergy wear a cassock and surplice they wear a black preaching scarf to complete the ensemble. Lay readers on the other hand wear blue preaching scarves. More on what all those things are in a second

The Hierarchy of the Church

Curate A member of the clergy engaged as assistant to a vicar, rector, or parish priest.

The Associate Priest Play a full and active role in the education, nurture and development of lay leadership in the areas of pastoral care and small group development; Participate in the worship life of the parish by presiding and preaching regularly and sharing in baptisms, weddings and funerals as the Rector assigns and schedules.

Vicar/Rector These are priests with sole responsibility over a parish. In a parish, even if there are associate priests in the team, the buck stops with the vicar or rector.

Area/Rural dean Priests who also oversee a collection of parishes. They are the go-to people if the vicar of one of those parishes has a problem. This collection of parishes is called a deanery.

Archdeacon Priests who oversee a collection of deaneries, their vicars and deans, called an archdeaconry.

Suffragan /area bishop A full bishop, able to do all the things bishops do, but with responsibility over usually just a single archdeaconry, and under the authority of a diocesan bishop.

Diocesan bishop A bishop with authority over a collection of Archdeaconries and their various people, called a diocese. Usually this will include two or three suffragan/area bishops and archdeacons and a large number of deaneries and parishes. There are over 40 diocesan bishops in the Church of England.

Archbishop There are just two of these, the Archbishop of York, with responsibility for all the dioceses north of the Trent as well as the Isle of Man, which together are called the Province of York; and the Archbishop of Canterbury, who has responsibility for all the dioceses south of the Trent, together called the Province of Canterbury, along with authority over the entire Church of England.

Vestments Vestments are liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christian religion, especially among the Eastern Orthodox, Catholics (Latin Rite and others), Anglicans, and Lutherans.liturgical ChristianEastern OrthodoxCatholicsLatin RiteAnglicansLutherans

Cassock an item of clerical clothing; a long, close- fitting, ankle-length robe worn by clerics of the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, Lutheran and some Reformed churches.

Stole The long, narrow strip of cloth draped around the neck, a vestment of distinction, a symbol of ordination. Deacons wear it draped across the left shoulder diagonally across the body to the right hip while priests and bishops wear it draped around the back of the neck. It may be crossed in the front and secured with the cincture. Traditionally, this is done by priests, whereas bishops always wear it uncrossed, as they possess the fullness of the priesthood.Deaconspriestsbishopscincture

Surplice A white tunic worn over a cassock or habit. It is commonly worn by altar servers, choir members and also by clergy who are attending a eucharist but not as a celebrant.cassock

Cope A circular cape reaching to the ankle, commonly used by bishops and priests and, sometimes, also by deacons.

Rochet Similar to a surplice but with narrower sleeves. It is often highly decorated with lace. Its use is reserved to bishops and certain canons.canons

Mitre Worn by bishops and some abbots. Despite the having the same name, this does not really correspond with the Eastern mitre (see below), which has a distinct history and which was adopted much later.bishopsabbots

Presented by: The Rt. Rev. Irfan Jamil 9 th Bishop of Lahore Church of Pakistan