The position of priesthood in the church has been evident since the earliest existence of
the
church. Jewish priests first were established in the seventh century BC performing
religious
ceremonies. They were even more established around 950 BC due to the establishment of
the Temple in Jerusalem.
The major role of the traditional Jewish priest was to perform sacrificial rituals.
According to the Bible, the Temple was built as a place for God to live with the people.
It
was the holiest building that existed, and needed to be kept holy by the priests. Their
role of
the priests was to perform animal sacrifices to God as an offering. The priests
performed
these sacrifices as specialists on behalf of a community or congregation in order to
restore the
holiness of the community and of the Temple. It was believed that if there was sin among
the
people then God would not come and be with them.
After the Temple was destroyed during the war with Rome, these animal sacrifices
were stopped, and there were no more active Jewish priests. The religious leadership in
the
synagogue was led by the rabbis.
In the Protestant religion there exists a "priesthood of all believers"("Priesthood",
529).
This meant that each member in the community serves as his or her own priest, with
direct
access to communication with God. Protestants believe that the role of the priest is an
"officiating mediary"("Priesthood", 529), rather than a one who performs ritual
sacrifices. This
stems from the Protestant belief that Jesus Christ served as "the ultimate" sacrifice,
and
therefore there is no use in animal sacrifices. Protestants also do not call their
religious leaders
"priests" because the name itself implies that he is of a higher level than his fellow
man or that
he has more access to God than others.
There exists two different forms of priesthood: hereditary and vocational priests. A
hereditary priest is a limited position in that it can only be held by a person who a
direct
descendent of the tribe of Levi. This tribe is one of the original 12 tribes of Israel
as set forth
in Genesis 49. There exists among this tribe one High Priests who head of the other
priests.
He is the only priest who was allowed to view the holy Ark of the Covenant during the
existence of the Temple in Jerusalem. These hereditary priests, unlike most priests in
today's
society, were allowed to marry in order to carry on the line of priesthood.
The vocational priests are those which have been "called" to the ministry by God
himself. A "calling" is an "impulse by God that attracts certain persons to a life of
ministry"("Calling", 176). This area of priesthood is beneficial in that it has the
"potential
advantage of selectivity for devotional, intellectual, or moral qualities"("Priesthood",
530). The
problem with hereditary priests was that there often existed priests which were not very
holy
men, but they were given the position due to their family name. Vocational priests are
only
men who became priests because the felt thats what God wanted them to do.
There are certain requirements which must be kept by preists in order for them to be
able to continue doing the work of God. One of these requirements is that he is of
sound
mind. "Apart from practical reasons of cumminity leadership, this requirement is
frequetnly
supported by a notion of perfection as appropriate to the sacrificial ritual. Just as a
cacrificial
animal is expected to be whole and without blemish, so should the sacrificer himself be.
Traditional Roman Catholic custom has required in particular that the hands of a priest,
which
perform the sacrament, be without deformity"("Priesthood", 530)
The tradition of celibacy is something that may be required, as the Roman Catholic
church does, but it is not required by all denominations with priests.
Some other interesting requirements of a priest is that he be a good speaker and good
and pronunciation. This is essential for the prayers of the priest. Priests which were
required
to do animal needed to be trained as a veterinary surgeon. Lastly, priests must also
have
background in theology and history in order to also minister to the intellectual life of
their
congregation.
As you can see there are many aspects of priesthood. They provided the church with
the proper leadership and knowledge which is needed to be able to serve God in the
proper
manner. They have been previlant throughout religious history and they will surely
continue to
play a major role in modern religion today and in the future.
|