[1] This teaching is expressed as follows in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1992):[2] The three sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders confer, in addition to grace, a sacramental character or seal by which the Christian shares in Christ's priesthood and is made a member of the Church according to different states and functions.
Because this seal indicates the indelible effect of the anointing with the Holy Spirit in the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders, the image of the seal (σφραγίς) has been used in some theological traditions to express the indelible 'character' imprinted by these three unrepeatable sacraments.Lutheran theologian Wolfhart Pannenberg stated that "in terms of the thought of promise and sending that constantly govern the ordained and claim them for Christ's service, we no longer need to oppose [indelible character] on the Lutheran side, since this point of view finds expression in the Lutheran churches, too.
[4] The Book of Common Prayer of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America teaches that "The bond which God establishes in Baptism is indissoluble".
Rodopoulos adds: "Only some [Eastern] Orthodox theologians, influenced by Roman Catholic teachings, have accepted this theory.
On the contrary, the canonical data leave no doubt that a defrocked priest or bishop, after the decision of the Church to take back his priesthood, returns to the rank of the laity.