CCC 1564
Christian Mystery›SECTION TWO THE SEVEN SACRAMENTS OF THE CHURCH›CHAPTER THREE THE SACRAMENTS AT THE SERVICE OF COMMUNION›III. The Three Degrees of the Sacrament of Holy Orders
"Whilst not having the supreme degree of the pontifical office, and notwithstanding the fact that they depend on the bishops in the exercise of their own proper power, the priests are for all that associated with them by reason of their sacerdotal dignity; and in virtue of the sacrament of Holy Orders, after the image of Christ, the supreme and eternal priest, they are consecrated in order to preach the Gospel and shepherd the faithful as well as to celebrate divine worship as true priests of the New Testament."
Footnotes
- LG 28 cf. ⇒ Heb 5:1-10; ⇒ 7:24; ⇒ 9:11-28; Innocent I, Epist. ad Decentium: PL 20, 554 A; St. Gregory of Nazianzus, Oratio 2, 22: PG 35, 432B.
Ecclesiastical Documents (3)