Seek Ordination
the Vineyard of Souls
We seek men called by God to labor in the vineyard of souls. Ordination is not a job, but a calling: a summons from Christ himself to lay down your life in the service of his Church. The harvest is plentiful and the laborers are few.
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1. Begin with Your Parish
Every vocation in our diocese begins in the local congregation, where you are known and where your gifts can be tested in the ordinary life of the Church. Speak first with your rector. He will pray with you, help you discern whether the Lord is calling you toward Holy Orders, and, if the call seems clear, commend you to the diocese as a candidate for postulancy. If there is no ADAN parish near you, please contact our Executive Archdeacon, the Ven. Myles Calvin, who will review your situation and determine next steps.
This is a season to demonstrate service to the church. In your parish, you may be commissioned as a catechist or lay reader to exercise the gifts of teaching and leading worship under your rector’s oversight. Prayerfully consider our Mission, Vision, and Values to be sure they resonate with your own convictions, and attend our Annual Synod to come to know the wider fellowship of the diocese.
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2. Apply for Postulancy
Central to ordained ministry are the biblical qualifications for those who would serve as deacon and priest, set forth in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1: a man of proven character, faithful in marriage and household, sober-minded, hospitable, gentle, not given to drunkenness or quarrelsomeness, able to teach, and well thought of by those outside the Church. Postulancy is the formal season in which the diocese examines these qualifications alongside you.
With your rector’s commendation, you will apply to the bishop for admission as a postulant by submitting your application to the Ven. Myles Calvin, our Executive Archdeacon. The application typically includes a written statement of your sense of call, references from your rector and others who know you well, a background check, and a written commitment to the authority of Holy Scripture and to canonical obedience to your bishop. Together, you and the diocese are discerning how the Lord is calling you to serve.
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3. Formation and Ordination
With the bishop’s approval, you are admitted as a postulant and will discern with him the shape of your formation, whether seminary, a hybrid program, or a diocesan reading course with mentored study. See our list of approved seminaries for the programs ADAN recognizes. Alongside academic formation, you will continue serving in your sponsoring parish, growing in the disciplines of prayer, study, and pastoral care that mark a faithful minister of Word and Sacrament. When your formation is well underway, you will be admitted as a candidate for Holy Orders and sit for the canonical examinations required by the diocese and the ACNA.
When the bishop is satisfied that you are ready, the day of ordination will be appointed. On that day, gathered with the people of God and surrounded by the prayers of the Church, you will kneel before the bishop and answer the solemn questions of the ordinal. He will lay his hands upon your head, and by the gift of the Holy Spirit set you apart to the sacred order of deacon or priest. From that hour you are a minister of Word and Sacrament in the one holy catholic and apostolic Church, sent forth for the service of Christ’s flock and the glory of God alone.
