The term major orders was a part of the clerical terminology of the Roman Catholic Church until shortly after the Second Vatican Council, when the use widely disappeared due to reform of the clerical structure. During the Counter-reformation, the Council of Trent issued a decree outlining the orders of the clergy. The first four, the minor orders, have various liturgical functions and were conferred upon seminarians studying for the priesthood. Wikipedia
The definitive Wikipedia entry for Major Orders. Wikipedia is the biggest multilingual free-content encyclopedia on the Internet. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_orders
