Laying on of hands was customary in
appointing individuals as elders or overseers. Timothy receives the χαρισμα enabling him for his task “with” (μετα, an accompanying circumstance, not a means)
the imposition of hands (by “the presbytery,” 1 Tim 4.14; by Paul, presumably
at the same time, 2 Tim 1.6). That such a gesture represented ordination of
elders and overseers is assumed, on the basis of such verses as Acts 14.23 and 1
Timothy 5.22, without much discussion. (Bultmann, Theology, 2:107.
Goppelt, Apostolic and Post-Apostolic Times, 200-201. Ehrhardt, Apostolic
Succession, 33-34) Imposition of hands is associated with spiritual power
beyond the contexts of office (Acts 8.17; 9.12, 17; 19.6). Goppelt states that the
imposition that is in a special sense an ordination. (Goppelt, Apostolic and
Post-Apostolic Times, 200) This special sense is based on the transmission of
“apostolic tradition” in 2 Timothy 2.2. To the extent that such a transmission of
doctrine involved a continuity in role or responsibility which would not apply
to every person installed in a position, Goppelt’s designation of ordination here
is accurate.
Was the ordination a “sacramental”
act? Does the imposition of hands transfer to the elder-overseer the χαρισμα required for the
responsibility? Goppelt says no. Ordination was not “a legal credential meaning
that the one ordained stands now in a line of succession, knows the tradition and
is capable of making doctrinal and disciplinary decisions in keeping with the tradition
. . . but he (Timothy) was to be certain of the charisma which was imparted to
him through the ordination . . . i.e., the work of the Spirit which calls and
equips one for service.” (Ibid., 200-201) While it does not create a “line of
succession,” with which sacramental office is often associated, von Campenhausen
insists that it is sacramental. It “imparts to the recipient effectual grace
appropriate to his office.” (Von Campenhausen, Ecclesiastical Authority,
116) Certainly the χαρισμα was not “a legal credential” but “the work of the Spirit which calls
and equips one for service.” Ferguson, however, that “there was no automatic
transfer of the Spirit through touch.” (“Laying on the Hands: Its Significance
in Ordination,” JTS 26 [1975]: 6-7) The overlooked feature in ordination
texts is “the centrality of prayer.” As noted above, the passages in Acts and
the Pastorals an appointment and ordination are properly understood as
involving not transmission of χαρισμα from an appointing person or group but blessing, both
a “personal benediction” of approval and a request for “divine blessing” of the
person. The imposition of hands was “an outward symbol of the prayer,” (4Everett
Ferguson, “Ordain, Ordination,” ABD 5 [1992]: 39) or perhaps, better, a gesture
complementing the (presumably) audible prayer.
Paul considers that Timothy “knows the tradition” (2 Tim 1.14) “and is
capable of making doctrinal and disciplinary decisions in keeping with the tradition”
(1 Tim 5.1, 17; 2 Tim 2.2). The gesture in ordination signifies that an
official is equipped by the Spirit for the responsibility he is assigned by the
Spirit. We have shown earlier that Paul considered that the judgment of
Christians, usually Christian leaders, reflected the judgment of the Spirit in
selecting leaders. Holmberg, in turn, has demonstrated it as eminently Pauline
that the leader who serves a congregation evinces God’s χαρισμα, be the task ever so
ordinary or “uncharismatic.”
We conclude two things from our examination of the development of episcopal
authority in the New Testament. Where appointments to episcopal positions or functions
are mentioned, Acts 20 and Titus 1, the appointment is attributed to the Holy
Spirit and is confirmed by Paul or his assistant, who acts on Paul’s orders.
The power to discharge the responsibilities of the overseer comes from a χαρισμα which is given to the person being ordained
and is confirmed by prayer and the laying on of hands. (Robert
Lee Williams, Bishop Lists: Formation of Apostolic Succession of Bishops in
Ecclesiastical Crises [Gorgias Studies in Early Christianity and Patristics
16; Piscataway, N.J.: Gorgias Press, 2005], 56-57)