‘God calls his people to follow Christ, and forms us into a royal priesthood, a holy nation, to declare the wonderful deeds of him who has called us out of darkness into his marvellous light’. - From the Ordination Service, Common Worship
As ordination season approaches, we would like to encourage everyone to pray for all those who are to be ordained priest and deacon this year.
In the diocese, we will ordain five new priests and six new deacons, four of whom were licensed as Lay Workers on the 1 July 2026, offering both stipendiary and self-supporting ministry, and coming from the breadth of the Church of England across all its diversity in theological conviction, practice and understanding. See our Prayer Card for details.
There will be two services in the Cathedral for priests. The first will be on Saturday 3 October 2026 at 3pm, where four new priests will be ordained by Bishop Martyn. The second priesting service will also be on Saturday 3 October 2026 at 7pm, when the ordaining bishop will be the Bishop of Richborough, Bishop Luke Irving-Capel, ordaining a further priest, as we enact the Five Guiding Principles adopted by General Synod in 2014.
The See of Richborough is affiliated with the Anglo-Catholic wing of the Church of England. You can find more information here.
The deacons will be ordained by Bishop Martyn on Sunday 4 October 2026 at 10.30am.
As usual, there is an open invitation to the College of Priests across the diocese to robe and attend either of the Priesting services. If you would like to attend, please email Bev.Collett@LeicesterCofE.org
We are extremely grateful to the Dean for her generous hosting of all three services in the Cathedral and look forward to welcoming everyone from across the diocese to one or any of these services, as together we celebrate God’s call to these women and men in the diocese and acknowledge our many and varied journeys in faith, together as part of one Body of Christ.
As we take time to pray for our ordinands, we also have the opportunity to seek God's guidance for our own future, reflecting on our calling and vocation. That might be anything from lay minister to priest, bell ringer, Sunday school leader and PCC Officer, to some of the most unsung yet generous givers of hospitality and loving service in our worshipping communities, who clean up after us, make teas and coffees, and volunteer in the church and community.
You might like to use the Collect for Vocation as an aid to your prayers:
God our Father, Lord of all the world,
through your Son you have called us into the fellowship
of your universal Church:
hear our prayer for your faithful people
that in their vocation and ministry
each may be an instrument of your love,
and give to your servants now to be ordained
the needful gifts of grace;
through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
Future dates for ordination services
- Saturday 2 & Sunday 3 October 2027
- Saturday 30 September & Sunday 1 October 2028
- Saturday 29 & Sunday 30 September 2029
- Saturday 28 & Sunday 29 September 2030
Ordinands beginning their deacon year will be licensed as Lay Workers under Canon E7 from 1 July of that year, to help them embed in a parish and move house, giving a more phased build-up to their ordination.