Did you know?… About the Priesthood?

Did you know?… About the Priesthood?

~Old Testament Priest

The Hebrew word for “priest” is kohen. He is the Levite who stood as intercessor for the people before God. Old Testament priests offered up gifts and sacrifices to the Lord on behalf of the people, that they might be reconciled to Him.

The Lord directed Moses to construct the tabernacle. (Exodus 25:1-27:21)

Then He established a permanent, hereditary priesthood, beginning with Moses’ brother Aaron and continuing through Aaron’s sons. (Exodus 28:1)
The priests were sanctified, or consecrated, with holy oil. (Exodus 30:22-30)
Their holy garments of finely woven and richly decorated material were for the honour and glory of God. (Exodus 28:2-39)

After Aaron’s death, “the Lord separated the tribe of Levi (Aaron’s tribe) to bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord, to minister to Him, and to bless in His name.” (Deuteronomy 10:8)

Besides the various sacrifices, the priests blessed the people (Numbers 6:23-25), maintained the tabernacle (later, the temple) and its grounds (Numbers 18:1-7), received tithes and offerings (Numbers 18:8-32), supervised purification procedures (Leviticus 13:1-14:57), acted as judges (Deuteronomy 17:8-13) and taught the Law. (Deuteronomy 33:8-11)
Only male Levites administered the liturgical rites.



~New Testament Priests

*The Three Orders of the Holy Priesthood

The Sacrament of the Holy Priesthood derives its origin from Christ, the great High Priest, Who was “holy, blameless, unstained, separated from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens... a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man.” (Hebrews 7:26, 8:2)

The Lord Jesus Christ as the heavenly High Priest offered Himself as a sacrifice on the Cross “for all,” and conferred His priesthood upon His Apostles. (John 20:21-23, Matthew 28:19-20, Mark 16:15-18, Acts 2:33)From the Apostles the office of the Priesthood passed on in an unbroken chain to the first clergymen whom they ordained, and through them to their successors. This is called Apostolic succession and it is fundamental teaching in the Orthodox Christian Church because only through it can the clergymen receive the authority to become real representatives of Christ and the Apostles of the Church.

As successors of the Apostles and representatives of Christ in His Church, clergymen continue the work of Jesus. They teach the word of God; offer the Holy Eucharist (Holy Communion) and administer the other sacraments; they govern the Church and take care of the spiritual needs of the members of their congregations.


~The Bishop

There are three orders of the Priesthood: the order of the Bishop, of the Priest and of the Deacon. The first and highest order of Priesthood belongs to the Bishop (the Episcopos).

The name Episcopos was given to the successors of the Apostles (Acts 20:28; 1 Timothy 3:1-2; Titus 1:7) and means “Overseer.” He is also called the Archpriest or Archierefs, which distinguishes him as being chief over the priests of a specific territory.  

All bishops are equal among themselves as they hold the same degree of priesthood, but there are grades in their titles, depending on their administrative power. For instance, the title of Metropolitan is given to a bishop of a great or capital city.

The title of Archbishop is given to the chief or first among the bishops of a large area. The title of Patriarch is given to the chief among the Bishops.

~The Priest

The second order of the Holy Priesthood is occupied by the Priest. The priest is in charge of a community which he spiritually serves. He administers all the sacraments with the exception of the Sacrament of Holy Ordination, and celebrates all the church services with the exception of the ceremony connected with the consecration of a church. He leads the community in prayer and blesses them in the name of the Lord.

Through the sacrament of holy orders, an ordination to priesthood is performed by the bishop. But this requires the consent of the whole people of God, so at a point in the service, the congregation acclaim the ordination by shouting Axios! (*He is worthy!)

Orthodox priests consist of both married clergymen and monastic clergymen. In the Eastern Orthodox Church a married man may be ordained to the priesthood. His marriage, however, must be the first for both him and his wife. He may not remarry and continue in his ministry even if his wife should die.

If a single, or unmarried, or celibate man is ordained into the priesthood, he must remain celibate to retain his service. A priest-monk is called a hieromonk.

Married Priest are usually assigned to work in the Parish.

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