The Priesthood and Ministry
by Elen Saleh
The Holy Orthodox Church, ever since its very early years of its foundation on the Day of Pentecost, started organizing itself, as necessities arose like that of ordaining the first SEVEN DEACONS, who were STEPHEN, PHILIP, PROCHORUS, NICANOR, TIMON , PARMENAS, and NICOLAS a proselyte from Antioch(دخيلا أنطاكيا ((Acts 6:2- 7) They were ordained by prayers and the LAYING of HANDS.
The Church practiced three offices in its priesthood like the orders of the Old Testament and these were :
a) The Diaconate b) The Priesthood and c) The Bishopric.
These three offices were practiced since the early days of Christendom. The founder of priesthood is God Himself as we read about it in the Old Testament (O.T.). God chose Aaron and his sons from the tribe LEVI to be committed priests to minister unto all the Israelites, as it is stated in the Book of Exodus chapter 28 of the Old Testament. God instructed Moses the Prophet saying: “And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto Me in the priest’s office,……”
Exodus . 28:1
God, also, instructed Moses how to make “holy garments” for “glory and for beauty” (verse 2) of Ex. 28 that his brother may wear during his ministry. One can go back much earlier than this time of Moses and Aaron, to see that there were older figures than Aaron, like Noah, Job, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who individually offered sacrifices but they were not committed priests. Aaron was chosen by God to be a committed priest he himself, his children and posterity, to offer sacrifices for themselves and for the people.
“The Levitical priesthood, started by Aaron of the tribe of Levi, is limited simply because those who fill it are ordinary human beings. The Levite priests carry out God’s instructions and assist the people in their worship, but they could not ultimately reconcile people to God.” (Orthodox. New Testament page 523)
“It is important to note that there was a mysterious figure in the O.T. whose name is “Melchizedek”, on the other hand, who represents entirely a different kind of priesthood. Melchizedek appears in Genesis 14: 18-20, long before the Levite priesthood. He is given NO genealogy, and nothing is said about his death. He received tithes from Abraham, implying he is SUPERIOR to Abraham in rank – and by extension, superior to Abraham’s descendants, the Levites.” (Orth. N.T.page 523)
In the New Testament, we read verses 1-3 from chapter 7 of the Book of Hebrews to find that Melchizedek symbolizes Jesus Christ. His name means king of righteousness and King of peace. And being without a Father and without a mother, without beginning of days an d without end of life, makes of him a Priest for Ever. He is likened unto the Son of God. Jesus is the High Priest and the chief priest for ever according to Melchizedek.
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St. Paul writes to the Romans 15:15+16, : “Never the less, brethren, I have written more boldly to you on some points , as reminding you, because of the grace given to me by God, that I might be a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.”
Also, we reading in the book to Hebrews 3: 1- 6 “ Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession Jesus Christ, 2- who was faithful to Him who appointed Him as Moses also was faithful in all His house. 3- For this one has been counted worthy of more than Moses, inasmuch as He who built the house has more honor than the house. 4- For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God. 5- and Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward, 5 - but Christ as a Son over His own House, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.”
And I continue as well, what we read in the book of Acts 6: 6 – 8, that the first seven deacons “……..were set before the Apostles; and when they had prayed, they laid hands on them 7- Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith. 8- And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wanders and signs among the people.”
And in John 20: 22 +23 we read and see how Jesus sent His disciples to spread their preaching saying to them “ Peace to you, As the Father has sent Me, I also send you” (John 20: 21) Then He empowered them giving them authority to forgive the sins of the believers by the Holy Spirit in His first appearance to them after His resurrection. “ 22- And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them: Receive the Holy Spirit, 23- If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained”
In Titus 1:5 there is an example of Paul’s instructions to ordain priests. He says: “For this reason I left you in Crete that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders (priests) in every city as I commanded you.” Here St. Paul names the elders as Bishops (1:7 ) who ordain priests. The bishop is as a steward of God.
Another example of organizing the church with ordination of ministers is in Acts 14:23,
“So when they had appointed elders (priests) in every church , and prayed with fasting , they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.”
Saint Paul established many churches, here we listen to him encouraging Timothy, saying in 1 Tim. 4:14, “Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership.”
Saint Peter in his 1st epistle 2:5, 9 says : “ you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God
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through Jesus Christ. …………. 9 – But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
The first church practiced the ordination of Deacons, Priests and Bishops. It is well confirmed that the first bishop of Jerusalem was St. James, the Lord’s step brother. The one who is in the rank of a Bishop is the one who ordains candidates first to the diaconate. then to the priesthood then to the office of a bishop. The first ordination was done by St. Peter and the disciples when they elected the seven Deacons Acts 6: 5 + 6. Then the bishops took over this responsibility. of ordination. Read 1 Timothy 3 the description of the Bishops 3:1 – 7. And the Deacons in 3: 8 – 15.
The ordination to the clerical ranks in Orthodoxy had always been by the laying of hands of the Bishops, since the days of the apostles until now, even unto the end of the world to fulfill the last commandment of the Lord before His crucifixion which He pronounced at the Mystic Supper,
“This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 1 Cor. 11:25.
As the church grew up in number, hatred and anger of the Jews increased. Saul of Tarsus was one of the great persecutors of Christians. On his way to Damascus, and as he was leading soldiers to lay hands at Christians and persecute the Lord appeared to him and converted him to Paul, Jesus’ great Ambasador
For more information about Priesthood I refer you to the article about ordination in the Orthodox Study Bible . (Acts 9)
The Apostles established churches in the cities where they preached and ordained bishops from the Seventy Apostles that Jesus chose. And these bishops ordained deacons and priests. And as the church established the Seven Sacraments, these bishops and priests (elders) practiced those sacraments and at that time, the New Testament was not compiled. St. Paul instructs his disciples to be extraordinarily careful to pass the verbal teaching which has become to be known as the Holy Tradition. In his Second Epistle to Timothy, he instructs Timothy saying : “ And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” 2 Tim. 2 : 2
This Holy Tradition helped the Church to know the authentic and the revealed gospels and Epistles of the Holy New Testament.