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Document Details : Title: The Spirit of Leadership Subtitle: A Biblical Motif in the Consecratory Prayer of the Ordination of a Bishop Author(s): WITTE, Henk Journal: Questions Liturgiques/Studies in Liturgy Volume: 85 Issue: 4 Date: 2004 Pages: 244-260 DOI: 10.2143/QL.85.4.519150 Abstract : In the liturgy for the Ordination of a Bishop, God is asked to infuse the bishop-elect with the 'Spirit of leadership' (Spiritum principalem) or teh 'governing Spirit', the English translation of the phrase in the Rites of Ordination of a Bishop. This supplication can be found in the middle of the consecratory prayer. All the ordaining bishops say it in a subdued voice, while spreading their hands. Only the principal celebrant speaks the word aloud. This prayer, together with the laying of the hands, is the heart of the ritual. As Pope Paul VI confirmed in the Apostolic Constitution Pontificalis Romanis recognitio of June 18, 1968, this prayer is the form of the sacrament. It is necessary for its validity. The middle section of the prayer contains the essence of the sacrament of ordination. This supplication is a core, if not the core of the Episcopal ministry. |
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