All Christians have a vocation - a calling from God to follow and to serve as Christ's disciples.
Some people, though, find themselves increasingly feeling themselves called to take a particular responsibility of God's Church by becoming ordained ministers. This is a very public ministry: ordained men and women are very often the ‘public' face of the Church that we see.
Such a calling needs testing. It isn't enough to believe yourself to be called by God to be ordained. The Church takes time to discern with you whether this is, indeed, your particular vocation.
Those who will try to help you discern whether you have a vocation to ordained ministry will want to be able to answer two fundamental questions:
- Is this person called by God to ordained ministry?
- Does he or she have the necessary gifts to undertake such ministry?
Taking the first steps to Ordination
The first step is taken within the diocese. The Diocesan Director of Ordinands (DDO) takes time to meet with you and discuss your faith and your sense of calling.
They will also discuss some of the practical issues about ordination, answering questions such as ‘Can I be ordained if I've been divorced?' ‘How will this affect my family?' ‘What sort of ministry might I exercise if I'm ordained?' This is a rigorous process which can on average take 12-18 months, though some people can go through it more quickly and some take a little longer.
Our DDO or an Assitant DDO will explore the options which are available to you. You may be suitable for training through our Auxiliary Pathway, which is aimed at those who see their vocation as being non-stipendiary ministers to churches in their local area. People were nominated by their incumbents to be part of the two-year training scheme and there was an initial process of discernment through an interview.
Or you may take a more traditional route, training at an external college for a period of usually two or three years, either part time or full time. The training ‘pathway' is worked out with the DDO. Training is not simply about acquiring the ‘skills' to be ordained, but is known as ‘formation' because it is about being ‘formed' for ministry. So again, it involves a lot of prayer, as well as essays and placements.
National discernment pathway
Whichever route your training takes, before you are ordained (and before you go to college if you are taking the traditional route), you will need to join the Church of England’s national discernment pathway.
This takes place in two stages:
- Stage 1 (Carousel Conversations), typically held online via Zoom over one day
- Stage 2 (a Panel), held face to face over two days
Throughout, you will work with the DDO or an Assistant DDO using the nationally agreed Qualities for Discernment, set out in two grids (for priesthood and for distinctive deacon ministry). These will be explored with you well in advance of the Shared Discernment Process, so there is no need to worry if they are unfamiliar at this stage.
Read more about the Church of England's journey to ordination
Being ordained as deacon
After being recommended for Ministry and completing your initital training, you are ordained deacon. A deacon begins to serve as a newly ordained minister in a parish, working with a supervising colleague - usually the vicar. After a year as a deacon, and following a satisfactory report, a deacon is normally (although not always) ordained as a priest.
Read about one of our distinctive Deacons
After ordination
After ordination, newly ordained ministers (curates) continue in training. This takes place in the large part in their parishes, but they meet with the diocesan ministry team through the year to reflect together on ordained life. They learn about ministry in different contexts - for example, in hospices, in rural areas, in industrial centres, in prisons.
They reflect on working with children and vulnerable adults, on the history and theology of the Church, on teamwork. They support one another in ministry as they learn and think together. This is known in the diocese as Initial Ministerial Development, and it dovetails with Continuing Ministerial Development, in which all clergy take part.