The “imposition of hands” communicates internal grace.
This can be shown from St. Paul’s Epistles to Timothy.
“I admonish thee,” he says (2 Tim. 1:6), “that thou stir
up the grace of God (τὸ
χάρισμα τοῦ Θεοῦ), which is in thee by the imposition of
my hands (διὰ τῆς ἐπιθέσεως τῶν χειρῶν μου).” A careful analysis of this text leads to
the following conclusions:
(1) According to the context the grace conferred on
Timothy by the imposition of hands was to qualify him for the worthy
administration of the episcopal office, and consequently this particular χειροθεσία cannot be identical either
with Confirmation or Extreme Unction. St. Chrysostom paraphrases the Pauline
passage as follows: “Excite anew the grace which thou hast received for the
purpose of presiding in the Church.”
(2) Χάρισμα
here cannot simply mean a charismatic gift (gratia
gratis data), for St. Paul frequently employs the term as a synonym of χάρις (caritas,
gratia gratum faciens), and this meaning is clearly demanded by the context
of the passage quoted, which enumerates the qualities that render men pleasing
in the eyes of God. 2 Tim. 1:7: “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear,
but of power, and of love, and of sobriety.” Moreover, a permanent grace which
is capable of being “kindled anew” by the personal efforts of its possessor
cannot be a charismatic gift, but must be identical with sanctifying grace.
A sort of parallel passage to the one just analyzed is 1
Tim. 4:14: “Neglect not the grace that is in thee (τοῦ ἐν σοὶ χαρίσματος), which was given thee by
prophecy, with imposition of the hands of the priesthood (μετὰ ἐπιθέσεως τῶν χειρῶν τοῦ πρεσβυτερίου).” Here again the permanent
grace communicated by Holy Orders is described as an effect of the imposition
of hands, the only difference being that the Apostle does not speak of the rite
as administered by his own hands, but by the presbyterium. But what had “prophecy” to do with the ordination of
Timothy? St. Paul probably means that he himself was prophetically inspired
when he chose his favorite disciple for episcopal honors. (Joseph Pohle, The
Sacraments: A Dogmatic Treatise [London: B. Herder, 1917], 56-58)
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