Holy Orders and Gradual Ascent
The sacrament of ordination and the principle that one should ascend through all ecclesiastical offices gradually rather than seizing the episcopate. Cyprian praises Cornelius for ascending "through all the offices of the Church" to the summit of the priesthood; Van der Burch followed the same path: canon, priest, confessor, dean, vicar-general, bishop, archbishop.
Preliminaries
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TO THE MOST REVEREND AND MOST ILLUSTRIOUS LORD HENRY FRANCIS VAN DER BURCH, ARCHBISHOP AND DUKE OF CAMBRAI, PRINCE OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE, COUNT OF CAMBRAI.
— Cyprian praises Cornelius for ascending "through all the offices of the Church" and through "every step of religious life" to the summit of the priesthood.
"having been advanced through all the offices of the Church, and having often merited well of the Lord in the divine ministrations, he ascended to the lofty summit of the priesthood by every step of religious life"
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TO THE MOST REVEREND AND MOST ILLUSTRIOUS LORD HENRY FRANCIS VAN DER BURCH, ARCHBISHOP AND DUKE OF CAMBRAI, PRINCE OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE, COUNT OF CAMBRAI.
— Van der Burch's own gradual ascent: canon, priest, confessor, dean, vicar-general, bishop, archbishop.
"You ascended step by step to the summit of the priesthood."