Recently, six young men completed their studies at the TUA, and were declared “available for being called by a local church.” And we hope that all of them may soon be assigned to a congregation. In this connection, a family member of one of these men asked me if he could participate in the laying on of hands, even though he was not a minister or an elder.

This immediately prompts us to ask what the laying on of hands actually entails. There are many misunderstandings about this practice.

In any case, the laying on of hands is clearly not a transfer of office or the gifts for it, and certainly not a gesture of official succession, as is the case with the Pope. Ministers also have no more right to this laying on of hands than elders, deacons, or members of the congregation. The idea that it almost always concerns only ministers and that it seems to have to involve as many ministers as possible is closer to the practices of Rome than of the Reformation. It is not without reason that the Reformed churches have repeatedly issued further regulations regarding the laying on of hands. Thus, the Synod of Emden in 1571 stated that “ministers shall be ordained with solemn prayers and with the laying on of hands, yet without superstition or necessity.”

According to the Synod of Dordrecht in 1578, the laying on of hands is of the same nature as extending the right hand: “They shall be received into the ministry of the churches with the laying on of hands, where this can be done with edification, or otherwise with the giving of the right hand of fellowship, and they shall be commended to God in prayer.”

The articles of the Convent of Wesel in 1571 also permitted the laying on of hands at the ordination of elders and deacons. The Bible recognizes the laying on of hands at the appointment of, for example, Barnabas and Saul when they start their missionary duties (Acts 13:3, see also Acts 6:6). At the same time, however, nothing is said about the laying on of hands at the appointment of Matthias (Acts 1:26; see also Acts 14:23). The most obvious interpretation is that it is a gesture of blessing. If this is the proper meaning, then the laying on of hands by just one person should certainly suffice, in order to avoid the impression that the blessing is somehow tied to the ministers’ laying on hands. This also prevents the number of participants—let alone their names—from suggesting a level of magnitude of the blessing imparted.

Incidentally, the laying on of hands can also symbolize that someone is not their own boss but that he desires to work under the hand of Christ. Although it is not entirely clear what the laying on of hands actually represents, it is a beautiful gesture. Personally, I consider the kneeling of the new minister kneeling under an open Bible to be more beautiful and meaningful. It would be of best service if all those ministerial hands would not interfere with this.