Editing Ordination (section)

===Reformed, Methodist and Pentecostal churches===
[[File:Presbyterian licentiate making his vows.jpg|thumb|A [[Presbyterian]] ordinand making his ordination vows]]
[[File:OrdinationMCC.JPG|thumb|Ordination by [[laying on of hands]] in a [[Metropolitan Community Church]]]]
In most [[Protestantism|Protestant]] churches, ordination is the [[ritual|rite]] by which their various churches:
* recognize and confirm that an individual has been called by God to ministry,
* acknowledge that the individual has gone through a period of discernment and training related to this call (e.g. having graduated from a [[seminary]]), and
* authorize that individual to take on the [[Minister (Christianity)|office of ministry]].
For the sake of authorization and church order, and not for reason of 'powers' or 'ability', individuals in most [[mainline (Protestant)|mainline]] Protestant churches must be ordained in order to preside at the sacraments ([[Baptism]] and [[Holy Communion]]), and to be installed as a called [[pastor]] of a congregation or parish.

Some Protestant traditions have additional offices of ministry to which persons can be ordained. For instance:
* most [[Presbyterian]] and [[Reformed tradition|Reformed]] churches maintain a threefold order of ministry of [[pastor]], [[Elder (religious)|elder]], and [[deacon]]. The order of Pastor, the only one of the three orders considered "clergy", is comparable to most other denominations' pastoral office or ordained ministry.  The order of [[Elder (religious)|elder]] comprises lay persons ordained to the ministries of church order and spiritual care (for example, elders form the governing bodies of congregations and are responsible for a congregation's worship life). In many Presbyterian churches, the pastor or minister is seen as a "teaching elder" and is equal to the other elders in the [[Session (Presbyterianism)|session]]. The order of [[deacon]] comprises lay persons ordained to ministries of service and pastoral care. Those who fill this position may be known as "ruling elders".
* Deacons are also ordained in the [[Lutheran]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.livinglutheran.org/2019/10/assembly-recap-a-new-entrance-rite-for-deacons/|title = Assembly recap: A new entrance rite for deacons|date = 3 October 2019}}</ref> [[Methodist]]<ref>[http://nat.uca.org.au/TD/worship/Orders_of_Service/ordination_mow.doc Order of Service: Ordination of a Deacon and Ordination of a Minister of the Word] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080626050010/http://nat.uca.org.au/TD/worship/Orders_of_Service/ordination_mow.doc |date=26 June 2008 }}, [[Uniting Church in Australia]],</ref> and in most of the [[Baptist]] traditions.<ref>{{Cite web| title=Deacon ordination | url=http://sanjacintobaptist.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Deacon-Ordination.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150421060502/http://sanjacintobaptist.com:80/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Deacon-Ordination.pdf | archive-date=2015-04-21}}</ref>

For most Protestant denominations that have an office of [[bishop]], including certain Lutheran and many Methodist churches, this is not viewed as a separate ordination or order of ministry. Rather, bishops are [[ordained minister]]s of the same order as other pastors, simply having been "consecrated" or installed into the "office" (that is, the role) of bishop. However, some Lutheran churches also claim valid [[apostolic succession]].<ref>Tjørhom, Ola. "The Church and its Apostolicity: The [[Porvoo communion|Porvoo]] Common Statement as a Challenge to Lutheran Ecclesiology and the Nordic Lutheran Churches." ''The Ecumenical Review'' 52.2 (2000): 195–203.</ref>

Some Protestant churches – especially [[Pentecostalism|Pentecostal]] ones – have an informal tier of ministers. Those who graduate from a [[bible college]] or take a year of prescribed courses are licensed ministers. Licensed ministers are addressed as "Minister" and ordained ministers as "Reverend." They, and also [[Evangelical]] pastors, are generally ordained at a ceremony called "pastoral consecration".<ref>Sébastien Fath, ''Une autre manière d'être chrétien en France: socio-histoire de l'implantation baptiste, 1810–1950'', Editions Labor et Fides, Genève, 2001, p. 578</ref><ref>William H. Brackney, ''Historical Dictionary of the Baptists'', Scarecrow Press, USA, 2009, p. 431</ref><ref>Shane Clifton, ''Pentecostal Churches in Transition: Analysing the Developing Ecclesiology of the Assemblies of God in Australia'', BRILL, Netherlands, 2009, p. 134</ref>