Ordination examinations are given by an ecclesiastical body as a way to ensure that a candidate is adequately equipped, called and prepared for ministry in that body. In the

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) The Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PC(USA), is a mainline Protestant denomination in the United States. It is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the US, and known for its liberal stance on doctrine and its ordaining of women and ...

, there are five exams:

Theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

, Worship and Sacraments,

Polity A polity is an identifiable Politics, political entity – a group of people with a collective identity, who are organized by some form of Institutionalisation, institutionalized social relation, social relations, and have a capacity to mobilize ...

Biblical Exegesis Biblical criticism is the use of critical analysis to understand and explain the Bible. During the eighteenth century, when it began as ''historical-biblical criticism,'' it was based on two distinguishing characteristics: (1) the concern to ...

(undertaken in either Biblical Greek or Hebrew, with the same language for all students taking the exam at the same time.), and the Bible Content Exam. The first three, respectively, are taken via the Internet over the course of two days. The fourth exam is given to students at the conclusion of the other three exams, and is taken home for completion. In addition, all candidates for ministry must pass a fifth ordination exam typically given the first year of seminary called the Bible Content Exam. Exams are graded by at least two readers. Each reader assigns a grade of Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory to each essay question. Then if the student passes a majority of questions for that reader, the reader assigns a Satisfactory grade. If one reader passes a student, and a second fails that student, a third reader is then called in to make a final judgment and the use of the third reader is not visible to the student or their ordaining body. Special considerations are made for students whose first language is not English, and the exam is regularly administered in Spanish and Korean. It is common for students to have to take their exams several times before passing. Up to 28% of ordained ministers will have repeated at least one exam. Some, though not all, presbyteries impose a limit on the number of times their candidates may attempt an exam. Others allow for alternative formats. Still, a fair number of students do not pass all of their exams after several tries. It is not unheard of for a candidate to be dismissed from the

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorization, authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominational ...

process after multiple attempts to pass the tests have failed. In addition, Presbyterian seminarians are required to pass an examination covering the content of the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

. Practice exams are available her

References

Presbyterian Church (USA) seminaries Christian practices Christian ordination {{Christianity-stub

See also

References