The Episcopal Consecration should fall within the Mass immediately before the Peace. The deacons and lay-readers should prepare the altar area for the Ordination. The Bishop's throne should be placed in front of the altar rail gate and the co-consecrators should stand to either side of the throne.
Episcopal Consecration
The people are seated, the Consecrator takes his seat upon the faldstool, the Assisting Bishops and Bishop-Elect rise. The Senior Assisting Bishop or other person appointed addresses the Consecrator in these words:
Presenter: Reverand Father, our holy mother the Church catholic prays that you would raise this Priest here present to the charge of the Episcopate.
Consecrator: Do you know him to be worthy?
Presenter: As far as human frailty allows us to judge, we both know and attest that he is worthy of the charge of this office.
Congregation: Thanks be to God.
Consecrator: Have you the Protocol of Election?
Presenter: We have.
Consecrator: Let it be read.
The Protocol is read. Then the Bishop-Elect kneels before the faldstool, puts his hands together between those of the Consecrator, and says:
Consecrator: My brother, the people have chosen you and have affirmed their trust in you by acclaiming your election. A Bishop in God's holy Church is called to be one with the Apostles in proclaiming Christ's resurrection and interpreting the Gospel, and to testiy to Christ's sovereignty as Lord of lords and King of kings. You are called to guard the faith, unity, and discipline of the Church; to celebrate and provide for the administration of the Sacraments of the New Covenant; to ordain Priests and Deacons and to join in ordaining Bishops; and to be in all things a faithful pastor and a wholesome example for the entire flock of Christ. With your fellow Bishops you will share in the leadership of the Church throughout the world. Your heritage is the Faith of Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles, and Martyrs, and those of every generation who have looked to God in hope. Your joy will be follow Him who came, not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. Are you persuaded that God has called you to the office of Bishop?
Bishop-Elect: I am so persuaded.
The following questions are then addressed to the Bishop-Elect by the Consecrator or by one or more of the other Bishops.
Bishop: Will you accept this call and fulfill this trust in obedience to Christ?
Bishop-Elect: I will obey Christ, and will serve in His Name.
Bishop: Will you be faithful in prayer, and in the study of Holy Scripture, that you may have the mind of Christ?
Bishop-Elect: I will, for He is my help.
Bishop: Will you boldly proclaim and interpret the Gospel of Christ, enlightening the minds and stirring up the conscience of your people?
Bishop-Elect: I will, in the power of the Spirit.
Bishop: As a chief priest and pastor, will you encourage and support all baptized people in their gifts and ministries, nourish them from the riches of God's grace, pray for them without ceasing, and celebrate with them the Sacraments of our redemption?
Bishop-Elect: I will, in the Name of Christ, the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls.
Bishop: Will you guard the faith, unity, and discipline of the Church?
Bishop-Elect: I will, for the love of God.
Bishop: Will you share with your fellow Bishops in the government of the whole Church; will you sustain your fellow Presbyters and take counsel with them; will you guide and strengthen the Deacons and all others who minister in the Church?
Bishop-Elect: I will, by the grace given me.
Bishop: Will you be merciful to all, show compassion to the poor and strangers, and defend those who have no helper?
Bishop-Elect: I will, for the sake of Christ Jesus.
All stand. The Consecrator says:
Consecrator: Name, through these promises you have committed yourself to God, to serve His Church in the office of Bishop. We therefore call upon you, chosen to be guardian of the Church's Faith, to lead us in confessing that faith.
Bishop-Elect: We believe in one God.
All: We believe in one God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in all things visible and invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of His Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made; who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and was made man, and crucified for us under Pontius Pilate; he suffered and was buried, the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; he shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end. And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father, who with the Father and Son is worshiped and glorified; who spoke by the Prophets. And we believe in one holy, catholic, and apostolic church; we acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins, and we look for the resurrection of the dead (+), and the life of the world to come. Amen.
The people are seated. The Bishops remain standing. The Assisting Bishops stand to the left and right of the Consecrator. The Bishop-Elect kneels before the Consecrator. One of the clergy holds an open book of the Gospels over the neck and shoulders of the Bishop-Elect. The Consecrator with hands extended over the Bishop-Elect recites the following prayer.
Consecrator: O Lord Christ, the fountain of all goodness, who by the operation of the Holy Spirit has appointed diverse orders in Your Church and for its greater enrichment and perfecting pour down Your gifts abundantly upon Your children, making some to excel in wisdom, others in devotion, and yet others to be well-skilled in action, pour down upon this Your servant of the fullness of the Holy Spirit, that in the dignity to which we are about to raise him he may shine resplendent with all manners of heavenly virtue, O great Shepherd and Bishop of the souls of men, to whom be praise and adoration from men and from the angel host.
Congregation: Amen.
All stand except for the Bishop-Elect who lies prostrate while the Veni Creator or other suitable hymn is song and the Bishops silently pray for the Bishop-Elect. At the conclusion of the hymn the people may be seated. The Bishop-Elect rises and kneels before the Consecrator and Assisting Bishops who lay their hands upon the Bishop-Elect and say together:
Bishops: Therefore, Father, make Name a Bishop in Your Church. Pour out upon him the power of Your priestly Spirit, whom You bestowed upon Your beloved Son Jesus Christ, with whom He endowed the Apostles, and by whom Your Church is built up in every place, to the glory and unceasing praise of Your Name. Name, receive the Holy Spirit for the office and work of a Bishop in the Church of God.
The Consecrator continues.
Consecrator: O God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, most blessed and adorable Trinity, who was and is and is to come, as You have bestowed Your power upon this Your servant and have deigned to consecrate him as Your representative and a teacher of Your people, (+) open, we pray, his heart and mind to Your heavenly grace, that he may handle wisely that which he has received and, being ever mindful of You, he may exercise his sacred power to the honor and glory of Your holy Name. Fulfill in Your chosen Bishop the perfection of Your service and, having entrusted him with the supreme dignity, sanctify him with unction from above.
The people in a loud voice respond.
Congregation: Amen.
The Assisting Bishops are seated while the new Bishop is vested. The Consecrator is seated in the faldstool and anoints the hands of the new Bishop with the holy chrism.
Consecrator: May these hands be consecrated and hallowed for the work of the episcopal order by this anointing with the holy chrism of sanctification. In the Name of the Father (+), and of the Son (+), and of the Holy Spirit (+).
Congregation: Amen.
He makes the sign of the Cross first over the heart of the newly consecrated Bishop and then over his hands, saying:
Consecrator: May you abound with the fullness of spiritual (+) blessing, so that whatsoever you (+) bless may be blessed and whatsoever you hallow may be hallowed and that the laying on of these consecrated hands may avail for the spiritual safeguarding of God's people; in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Congregation: Amen.
The Consecrator presents the pastoral staff.
Consecrator: Receive this staff and wield your power with care as a shepherd of Christ's flock. By virtue of the Holy Spirit be all things to all men.
The Consecrator presents the pectoral cross.
Consecrator: Receive this cross, remembering that only by self-sacrifice can you wear it worthily. Go forth in the power of the Cross that through you people may see the beauty of Christ's sacrifice.
The Consecrator presents the episcopal ring.
Consecrator: Receive this ring in token of the link which binds you to our Lord and as a symbol of your office as His apostle to His people. In His most holy Name, be a healer of the souls of men and a vessel of His love.
The Consecrator presents the book of Gospels which had been previously been held on the shoulders of the new Bishop.
Consecrator: Receive the book of the Gospels and be a teacher of the divine wisdom unto the people entrusted to you.
The new Bishop is now vested with cope and mitre after which the Consecrator and the Assisting Bishops, in turn, give the salutation of peace.
Bishops: Peace be unto you.
Newly-consecrated Bishop: And with your spirit.
The Peace (Stand)
Newly-consecrated Bishop: Jesus Christ, the King of Tenderness, binds us with a bond of love that cannot be broken. My brothers and sisters, the peace of Christ be with you.
C: And also with you.
The new Bishop mingles with the people.
The service then continues with Holy Communion