If you’re considering a life in ordained ministry, you’re bound to have loads of questions. We’ve tried to answer some of them here, but please email us if you have a question we haven’t answered.

Probably. Make the most of it, for the sake of the good news of Jesus! Being a priest is both a well-known and generally respected profession, but also deeply counter-cultural, as the values of the Kingdom of God are often very different from worldly values.  

HOW OLD DO I HAVE TO BE TO BE ORDAINED?

The minimum age to be sponsored for a Bishops’ Advisory Panel is 18, but many people are younger when they start to talk to their vicar or vocations adviser. Normally you would be 23 by the time you are ordained.  

CAN WOMEN BE PRIESTS

Yes—women have been able to be ordained as deacons in the Church of England since 1987, and as priests since 1994.  

CAN PRIESTS GET MARRIED?

In the Church of England, yes—either before or after ordination.  

Not necessarily, although it’s sensible to have some serious experience of being part of a worshipping Christian community before aspiring to lead one.

IS ORDINATION FOR LIFE?

Ordination lasts your whole life, yes. There are lots of different ways of exercising ordained ministry. Some people work part-time as an unpaid priest whilst holding down a ‘day job’. Also, ordained ministers do not usually remain in one particular appointment for the whole of their ministry. You can be a parish priest in different parishes, or become chaplain to a variety of organisations or groups of people.  

ISN’T BEING A PRIEST BORING?

That’s the last thing you need to worry about! In fact, you’d find the variety mind-bending. Of course, there are bits of every job which are tedious, but the mixture of people, intellectual challenges and emotional engagements make it much more likely that you will have to deal with overload rather than boredom.

WHAT DOES A PARISH PRIEST DO ALL DAY?

The day usually starts with morning prayer in the church; after that, every day is different! You’ll spend time in prayer and reading the Bible. Sometimes there’ll be services to take or to prepare for; holy communion, or a baptism, wedding or funeral. There will be sick people to visit, either at home or in hospital, and distressed people who need to talk matters through with you. As a parish priest you will take an active part in what goes on in your local community; schools welcome visits, for example, and might ask you to speak to students, or to take assemblies. There are lots of meetings, too, sharing with others the organising of the life and outreach of your church and supporting the lay people who serve in a variety of ways. A lot of this will happen in the evenings, so you need to make sure you have some time off during the day.  

DO MY SCHOOL OR UNIVERSITY GRADES MATTER?

Yes. The job is intellectually demanding, and the academic side of your calling is just as important as any other. In principle, ordained ministry is a graduate profession. The demands are high, and the highest possible levels of mental, emotional and physical stamina are desirable. If the Church agrees with your sense of call to ordained ministry, it will help to provide the resources you need in order to fulfil that call.  

WILL I GET TRAINING TO BE A PRIEST?

Yes. If you’re sponsored by your bishop for training, the Church of England will pay for your training. You can train residentially in a college, or non-residentially on a course. After ordination, you will work as a curate with a more experienced priest, perhaps in a team with several priests, as well as continuing training alongside others who were ordained at the same time as you. You will also be encouraged to continue to attend training events and courses throughout your ministry, and funding is available for this. Find out more about training.

CAN I CHOOSE WHERE I WORK?

Pretty much. But it will come down to where you conclude, in collaboration and consultation with your bishop (and his representatives, the parish and thus—in a representative way—the Church as a whole!) where the best place would be for you to work.  

CAN I CHANGE DIOCESE?

Once ordained in a particular diocese you are not obliged to stay there for the rest of your working life.  

WILL I GET PAID?

Yes, if you’re in a job which is on the payroll. However, some jobs are non-stipendiary (unpaid), although you won’t be placed in one of those unless you are fully in agreement. Also, some people are ordained but then remain in their secular job, so they aren’t paid by the Church. When they retire from their secular work, they may choose to give much of their time as priests in a local parish—again, unpaid.  

WHERE DOES A VICAR LIVE?

In a vicarage or rectory—a house in the parish where he or she ministers, which is provided by the Church free of rent and council tax.

WHY BE A PRIEST WHEN SO FEW PEOPLE GO TO CHURCH NOWADAYS?

Although 70% of people in the UK still claim to be Christian, that’s the way society is moving for the moment. You can be a missionary and an evangelist as well as a priest! Like Jesus, priests often spend a lot of their time with people who don’t go to church, trying to bring the love of God into their lives and reflecting the values of his kingdom.  

SHOULD I TALK ABOUT IT WITH MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS?

Yes, if you feel they will listen. If they’re interested in what you’re doing, they’ll be keen to know all about it; and if you want their support—or even just their understanding—you’ll need to keep them in the picture. You’ll probably be surprised by how much support and encouragement you get from them.  

I’VE BEEN BAPTISED, BUT NOT CONFIRMED—DOES IT MATTER?

Baptism and confirmation together make up the Church of England's process of Christian initiation, so it will be normal for any candidate to be confirmed, or welcomed  into the Church of England from another Church, before she or he is ordained.  

SHOULD I BE GOING TO CHURCH EVERY WEEK?

Ideally, yes. If you’re ordained, you’re likely to be perceived by some people (not necessarily correctly) as the walking embodiment of the Church—so it's not a bad idea to get used to spending a lot of time there. You also need to involve yourself deeply in the life of the world apart from the Church, for there you will also discover God at work.

WHERE CAN I FIND A GOOD CHURCH TO GO TO?

That depends on what you mean by 'good'! A parish system works best, on the whole, when people attend their own local church. In that way the whole community gets to form a church which mirrors its life and diversity—and thus presents the gospel in a joined-up way to all the people who either live there or pass through. But there can be all sorts of good reasons why you might prefer to go to a church which is not your parish church.