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The Origins of the Priesthood
By Werner Lottering
“For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he
was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body
which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying,
“This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of
me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he
comes”
St. Paul to the Church in Corinth 11:23-26
“The Priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus. When you see a priest, think of our Lord Jesus
Christ.”
St. John Vianney
“The priest is not a priest for himself; he is a priest for you.”
“The world needs priests who are visibly and joyfully consecrated to the Lord.”
Pope Benedict XVI
The Origins of the Priesthood
Jesus, our High Priest, offered Himself once for all for the sins of this world. A world, though made through the Word of the Lord and all its hosts by the Breath of His mount (Ps. 33:6), is marred by sin and decay. We live in a cosmos that is at the same time consecrated to the Lord and for His divine will and glory, but also a cosmos begging to be redeemed from its bondage to decay (Rom. 8:21) because of sin. But this invokes hope within us (Rom. 8:18,20, 23-25). A hope of complete redemption of our whole person – body and soul – and the entire world!
Through our Lord’s self-sacrificial death on our behalf, taking the evil and sin of the world upon Himself (1 Pet. 2:24), and His bodily defeat of death that seemed to have a hold on Him through His resurrection. These sometimes taken-for-granted facts ground our faith.
But there is more to the story. Jesus did not just die and rise from the dead. He ascended into heaven, being seated at the right hand of God the Father until His enemies are made His footstool (1 Cor. 15:25 cf. Ps. 110). He promised His closest disciples to send down His Spirit to empower them to be His messengers, ambassadors, and hands and feet in this world. All the faithful share in this Apostolic ministry, since we share in the one Spirit, poured upon them on the Day of
Pentecost (Acts 1:8; 1 Cor. 12:4; Eph. 4:4) through our baptisms. This body of believers, who are filled with the Spirit, is the Church established and built firstly upon the person of St. Peter and his confession of Jesus as the Messiah and then on the rest of the Apostles (Matt. 16:18-19, 18:18, and Eph. 2:20). Jesus promised to build a Church proclaiming and embodying His Kingdom which will never be destroyed, built upon St. Peter and the rest of the Apostles, who will have the authority to teach and guide this Church (“binding and loosing – Matt. 16:19 and 18:18) and even to forgive sins in the person of Christ (Joh. 20:22-23). We see them applying some of this serviceoriented authority at the Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15:1-35 where the Church, under the leadership of St. Peter (verses 7 and 14), the other Apostles, and the elders (Greek: presbuteroi verse 6), which the Apostles themselves appointed along with the rest of the Church in fellowship with them, decided that Gentiles do not need to “become” Jews to be true Christians. This authority to serve in this manner given by Christ to the Apostles has been passed down to the “elders” they appointed (cf. Acts 14:23; 1 Tim. 4:14; 2 Tim. 1:6, 2:2; Tit. 1:5; Matt. 28:19-20) which by the end of the 1st century into the 2nd century onwards started to take the structure as follows: Bishop (Overseer), Elder (presbyter), and Deacon. We can see this in the letters of disciples of the Apostles themselves: St. Clement (knew St. Paul and/or St. Peter), the 4th Pope or Bishop of Rome and St. Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch (a disciple of St. John of Zebedee).
The reason I am pointing the above out, in summary, is because the Priesthood (which will be expanded on below) must not be understood in isolation from the structure Jesus and His Apostles established for the Church until the end of time. The Priesthood derives from Jesus Himself, and although His priesthood is shared among all believers (every Christian being part of the “royal priesthood” of Christ cf. 1 Pet. 2:9), there is a particular understanding behind the use
of the term “priest” concerning Church governance and practice. The word “priest” as we have it in English, stems from the Greek (presbyteros), Latin (presbyter), Old French (prestre), and then eventually, ‘priest’ in English. But more than just the etymology of the word, the word priest started to be used in reference to clergy because of the fact that the Apostles and their successors did not just understand the Eucharist (Lord’s Supper) as merely a memorial meal, symbol, or something where Jesus was only spiritually present, but as a sacrifice – the sacrifice of Jesus Christ in His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity being made present or represented in the assembly of believers (the Mass). There will be more on the Eucharist below, but just keep in mind that according to the Scriptures in places such as John 6:51-57, it is clear, and this has been the belief of the Church for almost two millenniums, that Jesus is not just speaking metaphorically or spiritually, but is quite literal in what He says there – in the Eucharist, our Lord Jesus is substantially present! Below are some reasons for the term ‘priest’ being adopted by the Church. But more facts of beauty will be given for the Eucharist and its connection to the Old Testament Priesthood later.
• The Eucharistic Sacrifice – As the Church emphasized the Eucharist as a true sacrifice (following Christ’s command, “Do this in memory of Me” – Luke 22:19), those who presided over it took on a more sacrificial role.
• Connection to the Old Testament Priesthood – While different from the Jewish priesthood, Christian clergy were seen as fulfilling Malachi 1:11, where God says, “For from the rising of the sun to its setting, My name is great among the nations, and in every place incense is offered to My name, and a pure offering; for my name is great among the nations, says the LORD of hosts.” See Isaiah 66:20-21 which also prophecies a New Covenant priesthood.
• Hierarchical Development – By the time of St. Cyprian (3rd century), a clear threefold ministry of bishop, priest, and deacon was established, making the priest a distinct office under the bishop.
• Latinization of Church Language – As Latin replaced Greek in the Western Church, presbyter became prester and eventually priest in English.