Journal: Southern Baptist Journal of Theology
Volume: SBJT 23:1 (Spring 2019)
Article: Roman Catholic Theology And Practice Of The Priesthood Contrasted With Protestant Theology And Practice Of The Priesthood
Author: Gregg R. Allison

SBJT 23:1 (Spring 2019) p. 137

Roman Catholic Theology And Practice Of The Priesthood Contrasted With Protestant Theology And Practice Of The Priesthood

Gregg R. Allison

and

Rachel Ciano

Gregg R. Allison is professor of Christian Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky. He is secretary of the Evangelical Theological Society, a pastor at Sojourn Church East, and theological strategist for Sojourn Network. His books include Historical Theology (Zondervan, 2011), Sojourners and Strangers (Crossway, 2012), Roman Catholic Theology and Practice (Crossway, 2014), The Unfinished Reformation (Zondervan, 2016), and 50 Core Truths of the Christian Faith (Baker, 2018). Gregg is married to Nora and together they have three adult children and ten grandchildren.

Rachel Ciano lectures in Church History at Sydney Missionary and Bible College, Australia. She specializes in Reformation history, particularly the English Reformation. She has contributed to Finding Lost Words: The Church’s Right to Lament (Wipf and Stock, 2017) and 10 Dead Guys You Should Know (Christian Focus: forthcoming). Rachel serves in ministry with her husband in Sydney, preaches at various Australian women’s conferences, and is mother to two boys.

In an elaborate and sacred ceremony on Sunday afternoon in the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary, as part of the Eucharistic liturgy, Jason Thiess was consecrated to the Roman Catholic priesthood. Having completed his years of seminary studies1 and wrestled with the call to total devotion

SBJT 23:1 (Spring 2019) p. 138

to Christ and the Roman Catholic Church (including the promise of obedience to the bishop and the pledge of celibacy), Jason was ordained as a priest through Holy Orders.2 This Sacrament, one of seven in the Roman Catholic Church, is “directed towards the salvation of others” (CCC 1534)3 through the consecration of priests “to feed the Church by the word and grace of God” (CCC 1535).4

Bishop Todd Williams presided over the ceremony, which included “the initial rites—presentation and election of the ordinand [Jason, the one ordained], instruction by the bishop, examination of the candidate, and litany of saints [a lengthy prayer asking the triune God, along with the intercession of the holy angels, the apostles, scores of saints, and the Catholic hierarchy, to grant mercy to the ordinand]”...