Priesthood - people chosen to serve the Eucharist and shepherd - care, spiritual care of believers. first elected 12 apostles, and then 70 more, giving them the power to forgive sins and perform the most important sacred rites (which became known as the Sacraments). The priest in the Sacraments acts not by his own power, but by the grace of the Holy Spirit, given by the Lord after His Resurrection (John 20:22-23) to the apostles, transmitted from them to the bishops, and from the bishops to the priests in the Sacrament of Ordination (from the Greek. Heirotonia - consecration).

The very principle of the New Testament structure is hierarchical: both Christ is the head of the Church, and the priest is the head of the Christian community. The priest for the flock is the image of Christ. Christ is the shepherd; He commanded the Apostle Peter: “...feed My sheep” (John 21:17). Shepherding sheep means continuing the work of Christ on earth and leading people to salvation. The Orthodox Church teaches that there is no salvation outside the Church, but salvation can be achieved by loving and fulfilling the commandments of God and participating in the Sacraments of the Church, in which the Lord Himself is present, giving His help. And the helper and mediator of God in all the Sacraments of the Church, according to the commandment of God, is the priest. And therefore his service is sacred.

Priest - symbol of Christ

The most important Sacrament of the Church is the Eucharist. The priest celebrating the Eucharist symbolizes Christ. Therefore, without a priest, liturgy cannot take place. Archpriest Sergiy Pravdolyubov, rector of the Church of the Life-Giving in Trinity-Golenischev (Moscow), master of theology, explains: “The priest, standing before the Throne, repeats the words of the Lord Himself at the Last Supper: “Take, eat, this is My Body...” And in the Cherubic Song he pronounces the following words: “You are the One who offers and the One who is offered, and the One who accepts this Sacrifice, and the One Who is distributed to all believers - Christ our God...” The priest performs a sacred act with his own hands, repeating everything that Christ Himself did. And he does not repeat these actions and does not reproduce, that is, he does not “imitate”, but, figuratively speaking, “pierces time” and is completely inexplicable for the usual picture of space-time connections - his actions coincide with the actions of the Lord Himself, and his words - with the words of the Lord! That is why the liturgy is called Divine. She has been served once by the Lord Himself in the time and space of the Zion Upper Room, but outside time and space, in the abiding Divine Eternity. This is the paradox of the doctrine of the Priesthood and the Eucharist. Orthodox theologians insist on this, and this is how the Church believes.

A priest cannot be replaced by a layman, not only “due to human ignorance,” as it is written in the ancient Slavic books, let the layman be an academician, but no one gave him the power to do something that one cannot dare to do without receiving the gift of the grace of the Holy Spirit through ordination, coming from the apostles themselves and the apostolic men.”

The Orthodox Church attaches exceptional importance to the priesthood. The Monk Silouan of Athos wrote about the high dignity of the priesthood: “Priests carry within themselves such great grace that if people could see the glory of this grace, the whole world would be amazed at it, but the Lord hid it so that His servants would not become proud, but would be saved in humility ... A great person is a priest, a servant at the Throne of God. Whoever insults him insults the Holy Spirit living in him..."

The priest is a witness in the Sacrament of Confession

Without a priest, the Sacrament of Confession is impossible. The priest is endowed by God with the right to announce the forgiveness of sins in the name of God. The Lord Jesus Christ said to the apostles: “Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 18:18). This power to “knit and loosen” passed, as the Church believes, from the apostles to their successors - bishops and priests. However, confession itself is not brought to the priest, but to Christ, and the priest here is only a “witness,” as stated in the rite of the Sacrament. Why do you need a witness when you can confess to God Himself? The Church, when establishing confession before a priest, took into account the subjective factor: many are not ashamed of God, since they do not see Him, but to confess before a person ashamed, but this is a saving shame that helps to overcome sin. In addition, as it explains, “the priest is a spiritual mentor who helps to find the right path to overcome sin. He is called not only to become a witness of repentance, but also to help a person with spiritual advice and support him (many come with great sorrows). No one demands submission from the laity - this is free communication based on trust in the priest, a mutual creative process. Our task is to help you choose the right solution. I always encourage my parishioners to feel free to tell me that they were unable to follow some of my advice. Perhaps I was mistaken, I did not appreciate the strength of this man.”

Another ministry of a priest is preaching. Preaching, carrying the Good News of salvation is also Christ, a direct continuation of his work, therefore this ministry is sacred.

A priest cannot exist without the people

In the Old Testament Church, the participation of the people in worship was reduced to passive presence. In the Christian Church, the priesthood is inextricably linked with the people of God and one cannot exist without the other: just as a community cannot be a Church without a priest, so a priest cannot be one without a community. The priest is not the sole performer of the Sacraments: all the Sacraments are performed by him with the participation of the people, together with the people. It happens that the priest is forced to perform the service alone, without parishioners. And, although the rite of the liturgy does not provide for such situations and it is assumed that a meeting of people participates in the service, yet in this case the priest is not alone, because the deceased, as well as the deceased, make a bloodless sacrifice with him.

Who can become a priest?

In Ancient Israel, only persons belonging to the tribe of Levi by birth could become priests: the priesthood was inaccessible to everyone else. The Levites were initiates, chosen to serve God - they alone had the right to make sacrifices and offer prayers. The priesthood of the times of the New Testament has a new meaning: the Old Testament sacrifices, as the Apostle Paul says, could not deliver humanity from slavery to sin: “It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins...” (Heb. 10: 4-11). Therefore, Christ sacrificed Himself, becoming both Priest and Victim. Not belonging by birth to the tribe of Levi, He became the one true “High Priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek” (Ps. 109:4). Melchizedek, who once met Abraham, brought bread and wine and blessed him (Heb. 7:3), was an Old Testament prototype of Christ. Having given His Body to death and shed His Blood for people, having taught this Body and this Blood to the faithful in the Sacrament of the Eucharist under the guise of bread and wine, having created His Church, which became the New Israel, Christ abolished the Old Testament Church with its sacrifices and the Levitical priesthood, removed the veil, which separated the Holy of Holies from the people, destroyed the insurmountable wall between sacred Leviticism and the profane people.

A priest of the Orthodox Church, explains Archpriest Sergiy Pravdolyubov, “any pious, virtuous person can become, fulfilling all the commandments and rules of the church, having sufficient training, married first and only to a girl of the Orthodox faith, not disabled with a physical obstacle to using his hands and feet (otherwise he will not be able to perform the liturgy, carry out the Chalice with the Saints Gifts) and mentally sound.”

There is a science that is studied for more than one semester in seminaries, called “Pastoral Theology,” where all aspects of priestly ministry are examined in detail. But I cannot recommend to our sister who asked the question to read the excellent book of Archimandrite Cyprian Kern “Pastoral Theology”; I understand that this is not what is expected of us.

The priesthood existed before Christ came into the world - in the Old Testament Church - and to say that the New Testament priesthood replaced the Old Testament and did not inherit anything from that priesthood would be wrong. Because the Old Testament Church is the mother of our Church - we were born in the bosom of the Old Testament Church. Indeed, a lot has already dilapidated and outdated, and is no longer necessary and unacceptable, but, at the same time, something remains. In the Old Testament Church it was absolutely clear that the main work of the priest was temple worship and sacrifice. And this, of course, remains to this day. A priest is a person who performs worship in a temple and sacrifices.

Another thing is that sacrifice has now become different. In the Old Testament church, animals were sacrificed: lambs, calves, doves, there were grain offerings, etc. And two thousand years ago, Jesus Christ offered Himself as a living sacrifice for all humanity, for the sins of the world. From that moment on, the main sacrifice, which abolished all those sacrifices that were in Old Testament times, for us became the Eucharistic Sacrifice, the sacrament of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. When we, in memory of Jesus Christ, offer bread and wine to the Lord and pray and ask that through the influx of the Holy Spirit, bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ. And believers, when they receive communion, are united with Christ in the most intimate way.

This is the main thing that happens in the Church and the priest is entrusted with performing this service before the throne of God. This is the first and most important thing. No other person who is not a bearer of holy orders - no matter how wonderful, kind, talented - can perform this ministry, only an ordained priest or bishop.

Second. If we remember the Gospel, then Jesus Christ gave his disciples-apostles the power to “knit and loosen.” As the Gospel of John tells, after his resurrection, He breathed on his disciples-apostles and said: “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive, they will be forgiven; Whoever you leave it on, they will stay on it.” That is, forgiveness of sins (or non-forgiveness) was entrusted to the apostles. And we, priests, according to the teaching of the Church, are the successors of the apostles, because the hierarchy of the Orthodox Church is built on apostolic succession. The gift that the Lord gave to the apostles is passed on to bishops through the ordination, and to priests through the ordination of bishops. When a person comes to God to ask forgiveness for the sins that he has committed, he cannot do this without passing the priest.

- What does “knit and solve” mean?

To testify that a person’s sin is forgiven or not forgiven. “Allow” - that is, release to freedom, and “bind” - vice versa. Therefore, when a person comes and repents of some sins, the priest can tell him either “your sins are forgiven” or they are not forgiven. Sometimes a priest can say: “I’m sorry, but you still need to work a lot to confirm the authenticity of your repentance.” That is, the priest can impose penance, excommunicate from communion for some time. There are such sins - abortion, some terrible crimes... - when the priest simply should not immediately tell the person “all your sins are forgiven.”

- So, a person becomes a priest not through the act of appointment to a position, and not even through education, but precisely through the Sacrament of Ordination?

Yes, sure. Priesthood is a Sacrament, a sacred act, when in a mysterious, mystical way, through the ordination of a bishop and prayer, the grace of the Holy Spirit descends on a person, he is given the Gift of performing the Divine Liturgy, and “knitting and solving.”

Sometimes they ask the question: “Why do you need a priest to ask God for forgiveness for your sins? I don’t need a mediator between God and man. I myself, when my conscience torments me, will pray to God: “Lord, forgive me!” and I will sincerely cry. Why should I go to some priest who may be ten times more sinful than me?” And the answer to this question is very simple. It is not we, the priests, who took it upon ourselves - open the Gospel and everything is said there very clearly and clearly. It is not the priest, of course, who forgives sins - the person turns to God - but the priest is entrusted with testifying before God that a person repents of his sins, and vice versa - to testify to a person that his sins are forgiven, or not forgiven.

These sacraments, confession and communion, are the ones most often resorted to by a genuine Christian who really tries to live according to the Gospel. Without this it is impossible to live a Christian life. And it is impossible to perform these sacraments without a priest.

The third responsibility of priests is shepherding. This is what Jesus Christ said to the Apostle Peter - “Feed my lambs” (“feed my sheep”).

Shepherding, in my opinion, has two sides. On the one hand, this is the leadership of the church community. Because Christians should not be each on their own in their relationship with God. Genuine faith, if it is truly Christian, evangelical faith, it must unite people with each other. There is a Universal Church - it consists of local Churches, local Churches consist of dioceses, dioceses consist of parishes. And the parish doesn’t always work out, but ideally it should be a community of believers. That is, this should not be the case when people come to some temple on their own, everyone prayed and left. A person should come to the temple as to a family, to his brothers and sisters. Christians who are members of the same parish or the same community (if it is successful and established) should be bound by a much closer relationship than simply the fact that they prayed together in the same church. They must live each other's lives, relate to each other's needs, help, bear each other's burdens. The creation, organization and management of such a community is the task of the priest, the task of the shepherd.

This is on the one hand. On the other hand, pastoring also includes personal, individual spiritual help to those people who come to the priest. Because in fact, a person goes to God, and the priest must do everything to help the person in this meeting, so that this meeting takes place. And help a person to set himself up in such a way, to organize his spiritual, prayer, personal life so that his heart opens towards God. This is also shepherding.

- Divine services, as you know, are free for parishioners. Is pastoring paid or free?

Free, of course. Of course, the need has always been implied for a person to make some kind of sacrifice when coming to the Church, but in the Orthodox Church we should not make this an indispensable condition; it should be a person’s personal feeling as his personal duty towards God.

- Including baptism? That people are unhappy that baptism is expensive.

I can immediately say that it is easy for me to speak in this regard, because in our temple there are no prices for anything. The size of the donation is up to the donor. At the same time, I always add that if you don’t have the opportunity to donate at all, then it won’t hurt - we will still baptize, marry, sing, remember, etc.

- How is shepherding and individual assistance to a person in his spiritual life practically carried out?

Most often, it all starts with the fact that a person simply comes to a priest with some problem, for advice. At the same time, he may not quite understand what he expects from the priest, what he wants to hear. When a person comes for the first time, I wonder what brought you there. And the answers can be very different: either someone recommended it from a friend, or I’ve wanted it for a long time, read books, kept thinking... In general, it happens in different ways. A person arrives, but then the mutual work of the three begins. First of all - God, then - the priest, as a worker of God, and this man himself. And if the priest, for his part, and the man, for his part, strive to ensure that, having taken this step towards God, the person does not stop, turn around and go back, but so that he takes the next step, then there is a second and the third and fourth steps, and in the end, at some stage, a person joins church life organically. Well, then the work happens mainly during confession.

- How does communication between a parishioner and a priest take place?

I believe that the first thing a priest should do here is listen to a person and let him speak, try to understand him and pray for him, of course. And then everything depends on what the person came with and what questions he has. There are different approaches to spiritual direction. In my opinion, it is very important that the priest never forgets about human freedom and the responsibility for his decisions, which a person must bear himself.

Sometimes they tell me that some priest demands unquestioning obedience, blesses people to do something that a person did not intend to do, almost in the most severe way sets the condition that “if you don’t do this, then forget the way to our temple.” etc. Such cases happen, and they seem completely wrong to me. Many people have already spoken about this negative phenomenon - about young age. And the late Patriarch Alexei II spoke specifically about this. The priest should not take on the role of an elder; the priest should help the person himself make this or that decision, and prayerfully support him.

For myself, I have identified a certain principle, which I conventionally call the “Demon of Socrates” method. The word “demon” confuses us all, for us “demon” has a minus sign, but in Greek mythology, a demon simply meant a spirit, without any positive or negative meaning. So Socrates says that from a young age he felt the presence of a certain spirit next to him, which he called a demon (in the good sense of the word). And who prompts him, in some difficult life situations gives him various instructions. But here’s what’s interesting: it never happened that this “inner voice” of his told him what to do. But he always talked about what he shouldn't do. Therefore, if I do something and he is silent, doesn’t say anything, then I do it. But if he tells me that “don’t do this”, “don’t go there” or something else, then for me this is a warning.

- If it is in doubt?

Yes, if in doubt. I think that when a very close and kind relationship has developed with a confessor, it is not superfluous when a person simply takes a blessing for something that, as it seems to them, does not raise doubts. There's nothing wrong with that. But, in any case, the priest can sometimes say a strong “no,” “don’t do that.” Therefore, when people come to me, tell me the situation, and then ask the question “what should I do in this situation? what should I do?" - I never say right away, but ask the question: “What do you think?” - "I do not know". Well, since you don't know, does that mean you want me to make a decision for you? It’s easier this way, of course - “I don’t know what to do, I’ll go to the priest. As he says, so I will do.” It is not right. If you don’t know, think about it, and I’ll pray that the Lord will help you make a decision. And when you make a decision, you do not immediately implement it, but still come and say that you have decided. Because sometimes you immediately see that a person wants to do something that is clearly sinful and harmful. And then you tell him that he shouldn’t do this, it will be bad. And sometimes you don't see it.

That is, leadership should often come down not to instructions on what to do, but on the contrary - what not to do. And of course, where a priest imposes his will on a person, passing it off as the will of God, this is an alarm signal.

The monastery is a different matter. The vow of obedience, which is given during monastic tonsure, assumes that the monk renounces his own will and completely entrusts himself to his spiritual superiors - the elder or his spiritual leader in the monastery, and he must do everything that he is told. But this is a monk. We are dealing with lay people. And here such unquestioning obedience, in my opinion, is not only unnecessary, but simply even harmful. It ultimately produces “spiritual cripples.”

About punishments and social security

What to do with a priest who does not meet the standards of a priest?

The answer is simple. Take any issue of the Moscow Diocesan Gazette magazine, where the decrees of the ruling bishop are published. And in almost every issue, among these decrees, there is this: “By decree, such and such should be prohibited from serving in the priesthood for behavior inappropriate for the rank of a priest...” And often it specifically states why.

Priests are deprived of the opportunity to serve when it is discovered that their behavior, their way of life does not correspond to what a priest should have. There is the institution of the Church Court. In every case, when it becomes known that a priest has committed some act that is incompatible with his ministry, it is studied carefully, something like an investigation takes place to find out how true it is, and sometimes a commission is appointed. They come, find out, question, talk with the priests and with those people who were present. And if all this is confirmed, then such a priest is punished.

And, unlike the situation with officials, when they are removed from one place and appointed to another, if a priest is banned from serving, then he can no longer serve anywhere?

Punishments vary. Sometimes just one type of punishment is the transfer of a priest to another place. The biggest punishment is prohibition from the priesthood. More than this is deprivation of holy orders. Such cases happen, but the Council decides this. Because after all, this is already irreversible. And so - prohibition in the priesthood or transfer. What translation? For example, I am the rector of the temple. If it turns out that I did something that seduces people and harms the Church, I can be transferred to some church where I will no longer be the rector, but where I will be subordinate to another, more experienced priest, where I will be under his control, I will be subordinate to him, and he will re-educate me.

- If you were banned from serving, can this have a reverse effect?

Usually, when they ban, they say how long the priest is banned for. It all depends on how the priest behaves while he is under ban. Because there are different options. One was forbidden - and that’s it, he went to engage in worldly activities. As a rule, such people rarely return. And there are - I know such priests - who deeply feel what happened to them, sincerely repent, still remain with the Church, but now serve as either psalm-readers, or altar servers, or teach Sunday school, or sing in the choir. That is, they remain in the Church, but do not perform sacred rites, because they no longer have the right to perform them. And they wait patiently until the hierarchy considers that the person has been punished enough and can return to service.

- So, if someone has any serious complaints against a priest, then they should write to the local bishop?

In general, yes...

You know, I say that we need to write to the bishop, and at the same time I think: what am I saying this... Because so much has already been written about all of us, and the bishop has to read so much... Because there are actually justified discontent and complaints , but much more often it happens otherwise. There are dissatisfied people everywhere. A good priest will always have those who are dissatisfied with him - at least because he imposed penance (hurt), or does not agree with some point of view. There are a lot of people in the church who have read a lot of books and, it seems to them, know better than the priest how to ring correctly, how to properly end the Liturgy. Sometimes, indeed, “there is no smoke without fire,” and the priest somewhere made a mistake and weakness, but this can be “inflated” in a manner inconsistent with the offense. Therefore, there are a lot of complaints against priests, and most of them are the work of unscrupulous people.

- Are more such complaints written by church people or non-church people?

Church. For those outside the church - what we are, what we are not.

- How does the bishop cope with so much empty information?

That's what deans exist for. Each priest is in a specific deanery. The deans are precisely responsible for the deanery service, the behavior of the clergy who are in the deanery. He must figure it out, find out how true this is. Then the dean answers the bishop whether this fact really took place, or whether the fact has not been confirmed, that this is slander. Here it is very difficult for the poor dean, because such a responsibility is enormous, but they must find out and bring to the attention of the bishop how justified this or that complaint is.

- Is there a social protection system within the Church or “everything is the will and mercy of God”? After all, if a priest retires, or a family is left without a father, does the state support system provide assistance?

Now, after perestroika, we have exactly the same social security system as all workers. The priest pays taxes to the pension fund on a general basis and receives a pension on a general basis.

But I would add to this that our state pensions are still small. In our deanery (but I think this is not only ours, but in many other deaneries) there is also such a form of social security that each parish contributes a certain amount of money once a quarter. And we distribute this amount of money, first of all, to the widows of priests. After all, priests, most often, have many children. And if the priest died, then the wife often remains with many children. Therefore, the widows of all the priests of our deanery receive some kind of allowance, a “sharing contribution” as if from all the priests.

An ordained altar server, priest, minister of the Christian church who performs church services and rituals. Priestly, adj – pertaining to a priest Priesthood – priests in general.

Great definition

Incomplete definition ↓

Priest

euro cohen, i.e. sacred (Heb. 8:2) from the root kohan - to perform sacred service, that is, to offer sacrifices and incense in the temple. In the worship of the times of the patriarchs we do not see any trace of the priesthood passing by inheritance, nor the existence of a caste of priests. Before the time of Abraham, regarding worship, the word “kohan” appears only once in the Bible, namely, about Melchizedek it is said that he was a priest of the Most High God (Gen. 14:18). In the worship of the patriarchs we find that the father of the family or ancestor performed the duties of a priest. This ministry was connected with the birthright. Cain and Abel, Noah, Abraham, Job, Isaac and Jacob made sacrifices themselves. The people of Israel in Deut. 7:6 is called “His own people,” and in Ex. 19:6 "a kingdom of priests." But still, special people were needed in this position to serve as mediators between the people and God (Ex. 20:18ff.). Moses was such a mediator in concluding a solemn union between God and the people, and this time young men were chosen to perform the duties of priests (Ex. 24:5). After the Lord, in retribution for sparing the Jewish firstborn in Egypt, chose and appointed the tribe of Levi to perform divine services, the title of priests passed to the family of Aaron, and all his sons became priests. From Ex. 19:22 and gave. and 4:14 it can be concluded that the Levites already in Egypt apparently performed the duties of priests. Although the Levites were chosen by God to be priests, it is still clear from many places of Holy Scripture that for a long time after the publication of this law, sacrifices pleasing to God were also performed by other persons and even outside the sanctuary, for example, by Gideon (Judges 6 :18ff.), Manoem (Judges 13:19ff.); Samuel (1 Samuel 7:9ff; 9:12ff); Elijah (1 Kings 18:30ff.); Elisha (1 Kings 19:21); David (2 Sam. 6:17; 24:18ff.) and others. However, King Hosea was struck by the Lord because he entered the temple to burn incense on the altar 2 Chron. 26:16ff.). Compare the sacrifice of Saul (1 Kings 13:9ff) and Jeroboam in Bethel (1 Kings 12:33; 13.1) and also the story of the worship in the house of Micah and his joy when he hired a Levite as a priest (Judges 17; Compare . 18:30). No one who had a physical defect was allowed to perform priestly duties: neither the blind, nor the lame, nor the deformed, nor with a broken leg or arm, nor the hunchback, nor with an eyesore, nor those suffering from scab, etc. (Lev. 21:18-21). The Levites were ordained to serve by a special ceremony (Exod. 29; A lion. 8). The clothing they wore during worship consisted of a linen robe - from loins to shins and ephod, that is, a narrow, long shirt with long sleeves, entirely woven (without seams) from the finest wool or cotton paper; the ephod was fastened with a belt embroidered with red, grotesque and purple threads, which could be wrapped several times around the body; According to the rabbis, this belt was 32 cubits in length. Then came the headdress - a turban, which consisted of a long linen cloth that was wrapped around the head. The priests were forbidden to remove their headdress, because this was a sign of sadness or grief, and did not correspond to the significance that their more brilliant attire had. In all likelihood, they performed divine services barefoot. Before entering the sanctuary, they were required to wash their hands and feet (Ex. 30:19ff; 40:30ff). While they were performing sacred duties, they could not drink wine or strong drink (Lev 10:9; Ezek. 44:21). External expression of grief for the dead was allowed only in relation to the closest relatives (Lev. 21:1ff; Ezek. 44:25) They were not allowed to shave their heads (Lev. 19:27; 21:5) They had to perform divine services in holy calm, and not with the wild antics and madness of the priests of Baal, who stabbed themselves with knives and shouted in a loud voice (Lev. 19:28; 1 ​​Kings 18:28). They were forbidden to marry a harlot or a divorcee (Lev. 21:7); the high priest was even forbidden to marry a widow (Lev. 21:14; Ezek. 44:22); in Ezek. 44:22) the priests could marry either a girl from the house of Israel or the widow of the priest. The duties of the priests varied; they had to keep the fire on the altar of burnt offering day and night (Lev. 6:12; 2 Chron. 13:11), add oil to the lamps of the lamp (Ex. 27:20ff.; Lev. 24:2), bring the morning and the evening sacrifice, grain offering and drink offering (Ex. 29:38ff.). Their duty was also to teach the Israelites all the statutes of the Lord (Lev. 10: And; Deut. 33:10; Comp. 2 Chron. 15:3), resolve controversial issues (Ezek. 44: 23ff), and investigate various types of leprosy ( Lev. 13-14). Further, they were to blow silver trumpets on certain occasions (Num. 10:2ff.) and encourage the people in war (Deut. 20:2ff.) In a word, the priest was to keep the teaching pure, “for the law is sought at his mouth,” because he is a “messenger” (Heb. angel) of the Lord of hosts” (Mal. 2:7). All these duties deprived the priest of the opportunity to work for his own livelihood, and therefore there were various regulations regarding this. Since God did not give the tribe of Levi an inheritance in Palestine, like the other tribes, the Israelites had to give tithes to the Levites for food. Of this tithe, the Levites, in turn, had to give a tenth to the priests, so that the priests received: 1) 1% of all income from the land (Num. 18:26ff.). 2) Redemption money for all the firstborn of people and livestock (Num. 18:15ff.). 3) Redemption money for people and animals who were dedicated to the Lord or were “accursed” (excommunicated) (Lev. 27; Num. 18:14). 4) Showbread and meat of burnt offerings, peace offerings and trespass offerings (Lev. 6:26,29; 7:6ff.; Num. 18:8ff.); in particular, the breast of the wave and the shoulder of the heave (Lev. 10:12ff.). 5) The firstfruits of the earth: bread, wine, olive oil and wool of sheep (Ex. 23:19; Lev. 2:14; 23:10; Deut. 18:4; 26:1 et al.). 6) In addition, 13 cities with their pastures were assigned for the priests (Joshua 21:13ff.). 7) It is also said that in one case, the priests even received a share of the booty captured in the war (Num. 31: 25 et al.). Despite all this income, the priestly service was not financially profitable, judging by the remark in 1 Sam. 2:36. The earliest traces of the division of priests into “orders” are found in the time of David. The priests were then divided into 24 orders or turns (1 Chron. 24:1 et al.; Comp. 2 Chron. 23:8; Luke 1:5), which were to alternate in the performance of official duties: one week was assigned for each order . Various official duties during the week were distributed among the priests of each succession by lot (Luke 1:9). Apparently, each order began to fulfill its duties on Saturday, and the priests finishing their weekly service performed the morning service, and the evening service was performed by a new order (2 Chron. 23:8). With such a division, both priestly families still did not occupy the same position; for example, the house of Ithamar had fewer representatives than the house of Eleazar, and 8 lines were chosen from the first, while from the house of Eleazar there were 16 (1 Chron. 24:4). After returning from captivity, there remained only 4 lines of 24, 1000 people each (Ezra 2:33 et al.); but in subsequent times Josephus again mentions 24 orders, which obviously bore the same names as the previous ones and existed until the final destruction of Jerusalem. In some places in the Old Testament the word “priests” (kohanim) is found in the sense of ministers under the king, or his closest advisers (2 Sam. 20:26; 1 Kings 4:5). Probably the priests from the house of Ahab (2 Kings 10:11) were like that. When Christ, the true High Priest and Mediator, came into the world, was rejected and put to death by the highest representatives of the Jewish priesthood and offered Himself to God for the sin of the world (Matt. 27:1ff; Mark 15:1ff; Luke. 22:66, 23:1; John 19:6), then, according to the prophecy of Hosea (3:4), the Jewish priesthood ceased. “The children of Israel will remain for a long time without sacrifice and without an altar.” And in the Christian church there are no priests in the Old Testament meaning of the word - as a special class. Hebrews especially emphasizes that Christ is the only Priest and High Priest (Heb. 2:17; 3:1; 4:14; 5:5ff; 9:11) through whom we draw near to God (Heb. 7 : 19). The word priest, in the meaning of the one who makes a sacrifice (Greek - hieroos), is never used in the New Testament to refer to the shepherds and leaders of the Christian church. Wherever this word (hiereos) is used in the New Testament, it means either the Jewish priests (Mag. 8:4; Luke 20:1ff.; John 1:10; Acts 4:1; 6:7) or Jesus Christ, as stated above in the letter to the Hebrews, or His disciples in general (the holy and royal priesthood) (1 Pet. 2:5ff; Rev. 1:6; 5:10; 20:6). In one place the word denotes a pagan priest (Acts 14:13). In the Russian translation, the Greek word presbyter is used to designate the pastor of the church, i.e. elder (Acts 14.23; 15:2; 20:17; 1 Pet. 5:1). (Russian - shepherd, Greek - elder) (1 Tim. 5:17; 2 John 1:1; 3 John 1:1) Russian. translation in these epistles of John - an elder, Greek. presbyter. Compare "Elders", "Presbyter".

A priest in the Orthodox Church is not just a “priest”. An uninitiated person realizes that there are many degrees of priesthood in the church: it is not for nothing that one Orthodox priest wears a silver cross, another a gold one, and a third one also decorated with beautiful stones. In addition, even a person who does not delve deeply into the Russian church hierarchy knows from fiction that the clergy can be black (monastic) and white (married). But when faced with such Orthodox Christians as an archimandrite, a priest, or a protodeacon, the vast majority of people do not understand what we are talking about and how the listed clergy differ from each other. Therefore, I offer a short overview of the orders of Orthodox clergy, which will help you understand the large number of clergy titles.

Priest in the Orthodox Church - black clergy

Let's start with the black clergy, since monastic Orthodox priests have much more titles than those who have chosen family life.

• Patriarch is the head of the Orthodox Church, the highest ecclesiastical rank. The Patriarch is elected at a local council. A distinctive feature of his vestment is a white headdress (kukol), crowned with a cross, and a panagia (an image of the Virgin Mary decorated with precious stones).
• A metropolitan is the head of a large Orthodox ecclesiastical region (metropolis), which includes several dioceses. Currently, this is an honorary (as a rule, award) rank, immediately following the archbishop. The Metropolitan wears a white hood and panagia.
• An archbishop is an Orthodox clergyman who has been in charge of several dioceses. Currently a reward. The archbishop can be distinguished by his black hood, decorated with a cross, and a panagia.
• A bishop is the head of an Orthodox diocese. He differs from the archbishop in that there is no cross on his hood. All patriarchs, metropolitans, archbishops and bishops can be called in one word - bishops. All of them can ordain Orthodox priests and deacons, consecrate, and perform all other sacraments of the Orthodox Church. The ordination of bishops, according to church rule, is always carried out by several bishops (the council).
• An archimandrite is an Orthodox priest in the highest monastic rank, preceding that of a bishop. Previously, this rank was assigned to the abbots of large monasteries; now it is often of an award nature, and one monastery can have several archimandrites.
• Hegumen is a monk in the rank of an Orthodox priest. Previously, this title was considered quite high, and only abbots of monasteries had it. Today this is no longer important.
• Hieromonk is the lowest rank of monastic priest in the Orthodox Church. Archimandrites, abbots and hieromonks wear black vestments (cassock, cassock, mantle, black hood without a cross) and a pectoral (breast) cross. They can perform church sacraments, except for ordination to the priesthood.
• Archdeacon is the senior deacon in an Orthodox monastery.
• Hierodeacon - junior deacon. Archdeacons and hierodeacons differ in appearance from monastic priests in that they do not wear a pectoral cross. Their vestments during worship also differ. They cannot perform any church sacraments; their functions include concelebrating with the priest during the service: proclaiming prayer requests, bringing out the Gospel, reading the Apostle, preparing sacred vessels, etc.
• Deacons, both monastics and those belonging to the white clergy, belong to the lowest level of the priesthood, Orthodox priests to the middle, and bishops to the highest.

Orthodox clergyman - white clergy

• An archpriest is the senior Orthodox priest in a church, usually the rector, but today in one parish, especially a large one, there may be several archpriests.
• Priest - junior Orthodox priest. White priests, like monastic priests, perform all sacraments except ordination. Archpriests and priests do not wear a mantle (this is part of the monastic vestment) and a hood; their headdress is a kamilavka.
• Protodeacon, deacon - respectively senior and junior deacons among the white clergy. Their functions fully correspond to the functions of monastic deacons. White clergy are not ordained as Orthodox bishops only if they accept monastic orders (this often happens by mutual consent in old age or in the case of widowhood, if the priest has no children or they are already adults.

Issues of external pious behavior often concern parishioners of many churches. How to address clergy correctly, how to distinguish them from each other, what to say when meeting? These seemingly little things can confuse an unprepared person and make him worry. Let's try to figure out whether there is a difference in the concepts of “priest”, “priest” and “priest”?

Priest - Mr. the main character of any worship service

What do the names of church ministers mean?

In the church environment you can hear a variety of appeals to church servants. The main character of any worship service is the priest. This is the person who is in the altar and performs all the rites of the service.

About the rules of behavior in the temple:

The word “priest” in the liturgical sense corresponds to the synonym “priest.” Only ordained priests have the right to perform the Sacraments of the church, according to a certain order. In official documents of the Orthodox Church the word “priest” is also used to designate a particular priest.

Among the laity and ordinary parishioners of churches, you can often hear the address “father” in relation to one or another priest. This is an everyday, simpler meaning; it indicates a relationship with parishioners as spiritual children.

If we open the Bible, namely the Acts or Epistles of the Apostles, we will see that very often they used the address “My children” to the people. Since Biblical times, the love of the apostles for their disciples and the believing people was comparable to fatherly love. Also now - parishioners of churches receive instructions from their priests in the spirit of fatherly love, which is why the word “father” has come into use.

Father is a popular address to a married priest

What is the difference between a priest and a priest?

As for the concept of “pop,” in modern church practice it has some disdainful and even offensive connotations. Nowadays it is not customary to call the priesthood priests, and if they do, it is more in a negative way.

Interesting! During the years of Soviet power, when there was severe oppression of the church, all clergymen were called priests. It was then that this word acquired a special negative meaning, comparable to the enemy of the people.

But back in the middle of the 18th century, the term “pop” was in common use and did not have any bad meaning. Basically only lay priests were called priests, not monastics. This word is attributed to the modern Greek language, where there is the term “papas”. This is where the name of the Catholic priest “pope” comes from. The term “priest” is also derivative - this is the wife of a lay priest. Priests are especially often called priests among the Russian brethren.