¶ The consecration of a Bishop takes place during the Service of Holy Communion, following the order below.

The Bishop Dean, or some other commissioner of the Council of Bishops will preside and officiate.

Consecration of Bishops

The Office of Holy Communion will begin, and for the Prophetic reading the following is read

PROPHECY. – Ezekiel, 33. 7 to 11.

This is what the Lord says: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel, and you will hear the word from my mouth, and you will perceive them from me. Saying to the wicked: Impious, you will surely die; If you do not speak so that the wicked will be saved from his way, the wicked will die for his sin, but his blood I will demand from your hand. And if you warn the wicked of his way, that he may depart from it, and he will not depart from his way, he shall die for his sin, and you shall save your life. You, then, son of man, say to the house of Israel: You have spoken thus, saying: Our transgressions and our sins are on us, and because of them we are consumed; How, then, will we live? Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, I do not desire the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way, and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways: why will you die, O house of Israel?

A Bishop will read the

EPISTLE. – 1st Timothy, 3. 1 to 7.

FAITHFUL WORD: If any one desires to be a bishop, good work wishes. It is convenient, then, that the Bishop be blameless, husband of a woman, solicitous, temperate, composed, host, apt to teach; not lover of wine, not smiting, not greedy of sordid gain, but moderate; non-litigious, unaware of greed; let him rule his house well, let him have his children in subjection in all honesty (for he who does not know how to govern his house, how will he take care of the Church of God?); not a neophyte, because inflating himself does not fall into the judgement of the devil. It is also advisable that he have a good testimony of strangers, lest he fall into affront and into a snare of the devil.

OR THIS one: Acts, 20. 17 to 35.

Paul, sending from Miletus to Ephesus, called the elders of the church, etc.

Another Bishop will read the

GOSPEL – John, 21. 14 to 17.

At that time, Jesus said to Simon Peter: Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me more than these? He said to him: Yes, Lord; You know that I love you. He said to him: Feed my lambs. He asked him again the second time: Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me? He answered him: Yes, Lord; You know that I love you. He said to him: Feed my sheep. He asked him the third time: Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me? Peter was sad that he should say to him the third time: Do you love me? And said to him: Lord, you know all things; You know that I love you. Jesus said to him: Feed my sheep.

OR THIS: Matthew, 28. 18 to 20.

At that time, Jesus coming to his disciples, spoke to them saying: All authority is given to me, etc.

¶ After the ANTHEM, the officiating Bishop says:

THE faith that we believe in our heart, let us confess it with our mouth.
And all say together the
CONSTANTINOPOLITAN SYMBOL.

WE BELIEVE in one God, omnipotent Father, maker of heaven and of earth, author of all visible and invisible things.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all ages: God of God, Light from Light, true God from true God; begotten, not made; consubstantial with the Father; by whom all things were made, both in heaven and on earth: who for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven; and by the Holy Spirit he was incarnated from the Virgin Mary, and became a man; he suffered under the power of Pontius Pilate, was buried, and rose again on the third day; He ascended to the heavens; he is seated at the right hand of God the omnipotent Father; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead; And his kingdom will have no end.
And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord the life-giver, coming from the Father and the Son; that with the Father and the Son he must be adored and together glorified; who spoke by the Prophets; And we believe in one Church, holy, catholic and apostolic.
We recognize a single Baptism for the remission of sins; and we await the Resurrection of, the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

¶ After the Symbol, the officiating Bishop says:

HEAR, O Lord, our prayer.
R. And let our cry come to you.
V. Omnipotent God, who through your Son Jesus Christ granted many excellent gifts to your Apostles, and gave them as a precept to feed your flock! Grant, we pray, to all the Bishops, pastors of your Church, who preach your Word with care, and who administer properly pious discipline; and grant also to the faithful -those who rightly keep it, that all may receive the crown of eternal glory.
R. Amen.
V. For your mercy, O our God, that you are blessed and live and govern all things for ever and ever. R. Amen.

After this the Sermon will take place, which will deal with the office and duties of the Episcopate.

¶ After the Sermon, the Bishop-elect (dressed in the Presbyter’s vestments) is presented by two Bishops to the Dean Bishop, or whoever performs their duties, who will be seated in their chair near the Lord’s Table. And the Bishops who presents them, says:

REVEREND Father in Christ: We present to you this pious and learned man, so that he may be consecrated Bishop.

Then the Dean Bishop will arrange to read the document that proves the right choice of the Priest who has to be consecrated, and the sanction of it by the corresponding Authorities.

¶ After this, the officiating Bishop will exhort the faithful to pray, saying:

BROTHERS: It is written in the Gospel according to Luke, that Christ our Saviour spent  all night in prayer before he chose and sent his twelve Apostles. It is also written in the Acts of the Apostles, that the Disciples who were in Antioch, fasted prayed before laying their hands on Paul and Barnabas, and before sending them. Therefore, following the example of Jesus Christ and his Apostles, let us occupy ourselves in prayer before admitting this man who has been presented to us, and sending him for that work to which we trust him to have been called by the Holy Spirit.

And the General Prayer will be said, page 51, bearing in mind that after the prayer  Enlighten the Bishops, Presbyters and Deacons, etc., this other must be added:

V. Bless, we pray, this our elect Brother, and pour out upon him your grace, so that he may duly perform the Office to which he has been called, for the edification of your Church, and for the honour, praise and glory of your name.
R. We beg you to hear us, O Lord.

And in place of the Prayer with which the Prayer ends, page 54, this other is said:

O Almighty God, giver of all goods, who by your Holy Spirit have established various orders of Ministers in your Church. Look with kindness to this your servant, now called to the Work and Ministry of Bishop; and fill him in such a measure with the truth of your doctrine, and adorn him with such purity of customs, that in his words and actions he may serve you with fidelity in this Office, for the glory of your holy name, and edification and right administration of your Church.
R. Amen.
V. For your mercy, O our God, you are blessed and you live and rule all things for ever and ever.
R. Amen.

¶ Then the Dean Bishop, sitting in his chair, will say to the one to be consecrated:

BROTHER: Since it is enjoined on us by the Holy Scriptures and ancient custom, let us not proceed lightly to impose our hands and admit any person to government in the Church of Christ, which he acquired at no less cost than spilling his own blood. Before admitting you to this Administration, we will examine you on certain points, so that the Congregation here present knows and can testify, in what way you have resolved to conduct yourself in the Church of God.
Do you judge yourself legitimately called to this Ministry, according to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ and the constitution of this Church?
Answer: I do so judge.
Bishop: Are you persuaded that in the Holy Scriptures are sufficient and contain all the doctrine required for eternal salvation, by faith in Jesus Christ; and are you resolved to instruct the flock entrusted to your care according to the Scriptures, and not to teach or uphold as necessary for eternal salvation anything that can not be legitimately proven or deduced from the Word of God?

Answer: I am so persuaded, and to this I am also resolved by his grace.
Bishop: Will you regularly engage in the study of the Holy Scriptures, and you will pray to God asking that he will grant you his true counsel, so that with his help you are apt to teach and exhort with sound doctrine, and to reprove and convince those who oppose?
Answer: Thus I am resolved to do with the help of the Lord.
Bishop: Are you also determined faithfully and diligently to reject and banish  all erroneous doctrines and novelties contrary to the Word of God, and to advise and exhort others to the same, both privately and in public?

Answer: I am willing to do so with the grace of God.
Bishop: Will you renounce all ungodliness and all worldly desires, living in this age soberly, justly and piously; so that you are in all a paragon of good works for others, so that the adversary is confounded, having nothing bad to say about you?
Answer: This I will do with the help of the Lord.
Bishop: Will you preserve and promote, in as far as it lies with you, peace, tranquility and love among all; to the restless, however, disobedient and criminals within your see  will you correct and punish them according to the authority that the Word of God grants you, and entrusts to you the constitution of this Church?
Answer: I will do so with the grace of God.
Bishop: Will you behave faithfully in ordering, sending, or laying hands on others?
Answer: These things I will do with the help of the Lord.
Bishop: Will you show yourself in meekness, and will you be merciful for the love of Christ to the poor and needy, and to all strangers destitute of help?
Answer: I will show myself so, with the grace of God.

¶ Then the Bishop; standing up, says:

Omnipotent God, our heavenly Father, who has given you a willingness to do all this, also gives you strength and he. power to fulfill it; so that in perfecting in you the good work that has begun, you may be found perfect and blameless on the last day by Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

After this, the Bishop-elect will put on his episcopal costume; and in a standing position, on his knees and the rest standing, he will read or sing, alternating the officiating Bishop and the Congregation, the

Presentation, Prayers, and questions
VENI CREATOR (See other translations for this well-known hymn)

¶ When the Hymn is ended, the officiating Bishop says:

HEAR, O Lord, our prayer.
R. And let our cry come to you.
V. Almighty God, and most merciful Father, who through your immense kindness you have given us Jesus Christ your beloved only Son, to be our Redeemer and the Author of eternal life; who, having consummated our redemption with his death, and after his ascension to heaven, poured out his gifts abundantly upon human beings, making some Apostles, other Prophets, other Evangelists, other Pastors and Teachers, for the edification and perfection of his Church! Grant, we beseech you, to this your servant such grace, that he may always have ready to announce your Gospel, which is the joyful news of our reconciliation with you; and that he avails himself of the authority that is granted to him, not for ruin, but for edification; not to harm, but to succour: so that by distributing, as a wise and prudent servant, in due season, his portion to your family, he may be received at last in abodes of everlasting joy.
R. Amen.
V. For your mercy, O our God, you are blessed and live and govern all things for ever and ever.
R. Amen.

This Prayer having finished, the officiating Bishop and the other bishops present will lay their hands on the Bishop-elect, who will be on his knees; and the officiating Bishop says:

RECEIVE the Holy Spirit for the Office and Work of a Bishop in the Church of God, which is now committed to you by the laying on of our hands; in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. And do not forget, to awaken the grace of God that is given to you by this laying on of our hands, because God has not given us, a spirit of fear, but the spirit of strength, and love, and self-control.

Then the officiating Bishop will deliver the Bible saying:

OCCUPY yourself with attention in reading, exhortation and doctrine; meditate on what this Book it contains; Make sure that your progress in the knowledge of the Word is well known, for by doing so you will save yourself and those who will listen to you. Be a shepherd, not a wolf, of the flock of Christ; Feed your sheep, do not devour them; hold the weak, heal the sick, bind up the broken, inform the unlearned, seek the lost. Be in such a compassionate way, that you be not indulgent more than just; administer discipline, without forgetting mercy: so that at the appearance of the Supreme Shepherd you will receive the unfading crown of glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.