The Second Vatican Council represented a shift in our thinking about the Sacrament of Holy Orders. The diaconate, for example, had been viewed exclusively as a step towards the priesthood. The Council restored the ancient practice of ordaining men as permanent deacons. There is still the transitional diaconate as the final step to the priesthood, but now the Church is blessed with permanent deacons who serve the Church in a variety of ways. The Council also changed the way we think about bishops. In the Middle Ages, it was customary to say that when a person became a bishop, he was not receiving a sacrament but rather was being installed with authority. The Council taught that the bishop's ordination is a sacrament, so that the bishop's teaching, sanctifying, and governing are aspects of his ordained ministry, and not merely exercises of authority. The whole notion of priesthood came into clearer focus as the Council taught that all baptized and confirmed Christians are priests, but that those ordained with Holy Orders are priests in a different, special way.