A Practical Handbook for Priestly Ministry
214
A Practical Handbook for Priestly Ministry
214eBook
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Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781942699255 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Holy Trinity Publications |
| Publication date: | 10/01/2019 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 214 |
| Sales rank: | 757,725 |
| File size: | 1 MB |
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CHAPTER 1
Instruction of the People by the Word
The priest is called to serve God as a minister of the altar. A vital component of this calling is to share with the bishop in the teaching of the people. Our Saviour Jesus Christ Himself has shown that it is a particular and indispensable duty of the priest (as well as the bishop) to teach the people, since He gave a commandment to the Apostles not only to baptize but also to teach, and first to teach, afterwards to baptize (see Matt 28:19 and Mark 16:15–16). Teaching should precede the administration of Sacraments: for Sacraments without faith profit the receiver nothing, but faith cannot be without a preacher (Rom 10:14). And do not say, if you are a priest, that this command was given to the Apostles, not to me. You are the successor of the Apostles in the work of baptism; therefore, also in the work of teaching, and it has been shown already that when Jesus Christ gave the commandment to His Apostles to teach and baptize, He gave it to all bishops, and to all priests likewise, even to the end of the world.
The Apostle Paul said the same when he exclaimed of himself, groaning, "Woe is me! if I preach not the gospel, For if I do this willingly, I have a reward" (1 Cor 9:16–17). He wrote the same when he charged Timothy Bishop of Ephesus, instructing him by God and by the awful judgment of Christ to "Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching" (2 Tim 4:1–2). Lastly, he wrote it when he required from every priest, without exception, that he be able to teach (2 Tim 2:24). Indeed, three whole Epistles of his, two to Timothy and one to Titus, are filled with the most earnest charges and the most insistent commandments to the performance of this duty (1 Tim 4:6, 14; 6:6:2 and 2 Tim 2:2, 14–15, 24:3:4; 4:5 and Titus 2:1, 7, 15; 3:8).
Not only does the Lord require pastors to teach God's people, but He enforces this duty with the severest threatening: under pain of having the blood of them that perish on the hands of the pastors, under penalty of the fiercest torments, prepared for all slothful servants and stewards. "Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me: When I say to the wicked, 'You shall surely die,' and you do not give him explicit warning, nor speak to warn the lawless to turn from his ways, so he may live, that lawless man shall die in his unrighteousness; but his blood I will require at your hand" (Ezek 3:17–18). Similar threats are found in chapters 33:8 and 34:10. In the New Testament He says: "The master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matt 24:50–51).
As you read this, pay attention, if you are a priest! The Lord has adorned you with the grace of the priesthood. You must endeavor then to be worthy of this grace in your actions. You are called an Angel of the Lord of Hosts; therefore, you are undoubtedly bound to proclaim to men the will and law of the Lord of Hosts, for the word "angel" means "herald," and it is for this reason that the priest is called an angel — his lips, as a fountain, should keep knowledge, and the "people should seek the law from his mouth" (Mal 2:7). You are called a pastor or Shepherd; feed, therefore, the flock committed to you; defend those who are attacked; heal those who are sick; call back those who stray. But you can only feed your flock by instruction, as it is written by the prophet: "I will give you shepherds according to My heart, and they will thoroughly shepherd you with knowledge" (Jer 3:15). Likewise, you can only defend and heal by the word of God, which is our whole armory (2 Cor 10:4 and Eph 5:17 and Heb 4:12 and Prov 30:5). It is "the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes" (Rom 1:16), the wisdom of God, "which [is] able to make you wise for salvation" (2 Tim 3:15); it is a medicine to the sick, a path to them that are gone astray (Ps 118:35). You are the overseers of the flock committed to you (Acts 20:28). You are made as a "watchman for the house of Israel" (Ezek 33:7).
"Father" is the title by which you are customarily addressed; therefore, be a father to your parishioners in your actions, making them children of God by preaching the Gospel and by ministering the Sacraments (1 Cor 4:15). Have also the compassion of a mother toward them, laboring in birth with Paul, "until Christ is formed in [them]" (Gal 4:19). You are the servant of the King, sent to call them that are bidden to the wedding of His Son (Matt 22:3), to the great supper (Luke 14:17). Not a servant only but the friend of the bridegroom (John 3:29) and the one who presents the bride to Christ (2 Cor 11:2). Call then; do not walk around in silence. You must always go about to ask, entreat, compel your parishioners to come in that the house of the Lord may be filled with guests: betroth your flock to one husband so that you may "present [it] as a chaste virgin to Christ" (2 Cor 11:2).
The pastors of the first ages of Christianity had this duty deeply engraved in their hearts, and they did not fail to warn us of the consequences of neglecting it. To this end, they enforced it by canons in both the ecumenical and local councils, and in their writings and instructions continually and earnestly inculcated its importance in all who should take upon themselves this calling: "If any Bishop, upon his appointment, through sloth neglect to teach, let him be suspended, until he amend. If any Bishop, or Priest, be neglectful of his inferior Clergy and people, and fail to instruct them in the faith, let him be suspended; and if he remain still in his negligence, let him be deposed. Let the elders, that is, the Bishop and Priest of the Church, every day, but especially on all Sundays, teach the people God's commandments; and let them speak not of their own private spirit, but according to the sense of the Holy Fathers." Furthermore, St Gregory the Theologian, in his First Oration, says the following: "Of all episcopal and priestly duties, the very first is that of preaching the word of God." St John Chrysostom, in his second homily on the Epistle to Titus, has no other name for the place or chair of the bishop than this: the place of teaching. In his tenth homily on the Epistle to the Romans, he says, "This is my Priesthood: to preach and proclaim the Gospel."
There remains now no more room for doubt on this first and most important of priestly duties, but only for wonder and grief of heart, that with many of us it is commonly reckoned either as their last duty or as no duty at all. Wherefore such should tremble, lest of them be spoken that word of the Prophet Jeremiah: "The priests did not say, 'Where is the Lord?' And those who handle the law did not know Me; The rulers also transgressed against Me" (Jer 2:8 (NKJV)). They should fear too the judgment of the Lord that condemns the slothful and wicked servant who "hid [his] talent in the ground" (Matt 25:25). To this judgment refer certain images through which the Apostles (2 Pet 2:17 and Jude 12) designate slothful and dissolute teachers, calling them wells without water, late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, while the Prophet Isaiah reproaches such as blind and dumb (Isa 56:10).
The aforementioned sloth and the ignorance blamed by the Prophet Jeremiah encourage nearly all pastors to "seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus" (Phil 2:21). In other words, they care for themselves, not for the salvation of the people. And they do even worse than this when, leaving the word of God, they incline to superstitious fables and "do not hold fast the pattern of sound words" (2 Tim 1:13); rather, they speak vain things and so lead their parishioners into superstition and schism.
Here for their instruction priests should notice the following words of the Lord:
Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to the shepherds, "Thus says the Lord and Master: 'O shepherds of Israel who feed themselves, should not the shepherds feed the sheep? Behold you drink the milk and clothe yourselves with the wool. You slay the fatlings, but do not feed My sheep. You have not strengthened the weak, and the sick you have not revived. The broken you have not bandaged, and the misled you have not brought back. The lost you have not sought, and the strong you have not prepared for labor.' ... Thus says the Lord and Master: 'Behold, I am against the shepherds, and shall require My sheep at their hands. I shall turn them away so they may not shepherd My sheep. The shepherds will not feed them anymore, for I shall deliver My sheep from their mouth; and they shall no longer be as food for them.'" (Ezek 34:2–4, 10)
"Woe to the shepherds who scatter and destroy the sheep of My pasture!" (Jer 23:1). This entire chapter in Jeremiah is a terrifying injunction to priests, and it is extremely instructive to read it together with Ezekiel chapter 13, from verse 18 to the end.
Lest any of you fall into such sloth and into such dangerous ignorance or lest he who has been guilty of these already remain in this sin to the end, two things are recommended. First, we exhort you to read over these sections frequently and to bear in mind and meditate on the Scriptures referred to in them. Second, you must pray most sincerely and with genuine faith to Jesus Christ our Lord that He may always guide us by the Holy Spirit and lead us into all truth.
These two methods will be, as it were, two most useful medicines, for to such as are in health they will act to strengthen and preserve the soundness of their reason and will, while to the sick they will be medicines of healing. For the words of the Lord make those who receive them "wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Tim 3:15–17). But all these things will only then become a part of our inner life when we pray to the Lord with heartfelt faith, for through prayer our "heavenly Father [gives] the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him" (Luke 11:13). We are strongly assured of the truth of this by our Saviour Jesus Christ Himself (see John 14:13–14 and 15:7).
CHAPTER 2What and Where the Priest Should Teach
It is the priest's duty to teach his flock the faith and the law, the word "law" here meaning the good works of the law. Christ Himself taught us these two things and therefore began His preaching thus: "Repent, and believe in the gospel" (Mark 1:15). And the Apostle Paul in like manner taught both Jews and Greeks "repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 20:21). Repentance here indicates the works of the law, and the Gospel indicates faith in Christ.
This may be clearly seen from all St Paul's Epistles, in which the apostle first proposes the doctrine of the faith and then writes of the good works of the law, exhorting Christians to "walk worthy of [their] calling" (Eph 4:1), that is to "live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age ... denying ungodliness and worldly lusts" (Titus 2:12–13). Indeed all Holy Scripture, both the Old and the New Testaments, has the same subject, and the Holy Fathers of the Church, following the word of God, have always taught faith and holy living according to the law; consequently, it is the duty of every priest in the work of his calling to do the same.
The faith consists in various tenets, which Christians must believe and confess, some of which refer to dogmatic truth and so are necessary to salvation, because without their knowledge one cannot be saved, any more than a person can live without the principal parts of his body, such as the head and the heart. Others, especially for simple people busied with worldly callings, are less necessary, since they are implied in the first and are only their more precise explanation. To the first class of tenets belongs the mystery of the Holy Trinity, the mission of the Son of God into the world, our justification by His death, God's mercy to fallen man, His Grace leading to repentance, and the like. Tenets of the second class include the doctrine of the predestination of the righteous and the wicked — the latter to destruction, the first to everlasting life — the justification of those who lived under the former dispensation that is the Old Testament and so forth.
All the tenets of our faith are contained in the word of God, that is, in the books of the Old and New Testaments, and they are systematically described by dogmatic theology, with which the pastor, who must teach others, must be well acquainted.
The tenets of the faith that are strictly necessary for salvation have been collected from the Scriptures in the Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople and put together into one form called the Symbol of Faith, or the Creed. But they are more fully and systematically set forth in books of a catechetical format, from which all priests, especially such as have not studied theology, are absolutely bound, first thoroughly to inform themselves and then to teach all their parishioners.
The Ten Commandments are likewise contained in Holy Scripture (in the twentieth chapter of Exodus) and since they are innate in us — the mirror of that image of God in which man was created — every Christian without exception is most certainly required to know them and to lead his life by them, doing good works and shunning evil.
Since the tenets of our faith and the Ten Commandments are contained in Holy Scripture, it follows, beyond dispute, that we hold the word of God, that is, the books of the Old and New Testaments, as the source, foundation, and perfect rule both of our holy faith and of the good works of the law. Therefore, it is our duty to search the word of God and draw from it divine truth to teach the people, to confirm our own words from the word of God, and to test all doctrine that either we ourselves may hear from others or others from us by the truth of the Scriptures, receiving what is conformable to them and rejecting what is contrary. This is evident both from God's own words, and from the canons of the Councils and the teaching of the Holy Fathers.
St Athanasius the Great, in the thirty-ninth of his Epistles on the Feasts, toward the end, after having enumerated the books of the Old and New Testaments, says the following: "These books are the wellsprings of salvation: from these, if any one thirsts, let him draw the words of God. In these alone is the doctrine of the true faith preached. Let no one add anything to these, nor take anything away. Out of these books the Lord put the Sadducees to shame, saying: Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures, while He taught the Jews thus: Search the Scriptures."
St Basil the Great, in his Short Canons, in reply to the First Question — "Whether it be profitable or possible to do any good thing, or speak, or think of ourselves, without the testimony of the divinely-inspired Scriptures?" — answers thus: "Our Lord Jesus Christ said of the Holy Spirit, that He does not speak by Himself, but whatever He shall hear, that shall He speak, and of Himself He says the following: The Son can do nothing by Himself; and again: I have not spoken of Myself, but the Father Which sent Me, He gave Me a commandment what I should say, and what I should speak, and so on. Therefore, much more we, who always need the Holy Spirit as our guide and teacher in the way of truth, should determine both our reasoning and our word, and our deeds by the Word of God." The same Father, in his Morals, Canon 26, chapter 1, says, "The teacher should confirm every word and thing by the witness of the Divinely-inspired Scripture, for the more perfect confirmation of the truth, and for the confounding of error."
Furthermore, St Basil, in his Morals, Canon 72, tells us to "test all doctrine proposed to us by other teachers, and if it is conformable to the Divine Scriptures, then receive it, but if it is contrary, reject it and turn away from such teachers." For the same reasons, St Ambrose, in his "On Faith" (Chapter 7), calls the Holy Scripture "the priest's own book," and St Dionysius the Areopagite, in the first chapter of his book on the Divine Hierarchy, calls the Scriptures "the very essence of priesthood."
That we ought to test all doctrine by the word of God is also seen from the following testimony: "Test all things, hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil" (1 Thess 5:21–22). "Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world" (1 John 4:1). "Even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed" (Gal 1:8).
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "A Practical Handbook for Priestly Ministry"
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Table of Contents
Foreword,
Preface,
Introduction,
Part I: The Instruction of the Parishioners,
Chapter 1: Instruction of the People by the Word,
Chapter 2: What and Where the Priest Should Teach,
Chapter 3: How the Priest Should Teach,
Chapter 4: On Instruction by Deed,
Part II: Ministering the Sacraments,
Chapter 5: On the Sacraments in General,
Chapter 6: Some Important Aspects of Each Sacrament in Particular, Beginning with the Sacrament of Holy Baptism,
Chapter 7: The Sacrament of Chrismation,
Chapter 8: The Sacrament of Confession,
Chapter 9: The Sacrament of Holy Communion and Some General Remarks Regarding the Serving of the Divine Liturgy,
Chapter 10: The Sacrament of Matrimony,
Chapter 11: The Sacrament of Unction,
Part III: On Prayer,
Chapter 12: On Prayer in General,
Chapter 13: How to Pray in Spirit and Truth,
Chapter 14: Prayer as the Special Duty of Priests,
Chapter 15: Some Thoughts on Church Style and Its Effect on the Prayer of the Congregation,
Concluding Thoughts,
Notes,
Subject Index,
Scripture Index,