§ 58. The Branches of Ecclesiastical Authority

The Church is one, and her authority is likewise one in its fullness; but in her manifestations she shows three distinct branches, according to the differing objects of her activity. This division of church authority rests upon Holy Scripture,[1] and consists of: 1) the power of teaching (ἐξουσία διδακτική, potestas magisterii), which is exercised in the preservation and spread of Christian doctrine, in the safeguarding of the faithful from false teachings, in preaching, and in the oversight of the formation of the clergy;[2] 2) the power of performing the sacred rites (ἐξουσία ἱερατική, potestas ordinis), for the proper performance of the holy mysteries and other sacred rites;[3] 3) the power of pastorship or governance (ἐξουσία ποιμαντικὴ ἢ διοικητική, potestas jurisdictionis), which is exercised in the exercise of legislative authority in the Church, in judging offenses against church laws by any member of the Church, and in overseeing the administration of church affairs.[4]

These three branches of church authority need not always be joined together, especially as regards the power of performing the sacred rites and the power of governance. The former power belongs to everyone who has received proper ordination, while the latter belongs only to those who have specially received it. One or another degree of the first power (performing the sacred rites) does not require that the one possessing it must also have the second. The first power, in its degrees, can only proceed from lower to higher, and once lost, is lost finally and entirely, without any gradation, whereas the second is subject to changes within its own particular sphere. This difference stems from the difference in the very essence of the respective branches of church authority. The power of performing the sacred rites has a mystical sense and serves as the foundation of spiritual, supernatural rights, whereas the power of governance extends to the outward side of the Church, and is not in unconditional dependence on the greater or lesser fullness of the first power. This same thing, only in a different relation, must be said also of the power of teaching with regard to the other two branches of church authority.[5]

For the exercise of church authority a lawful mission (κανονικὴ ἀποστολή, missio canonica) is necessary, which the competent authority grants on the basis of established legal precepts.[6] This mission has a mystical significance in the second branch of church authority and is obtained with the very act of ordination; in the first and third branches it has an outward character and may be limited or extended with regard to the object of the mission itself.[7]

SECOND SECTION. On the Hierarchy.

CHAPTER ONE. The Composition of the Hierarchy.