Priesthood (Orthodox Church)

Presbyter is, in the Bible, a synonym for bishop (episkopos), referring
to a leader in local Church congregations. In modern usage, it is

distinct from bishop and synonymous with priest. Its literal meaning in
Greek (presbyteros) is "elder."
Holy orders
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 celibate

clergymen. In the 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, he must remain

celibate to retain his service. A celibate priest is not necessarily the
same as that of clergymen who are monastics, as celibacy does not
automatically entail monasticism, though Orthodox monasticism does
denote a call to celibacy. A priest-monk is called a hieromonk.
Ministry
It is Church doctrine that the priesthood must strive to fulfill the grace
given to them with the gift of the "laying on of hands" in the most
perfect that they can. But the Church teaches that the reality and
effectiveness of the sacraments of the Church, ministered by the
presbyters, do not depend upon personal virtue, but upon the
presence of Christ who acts in his Church by the Holy Spirit. The same
as with bishops, it is Christ, through his chosen ministers, who acts as
teacher, good shepherd, forgiver, and healer. It is Christ remitting sins,
and curing the physical, mental and spiritual ills of mankind. The priest
is an icon of Christ.
Priests normally exercise the function of pastors of parishes, a function
which was normally done by the bishops in early times. They are
rectors of the local congregations of Christians. They preside at the
celebration of the liturgy and teach, preach, counsel and exercise the
ministries of forgiveness and healing.
Since the presbyters are assigned by the bishop and belong to the
specific congregations they have no authority or services to perform
apart from their bishop and their own particular parish community. On
the altar table of each parish, there is the cloth called the antimension
signed by the bishop, which is the permission to the community to
gather and to act as the Church. Without the antimension, the priest
and his people cannot function legitimately.
History
The earliest organization of the Christian churches in Palestine was

similar to that of Jewish synagogues, who were governed by a council
of elders (presbyteroi). In Acts 11:30 and 15:22, we see this collegiate
system of government in Jerusalem, and in Acts 14:23, the Apostle
Paul ordains elders in the churches he founded. Initially, these
presbyters were apparently identical with the overseers (episkopoi,
i.e., bishops), as such passages as Acts 20:17 and Titus 1:5,7 indicate,
and the terms were interchangeable.
Shortly after the New Testament period, with the death of the Apostles,
there was a differentiation in the usage of the synonymous terms,
giving rise to the appearance of two distinct offices, bishop and
presbyter. The bishop was understood mainly as the president of the
council of presbyters, and so the bishop came to be distinguished both
in honor and in prerogative from the presbyters, who were seen as
deriving their authority by means of delegation from the bishop. The
distinction between presbyter and bishop is made fairly soon after the
Apostolic period, as is seen in the 2nd century writings of St. Ignatius
of Antioch, who uses the terms consistently and clearly to refer to two
different offices (along with deacon).
Initially, each local congregation in the Church had its own bishop.
Eventually, as the Church grew, individual congregations no longer
were served directly by a bishop. The bishop in a large city would
appoint a presbyter to pastor the flock in each congregation, acting as
his delegate.
Modern usage
The Orthodox Church often refers to presbyters in English as priests

(priest is etymologically derived from the Greek presbyteros via the
Latin presbyter). This usage is seen by some Protestant Christians as
stripping the laity of its rightful priestly status, while those who use the
term defend its usage by saying that, while they do believe in the
priesthood of all believers, they do not believe in the eldership of all
believers.
Presbyters are often referred to as Father (Fr.), though that is not an

official title. Rather, it is a term of affection used by Christians for their
ordained elders. In this context, a priest's first name is generally used
after the word Father.
Priests are often styled as the Reverend (Rev.) and therefore referred to
as the Reverend Father (Rev. Fr.). Higher in bestowed honor and
responsibility, Archpriests and Protopresbyters are styled as the Very
Reverend (V. Rev.), while Archimandrites can be styled as the Very
Reverend (V. Rev.) or as the Right Reverend (Rt. Rev.). It is also
appropriate and traditional to refer to a clergyman as "the Priest
Name" or "Archpriest Name". This latter practice is especially
prominent in Churches with Slavic roots, such as the Church of Russia
or the Orthodox Church in America.
Monastics who are ordained to the priesthood are known as

priest-monks or hieromonks.
Sources
As of April 17, 2010, this article is derived in whole or in part from

OrthodoxWiki. The copyright holder has licensed the content in a
manner that permits reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 and GFDL. All relevant
terms must be followed. The original text was at "Presbyter" .
Liddell & Scott, An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon, pp. 301, 668
The Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, p. 2297
The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (3rd ed.), p. 1322
Further reading
Christos S. Voulgaris (Prof. of New Testament Studies, Dean of the

School of Theology of the Univ. of Athens). The Sacrament of
Priesthood in the Holy Scriptures .
External links
orthodoxwiki article on Orthodox Priesthood
Church etiquette (Ukrainian tradition) (including how to greet a

priest or bishop)
Clergy Etiquette
A Son's Journey to the Priesthood, Antiochian Archdiocese
Q&A on the Priesthood from the Orthodox Church in America
Last edited 7 days ago by Ohff

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Presbyter is, in the Bible, a synonym for bishop (episkopos), referring

to a leader in local Church congregations. In modern usage, it is

Through the sacrament of holy orders, an ordination to priesthood is

Orthodox priests consist of both married clergymen and celibate

If a single, or unmarried, or celibate, man is ordained, he must remain

The earliest organization of the Christian churches in Palestine was

The Orthodox Church often refers to presbyters in English as priests

Presbyters are often referred to as Father (Fr.), though that is not an

Monastics who are ordained to the priesthood are known as

As of April 17, 2010, this article is derived in whole or in part from

Liddell & Scott, An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon, pp. 301, 668

The Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, p. 2297

The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (3rd ed.), p. 1322

Christos S. Voulgaris (Prof. of New Testament Studies, Dean of the

orthodoxwiki article on Orthodox Priesthood

Church etiquette (Ukrainian tradition) (including how to greet a

A Son's Journey to the Priesthood, Antiochian Archdiocese

Q&A on the Priesthood from the Orthodox Church in America

Last edited 7 days ago by Ohﬀ

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