become a wedding officiant
Legal Requirements:
Ordination is a requirement of the marriage act. Marriage Act Excerpt:
Who may be registered
(3) No person shall be registered unless it
appears to the Minister,
(a)
that the person has been ordained or appointed according to the
rites and usages of the religious body to which he or she belongs, or
is, by the rules of that religious body, deemed ordained or appointed;
(b)
that the person is duly recognized by the religious body to which
he or she belongs as entitled to solemnize marriage according to its
rites and usages;
(c)
that the religious body to which the person belongs is
permanently established both as to the continuity of its existence and
as to its rites and ceremonies; and
(d)
that the person is resident in Ontario or has his or her parish
or pastoral charge in whole or in part in Ontario; provided that in the
case of a person who is in Ontario temporarily and who, if resident in
Ontario, might be registered under this section, the Minister may
register him or her as authorized to solemnize marriage during a period
to be fixed by the Minister.
R.S.O. 1990, c. M.3, s. 20 (3).
As you can see from the above excerpt from the marriage act, ordination is a requirement to obtain a registration number. Each of the 1100 recognized religious bodies in Ontario set their own standards and guidelines for ordination. This is defined in the marriage act as, "according to the rites and usages of the religious body to which he or she belongs".
Practical Requirements:
Celebrating Life Ministries ordains our clergy for purposes of leading and officiating common rites of passage. The following requirements must be met in order for a candidate to successfully complete the process of ordination: