HIERARCHY of GOD

Hierarchy(Gr. Hierarchia; from hieros, sacred; archein, rule,

command).

The hierarchy connotes the totality of powers established in the Church for

the guiding of man to his eternal salvation,

but divided into various orders or grades,

in which the inferior are subject to and yield obedience to

the higher ones. The "Hierarcha"

is he who has actual care of these thingsHe who both obeys and commands,

but does not obey those he commands.

There is a necessary gradation

among hierarchs;“This gradation exists among the angels in

the heavenly hierarchy

Therefore, It must also by necessity be found in a human assembly subject to

sin within which it works

for peace and harmony”

The angels are represented throughout scripture as a body of

spiritual beings intermediate between

God and men: "You have made him (man) a little less than the angels"

(Psalm 8:6).

We know on the authority of Scripture that there are

nine orders of angelsAngels, Archangels, Virtues,

Powers, Principalities, Dominations, Throne,

Cherubim and Seraphim.

St. Thomas (Summa Theologica I:108) divides the angels into three hierarchies each of which

contains three orders. Their proximity to the Supreme Being serves as

the basis of this division. • In the first hierarchy he places the Seraphim, Cherubim,

and Thrones; • In the second, the Dominations, Virtues, and Powers; • In the third, the Principalities, Archangels, and Angels.

The hierarchy of order exercises its power over the Real Body of Christ in the Eucharist; – grace, which comes to us

principally through the sacraments,

The hierarchy of jurisdiction exercises its power over His Mystical Body, the Church – good works, which are the

fruit of grace.

(Catech. Conc. Trid., pt. II, c. vii, n. 6).

It is usual to distinguish a twofold hierarchy in the

Church corresponding to the twofold means of

sanctification,

THE ORDERS of the CHURCHTHE ORDERS of the CHURCH

OrderOrder of theof the

BishopsBishops

OrderOrder of theof the

DeaconsDeacons

OrderOrder of theof the PriestsPriests

OrderOrder of theof the

CatechumensCatechumens

OrderOrder of theof the

FaithfulFaithful

Christ did not give to all the faithful

the power to administer His sacraments or to offer

public worship.This was reserved to those

who, having received the

sacrament of Holy Orders, belong to the

Hierarchy of Order.(Except in the case of baptism and

matrimony)

Hierarchy of Order The Divine institution of

the first three grades

of the hierarchy of

order are defined as:

• episcopate • priesthood • diaconate

The other orders are of ecclesiastical institution. subdeacon, acolyte, exorcist, lector, and porter

ORDAINED

EPISCOPATEEPISCOPATE

PRIESTHOODPRIESTHOOD

Diocesan Secular Religious Community

DIACONATEDIACONATE

Transitional Permanent

(Before Priesthood)

Non-Ordained

SeminariansStudents for priesthood before

Diaconate

The organization of the Hierarchy of Order is strict,

sometimes overlapping:

Order of EpiscopacyPope: Head of the church, he is based

at the Vatican. The pope is infallible in defining matters of faith and morals.

Cardinal: Appointed by the pope they make up the College of Cardinals. As a body it advises the pope and, on his death, elects a new pope.

Archbishop: An archbishop is a bishop of a main or metropolitan diocese, also called an archdiocese. A cardinal can concurrently hold the title.

Bishop: A bishop, like a priest, is ordained to this station. He is a teacher of church doctrine, a priest of sacred worship, and a minister of church government.

The organization of the Hierarchy of Order is strict,

sometimes overlapping:

Priest: An ordained minister who can administer most of the sacraments, including the Eucharist, baptism, and Anointing of the Sick. He can be with a religious order or committed to serving a congregation.

Deacon: Permanent deacons can be married and assist a priest by performing some of the sacraments and performing ministries of service. Transitional deacon is studying for the priesthood.

RELIGIOUS ORDERSContemplative OrdersContemplative Orders

Cloistered Monasteries

Monks Nuns

Active Religious CongregationsActive Religious CongregationsApostolic Works

Missionaries

Priests Brothers Sisters

Secular Institutes-Third OrderSecular Institutes-Third OrderDedicated life

Work in the WorldPrivate Vows

LAITYLiturgical

Roles Educational— Administrative

Social Outreach

Extraordinary Minister of the Holy Communion

Director of Religious Education (DRE)

Pasroral Minister

Lector Principal—Teacher Parish Organizations

Cantor-Music Minister Catechist Support groups

Altar Server Acolyte Parish Council Special Concerns Committees

Usher Parish Administrator

Sacristan

Sexton

Greeter

Christ entrusted the guidance of the faithful along the paths of duty and in the

practice of good works to a religious authority, and for

this purpose He established a

Hierarchy of Jurisdiction. Christ established His

Church as a visible, external, and perfect

society;He conferred on its

hierarchy the right to legislate for the good of that

society.

The hierarchy of jurisdiction is endowed with the following rights:

• Legislative power: The right to frame and sanction laws which it considers useful or necessary

• Judicial power: The right to judge how the faithful observe these laws

• Coercive power: The right to enforce obedience, and to punish disobedience to its laws

• Administrative power: The right to make all due provision for the proper celebration of worship

• Power of Jurisdiction: The right to exercise the power of order. The acts of the power or order are always valid except in the sacrament of Penance, which requires in addition a power of jurisdiction.

These powers serve a double purpose, the sanctification of souls

and the good or welfare of religious society

In the hierarchy of jurisdiction the episcopate and the papacy are of Divine

origin;all the other grades are of ecclesiastical

institution. According to the Vatican Council the Bishop of

Rome, as successor of St. Peter, has been established by Christ as the visible head of the

whole Church militant, and possesses a real primacy of jurisdiction, in virtue of which he has supreme power of jurisdiction over the universal Church in matters of faith, morals, discipline, and

the government of the Church. This power is ordinary and immediate over all the Churches, and over each one in particular, over all

the pastors and faithful, collectively and individually

(Const. de Eccl. Christi, cap. i-3).

By virtue of his primacy, supreme authority over the whole Church

belongs to the pope,who is at the same time

• Bishop of Rome and Vicar of Jesus Christ

• Successor of St. Peter,

• Prince of the Apostles

• Supreme Pontiff of The Universal Church

• Patriarch of The West

• Primate of Italy

• Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Roman Province

• Sovereign of Vatican City State

The government of the Church is strictly monarchical.

The bishops are the successors of the Apostles,

but do not inherit their personal prerogatives, such as universal jurisdiction and

infallibility (Conc. Trid., Sess. XXIII, De sacramento

ordinis, cap. iv).

The pope is bound to establish bishops who enjoy genuine ordinary power in

the Church Who are not merely his

delegates or vicars.

All Church Councils connect the supreme magisterial power of the

pope with his primacy of jurisdiction

Moreover, the power of jurisdiction implies the right of imposing on the faithful a real obligation to believe

what the Church teaches. In the Church, no one can teach without a missio canonica, or

authorization from ecclesiastical superiors, which brings us back again

to the power of jurisdiction.

Magisterium of the Catholic Church

The Magisterium, as the supreme governing body of the Catholic Church, consists of

the Roman Pontiff, the successor of Peter,

and the Bishops joined together with

him and never without him in one apostolic

college to provide for the common good of

the Church.(canons 330,331,336)

ORDINARY MAGISTERIUM

In d ivid u a l B ish op

G rou p in g s o f B ish op s

B ish op o f R om e

N on u n iversa l

W h o le C o lleg e o f B ish op s d isp ersedth rou g h tou t th e w orld w h en u n itedin ju d g em en t th a t a teach in g isto b e h e ld as d e fin it ive

W h o le C o lleg e o f B ish op s in C ou n c ilo r d isp ersed w h en n o t in ten d in gto p rop ose a teach in g to b e h e ldas d e fin it ive

U n iversa l

O rd in ary M ag is te riu m

Hierarchy of the BishopsPope

PatriarchMinor Patriarch Archbishop

Primate (west), Exarch (east)Metropolitan

episcopi comprovinciales or provinciales

suffraqanei or suffragans Bishop

Diocesan (exempt) BishopsCo-AdujtorAuxiliaryTitularPrelate

Patriarchs have a

jurisdiction higher than

that of archbishops

over the territories included

within their patriarchates.

The Bishop of Rome for the West

Bishop of Alexandria East

Bishop of Antioch East

Bishop of Jerusalem East

Bishop of Constantinople

East

Metropolitans have been also known as

Archbishops. Metropolitans have real rights over the bishops within their

ecclesiastical province, and over the province

itself.

Metropolitans are obliged at stated times to summon provincial synods, to legislate for the whole province. Archbishop Daniel DiNardo

The Ecclesiastical Province of Galveston-Houston comprises the eastern counties of the state of Texas.

• Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston

• Diocese of Austin • Diocese of Beaumont • Diocese of Brownsville • Diocese of Corpus Christi • Diocese of Tyler • Diocese of Victoria in

Texas

                                               

After the archbishops come the bishops, who of Divine right

administer the dioceses entrusted to them by the

Holy See If they are not subject to

the authority of an archbishop, they are

known as exempt bishops, and are directly subject to

the Holy See. Bishop Vincent Rizzotto (retired)

Bishop Joseph Fiorenza (retired)

Besides the diocesan bishops there are also

titular bishops,

these receive episcopal consecration, but have no jurisdiction over the dioceses of which they

bear the title.

They may be appointed by the pope as auxiliary bishops or coadjutors to

diocesan bishops. Bishop Joseph Vasquez

After the bishops in the hierarchy of jurisdiction come the Prelates

They exercise episcopal authority over a territory not belonging to any

diocese; They must be carefully

distinguished from those who exercise a quasi-

episcopal authority over a territory which forms part of a diocese And from superiors of exempt

religious colleges, whether secular or regular who have authority only over the personnel of

their own community.

Bishop Javier Echevarria

Prelate of Opus Dei

In the government of his diocese the bishop is assisted by various

ecclesiastics.

At present the bishop's chief assistant is known

as his

vicar-general,

an institution dating back to the thirteenth

century.

At the head of a parish is the pastor (parochus), with ordinary jurisdiction.

Assistants to the pastor are referred to as parochial vicars

Where parishes have not been canonically erected, The pastors place is taken by a "rector", whose jurisdiction is merely delegated,

but whose rights and duties are those of a parish priest.

Rev. Joseph Gietl

Rev. Patrick Garrett

Monsignor is the name of an ecclesiastical title of honor bestowed on some priests.

The title gives no extra sacramental powers. However, it is common that a Vicar General is made

monsignor as part of his office.Though there were more degrees in former times,

there are now three ranks of monsignor: • Prothonotary Apostolic (the highest and least common form)

– Prothonotaries Apostolic have the privilege of pontificating at Mass under certain conditions.

• Prelate of Honor (formerly "Domestic Prelate") • Chaplain to His Holiness (formerly "Papal Chamberlain")

The diaconate is one of the ordained offices.

The word deacon is derived from the Greek word diakonos, which is often translated servant

or more specifically waiter.

The office of deacon originated in the selection of seven men

(among them Saint Stephen)

to assist with the pastoral and administrative needs of the

early church.

(Acts 6)

Deacons assist priests in their pastoral and

administrative duties, but report directly to the

bishop. They have a distinctive role in

the liturgy,

their main tasks being to read the Gospel, to call the people to

prayer of petition and assist in the administration of the

Eucharist.

In the Roman Catholic church the vestment most particularly

associated with the deacon is the Dalmatic.

In the actual discipline of the Church,

the cardinals hold second place.

They are the pope's advisers in the more important matters

concerning the universal Church, and exercise their jurisdiction in

the various congregations, tribunals, and offices instituted by the pope for the government of the

universal Church.

THE COLLEGE OF CARDINALS

Assist the Roman Pontiff collegially

when they are called together to deal with questions of major importance.

They do so individually when they assist the Pope especially in the daily care of the universal Church

by means of the different offices which they perform (canons 349, 350).

THE ROMAN CURIA

D oc trin e o f th e F a ithC le rg yS ac ram en ts an d D ivin e W orsh ipE as te rn C h u rch esB ish op sC ath o lic E d u ca tionS a in t's C au seE van g e liz a tion o f P eop lesR e lig iou s an d S ecu la r In s titu tes

C on g reg a tion s

A p os to lic P en iten tia ryA p os to lic A ig n a tu raR om a R o ta

Trib u n a ls

N on B e lieversN on -C h ris t ian sP rom otin g C h ris t ian U n ity

S ec re ta ria ts

C or U n u m C ou n c ilP as to ra l C are to M ig ran ts an d Tou ris tsL a tin A m ericaS oc ia l C om m u n ica tionR evis ion o f th e C od e o f C an n on L awF am ilyL a ityJu s tic e an d P eac e

C om m iss ion s an d C ou n c ils

S ec re ta ria t o f S ta te

N u n c iosA p os to lic D e leg a tes

C ou n c il fo r P u b lic A ffa irs

P O P E

The College of Cardinals consists of three ranks:

Cardinal-Bishops, Cardinal-Priests,

and Cardinal-Deacons.

The Cardinals who are under eighty years of age elect

the popes successor.

At the moment the maximum number of

Cardinal electors must not exceed 120.