11/08/2026
THREE HOLY ORDERS, THREE ECCLESIASTICAL HOUSES: WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?
Who is a deacon? What makes a priest different from a bishop? And why does the Church usually speak of the House of Laity, House of Clergy and House of Bishops?
These are related, but they are not the same thing.
THE THREE CLERICAL ORDERS
1. DEACONS
- A deacon is the first order of ordained ministry.
- The deacon assists the bishop and priests in worship, sacraments and pastoral ministry.
- Traditionally, the deacon has a special ministry of service, proclamation and care for the needy.
- At Holy Communion, a deacon reads the Gospel, assist at the altar and perform other duties permitted by the Church.
- A deacon does not become a priest merely by appointment. He must later be ordained to the priesthood by a bishop.
- A deacon may stay permanently in the diaconate order as a permanent deacon.
2. PRIESTS
- A priest is ordained to the second order of ministry, the presbyterate.
- Priests preach, teach, pastor the people and preside at Holy Communion.
- They baptise, solemnise marriages, pronounce absolution and exercise pastoral care according to the Church’s canons.
- A priest exercises ministry under the authority of a bishop. Anglican priesthood is therefore never independent of episcopal oversight.
- Canons, archdeacons, deans, provosts and vicars are all priests holding different offices, not different sacramental orders. Archdeacon is an office. Canon is an office. Priest is an order.
3. BISHOPS
- A bishop belongs to the episcopal order and possesses the fullness of ordained ministry.
- Bishops ordain deacons and priests and participate in the consecration of other bishops.
- A diocesan bishop has pastoral and canonical oversight of the clergy and people of the diocese.
- Bishops guard the faith, maintain discipline and serve as chief pastors and teachers of the Church.
- Diocesan, suffragan and coadjutor bishops are all truly bishops. Their difference is mainly in jurisdiction and office, not in the validity of their episcopal consecration. Archbishops, primates and metropolitans are all bishops holding different offices, not different episcopal order.
THE THREE ECCLESIASTICAL HOUSES
Now we move from Holy Orders to Church government.
In Anglican synodical government, representation is commonly divided into three houses.
1. HOUSE OF LAITY
- This consists of baptized and most times, confrimed lay members elected or appointed according to the constitution of the Church.
- They represent the ordinary members of the Church who are not ordained in synods and boards.
- They participate in debates, legislation, finance, mission and the general government of the Church.
- They remind us that Anglican governance is not exclusively clerical.
- On important matters, the House of Laity may vote separately from the clergy and bishops. The laity are not spectators. They participate in the governance of the Church.
2. HOUSE OF CLERGY
- This house consists of ordained clergy entitled to sit in the synod.
- It includes all priests and deacons of the diocese.
- They represent the pastoral and ministerial life of the Church.
- They debate matters of doctrine, worship, discipline, mission and administration.
- On certain questions, their consent may be required separately from the other houses.
3. HOUSE OF BISHOPS
- This consists of all bishops in a province or the diocesan bishop and his suffragan in a diocese.
- Bishops carry a particular responsibility for faith, order and doctrine.
- They exercise episcopal leadership while still participating in the wider synodical life of the Church.
- Important and doctrinal decisions require the agreement of the bishops as a separate house.
- The House of Bishops does not replace the laity and clergy. Anglican government works through shared responsibility, though each order has a distinct role.
SO, HOW DO THEY WORK TOGETHER?
Here is the easiest way to understand it:
Deacon, Priest and Bishop describe ORDERS of ordained ministry.
Laity, Clergy and Bishops describe HOUSES of representation and governance.
A priest belongs to the order of priesthood, but in synod he sits in the House of Clergy.
A bishop belongs to the episcopal order, but in synod he sits in the House of Bishops.
A lay person has no clerical order, but may exercise very significant responsibility in the House of Laity, in the Diocese and at Synods.
That is Anglicanism at work: different ministries, different responsibilities, but one Church.
