In 1970, the General Convention of the Episcopal Church created the General Board of Examining Chaplains to standardize the process of canonical examination for ordination. The first examination was administered in 1972.

The members of the GBEC are elected by the House of Bishops for six year terms. The GBEC includes four bishops, six clergy with pastoral care, six faculty, and six lay people, each with special competence in one or more of the seven areas of canonical examination.

The GBEC is charged with preparing and administering an examination for all candidates for ordination but the decisions to ordain remain with the diocesan authorities.

The General Ordination Examination of The Episcopal Church

This explains the General Ordination Examination - how it works and what it covers.

How long has the Episcopal Church been using a General Ordination Examination administered nationally?
In 1970, the General Convention of the Episcopal Church created the General Board of Examining Chaplains to standardize the process of canonical examination for ordination. The GBEC includes four bishops, six clergy with pastoral cure, six faculty, and six lay people, elected by the House of Bishops for six year terms, each with special competence in one or more of the seven areas of canonical examination. The GBEC is charged with preparing and administering an examination for the entire church, although decisions with regard to ordination remain in the province of diocesan authorities. The first examination was administered in 1972.

The canons of the church (Title III, Canon 7, Section 5a) require that before ordination a candidate must be examined and show proficiency in:

1. The Holy Scriptures
2. Church History, including the Ecumenical Movement
3. Christian Theology
4. Christian Ethics and Moral Theology
5. Studies in Contemporary Society, including Racial and Minority Groups
6. Liturgics and Church Music
7. Theory and Practice of Ministry

The General Ordination Examination, which is written annually by the General Board of Examining Chaplains, is based on these seven areas.

In preparing the questions the board assumes that candidates have completed two and a half years of seminary training or the equivalent.

Why a "General" Ordination Examination?
Persons are ordained in their particular dioceses, but they are ordained on behalf of, and for service throughout, the whole church. Before 1972, each diocese conducted its own process of examination, with the result that canonical examinations varied widely from place to place. Not only did the content of the exams depend upon the interests and concerns of individual dioceses but some candidates had indulgent examiners and perfunctory questions while others suffered with idiosyncratic examiners and inappropriate exams.

The GOE is the same for all candidates no matter where they come from. Furthermore, the results of the GOE are evaluated initially by readers and members of the GBEC who do not know candidates' identities and who have no connection with their Commissions on Ministry, their seminaries or their bishops. These evaluations are reviewed by other members of the GBEC, by the Administrator of the GOE, and at the diocesan level. Candidates thus have the benefit of a series of independent evaluations.

Why not a General Examination evaluated only by local diocesan bishops and Commissions on Ministry? Anonymous evaluation by persons outside the diocese guards candidates against the intrusion of personal bias (for good or ill). The readers are concerned only to evaluate the level of proficiency that is evident in an anonymously written exam paper. Their judgments of particular examinations provide candidates with honest and thoughtful appraisals, which may be used by bishops, commissions, and candidates for a number of purposes (see below).

Who are the readers of the GOE?
They come from all walks of life. They are chosen by the Administrator from names suggested by GBEC members, by bishops, other clergy, lay people, or by experienced readers. About half of the readers are clergy, often with pastoral cures. Many clergy readers have themselves taken the GOE. Whether clergy or laity, the readers work conscientiously and carefully and are fully cognizant of the importance of what they are doing.

Why anonymity?
Anonymity protects candidates from judgments based on personality or looks or circumstances. However, the candidate's anonymity extends only as far as the reading process. Once the exam evaluations are received by candidates, bishops, and Commissions on Ministry, the whole person and all his or her work can be assessed, with appropriate attention to the place of the GOE results in the total picture.

What is covered in the GOE?
The GOE covers all seven canonical areas, and the questions are designed to allow candidates to demonstrate, in an integrated and applied fashion, their grasp of what they have learned in their studies. Essay questions often ask for answers drawn from two or three canonical areas. Some essays are closed book questions, some are open book, so that candidates can demonstrate their familiarity with Bible, Prayer Book, and other resources. Shorter questions are generally based on topics from the area of Theory and Practice of Ministry, but they may call as well for knowledge of facts - facts about church history, for instance, or about the "lore" of the church - or for the kind of information that is commonly sought by lay people during inquirers' classes and adult forums.

Who makes up the questions?
The GBEC. Suggestions for questions are submitted to the board by those who are interested in the GOE. Keeping in mind the seven canonical areas as well as the time constraints of the exam process, the board constructs questions designed to give ample opportunity for candidates to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding.

But haven't candidates already been tested in all these areas in seminary?
Seminary exams test largely for academic achievement. The GOE does not intend to duplicate such testing but rather to examine the integration of academic disciplines, to appropriate this learning, and to apply it to the practice of ministry. A candidate may, for instance, be asked to integrate ethical theory and knowledge of Holy Scripture within the context of a given social problem. The answer might display considerable book learning and make many scriptural references, but the GOE asks for an understanding of the relationships between the two, as well as an appreciation of their usefulness in ministry.

What use is made of the GOE?
The purpose of the GOE is evaluative and advisory. It offers assistance to diocesan authorities in determining a candidate's readiness for ordination and, at the same time, provides to the candidate and his or her mentors valuable guidance in planning further, continuing education.

What happens if a candidate fails to demonstrate proficiency in part (or even all) of the GOE?
As has been noted, bishops and Commissions on Ministry are expected to make whatever use of GOE results they deem appropriate. An unsatisfactory GOE may or may not be an impediment to ordination. Sometimes re-examination, under different circumstances, produces quite different results. Occasionally a candidate's problem may be located in writing or language skills. The GOE serves as one means toward the assessment of individual preparation for ministry, to be weighed by diocesan authorities along with the other data available to them.

What's the best way to approach the GOE?
A person who has "read, marked, learned, and inwardly digested" his or her studies during preparation for ministry should do well on the GOE. Over the last decade about two-thirds of those who have taken the exam have written good papers (demonstrated proficiency in 6 or 7 areas), about one-fourth have written fair papers (demonstrated proficiency in 3, 4 or 5 areas), about one-tenth have written poor papers (demonstrated proficiency in 0, 1 or 2 areas). Copies of previous years' examination questions are available at the website: www.episcopalchurch.org/1521_10705_ENG_HTM.htm

A brief summary of what candidates ought to know in each of the seven canonical areas

I. The Holy Scriptures
The various scholarly approaches to biblical criticism - their values and limitations. Principles and practice of exegesis and hermeneutics. Chronology, history, important personalities in the Old Testament, New Testament and Apocrypha. Geography of biblical lands. Knowledge of world events and their effects upon the development of the Judeo-Christian tradition. Gospel narratives in Johannine and Synoptic traditions, including Acts. Theme, contents and historical context of each book, Old and New Testament. Major theological developments in the entire tradition. Biblical sources of Christian creeds and historical doctrines.

II. Church History, including the Ecumenical Movement Major events and personalities from apostolic and patristic times through medieval and Reformation periods to the present - in relationship to their historical and social contexts. Development of distinctive church institutions, formation of the canon of scripture, doctrinal development, heresies, theological controversies, creeds, classical writings, missionary expansion. Church of England from beginning to present, especially the Reformation period and since - Caroline Divines, evangelical revival, Tractarians, expansion of the Anglican Communion, Anglican role in ecumenical movement. The Episcopal Church from beginning to present in context of American church history in general - major events and personalities. Modern missionary movement, biblical and theological basis, relation to ecumenical movement. General knowledge of comparative religions.

III. Christian Theology, including Missionary Theology and Missiology
Doctrines: Revelation, Creation, Sin, Christology, Atonement, Trinity, Soteriology, Church, Sacraments, Missiology and Eschatology. History of Christian thought: Church Fathers, creedal development, Anglican tradition, recent developments. Application: ascetical, hermeneutical, apologetic; relation to contemporary understandings of human nature in both individual and social dimensions.

IV. Christian Ethics and Moral Theology
The sources of Christian ethics and moral theology, including the Holy Scriptures, Christian tradition and experience. Major ethical theories and major figures in the field. The nature, locus and justification for "the good" including the relation between God, Christ and the good. The nature of moral agency, including the understanding of such issues as freedom, responsibility, obligation, virtue, conscience and character. Moral judgment, including the knowledge of the relation between religious belief and moral judgment. The place of spirituality in Anglican teaching about the moral life. Major moral issues facing Christians, past and present, and how Anglican moral theologians have resolved or might resolve them.

V. Studies in Contemporary Society, including Racial and Minority Groups
Current social issues and problems, such as poverty, homelessness, hunger, racism, injustice, addiction, crime, illegitimacy, child abuse, war and peace, environmental pollution, etc. Ways in which the church and Christian individuals have addressed and may address these. Current concerns peculiar to major ethnic groups in the USA.

VI. Liturgics and Church Music
Christian worship and music according to the contents and use of the Book of Common Prayer and the various hymnals. Historical development of Christian worship from Jewish origins to present. Theological understanding of the role and function of worship in the life of individuals and of the church. Sacramental theology. Esthetic and non-verbal elements of worship. The role of music in particular. Evolution, contents and use of the Book of Common Prayer and the hymnals.

VII. Theory and Practice of Ministry
Theology of vocation and of all forms of ministry. Ministerial roles of laity, diaconate, priesthood, and episcopate. Duties and responsibilities of clergy in contemporary church. Nature and significance of pastoral care. Knowledge of the practice of preaching, counseling, spiritual direction, the education of people of all ages, parish administration, stewardship, and evangelism. Polity of our church, constitution and canons, national and local.

For more information, please contact:

Duncan C. Ely, Executive Director and GOE Administrator
Margaret A. Leach, Administrative Assistant
General Board of Examining Chaplains
150 Melrose Avenue
Tryon, NC  28782-3327

Phone: (828) 859-1205
Fax: (828) 859-1207