Priesthood of all believers
The priesthood of all believers is either the general Christian belief that all Christians form a common priesthood, or, alternatively, the specific Protestant belief that this universal priesthood precludes the ministerial priesthood (holy orders) found in some other churches, including Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy.
The inclusionary Catholic version proposes a common priesthood that is different from both Holy Orders and the priesthood of Christ. The exclusionary version, elaborated in the theology of Martin Luther and John Calvin, became prominent as a tenet of Protestant Christian doctrine, though the exact meaning of the belief and its implications vary widely among denominations.
Antiquity
Hebrew Old Testament texts speak of a national "kingdom of priests" (Exodus, 19:5–6), Levites (Exodus 40:15, Leviticus 21:10),[note 1] and specific priests (e.g. Genesis 14:18–20.) Some issue of illegitimate priestly activity is found in the story of the "schism of Korah" (Numbers 16:1-40).
The Odes of Solomon (c. q70-120 AD) has an early understanding of a view of the priesthood of all believers, suggesting that Jewish-Christians in the region of Antioch believed themselves to be priests of God making spiritual sacrifices.[note 2] Tertullian held a belief similar to the priesthood of all believers. However his views on the laity may have been influenced by Montanism,[2] as the Montanists supposedly believed in the priesthood of every believer.[3]
Irenaeus has been argued to have held to a view of universal priesthood because he stated "for all the righteous possess the sacerdotal rank".[4] For St Augustine, baptism (including infant baptism) was an ordination into Christ’s royal priesthood. In his exposition of 1 Peter 2:9, he writes ‘we call them all priest insomuch as they are members of the One Priest’.[note 3]
In the millenium from the 6th to 16th centuries, this common priesthood was sometimes overshadowed, to some extent, by the influence of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite's book Celestial Hierarchy, which was widely believed then to be a second-century and near-apostolic teaching, that appropriated a pagan multi-level schema to make a hierarchical description of Christianity with a succession of intermediaries (energies, names, angels, priests, etc.) between God and man.[5]
Catholic view
The Catholic Church teaches a version of the priesthood of all believers.[6] The dogmatic constitution Lumen gentium of the Second Vatican Council specifically highlights the priesthood of all believers. The primary difference between the teachings of the Catholic Church and those of the Protestant churches that reject the ordained priesthood, is that the Catholic Church believes in three different types of Christian priests:[7]
- the common priesthood of all Christians (1 Peter 2:5–9)
- the ordained priesthood (Acts 14:23, Romans 15:16, 1 Timothy 5:17, Titus 1:5, James 5:14–15); and
- the high priesthood of Jesus (Hebrews 3:1)[note 4]
Christian priesthood is not a continuation of Jewish temple priests who sacrifice animals but, like Christ, a priesthood in the order of Melchizedek who "offered bread and wine".[9] The first two priesthoods are a participation in Christ's priesthood:
"The redemptive sacrifice of Christ is unique, accomplished once for all; yet it is made present in the Eucharistic sacrifice of the Church. The same is true of the one priesthood of Christ; it is made present through the ministerial priesthood without diminishing the uniqueness of Christ's priesthood: "Only Christ is the true priest, the others being only his ministers.""
— Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1454[10] with quote of Aquinas
Catholicism often expresses the idea of the priesthood of all baptized Christians in English as the "common" or "universal" priesthood;[11] in parallel, it refers to Catholic clergy as the "ministerial" priesthood. It defends this distinction with the original language of scripture.[12] The Catholic Church holds that the consecration of the eucharist and absolution from sin may only be validly performed by ministerial priests with true apostolic succession.[13]
Orthodox churches have a similar view to the Catholic view.
Protestant views
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The universal priesthood of all believers which excludes a ministerial priesthood is a foundational concept of Protestantism.[note 5] Anglican and Lutheran churches may retain office-titles such as "bishop" and, for some Anglo-catholics, "priest", however ordination is not a sacrament.
Lutheranism
While Martin Luther did not use the phrase "priesthood of all believers", he adduces a general priesthood in Christendom in his 1520 To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation in order to dismiss the medieval view that Christians in the present life were to be divided into two classes: "spiritual" and "secular". He put forward the doctrine that all baptized Christians are "priests" and "spiritual" in the sight of God:
That the pope or bishop anoints, makes tonsures, ordains, consecrates, or dresses differently from the laity, may make a hypocrite or an idolatrous oil-painted icon, but it in no way makes a Christian or spiritual human being. In fact, we are all consecrated priests through Baptism, as St. Peter in
1 Peter 2[:9] says, "You are a royal priesthood and a priestly kingdom," and Revelation [5:10], "Through your blood you have made us into priests and kings."[14]
Two months later Luther would write in his On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church (1520):
How then if they are forced to admit that we are all equally priests, as many of us as are baptized, and by this way we truly are; while to them is committed only the Ministry (ministerium) and consented to by us (nostro consensu)? If they recognize this they would know that they have no right to exercise power over us (ius imperii, in what has not been committed to them) except insofar as we may have granted it to them, for thus it says in
1 Corinthians 4:1: "No one should regard us as anything else than ministers of Christ and dispensers of the mysteries of God."[15]
The belief in the priesthood of all believers does not preclude order, authority or discipline within congregations or denominational organizations. For example, Lutheranism maintains the doctrine of "the
[From Article 5:] To obtain such (saving) faith God instituted the office of preaching, giving the gospel and the sacraments. Through these, as through means, he gives the Holy Spirit who produces faith, where and when he wills, in those who hear the gospel ... [Article 14:] Concerning church government it is taught that no one should publicly teach, preach, or administer the sacraments without a proper [public] call.[16]
Nonconformists
The doctrine is strongly asserted within
It was one of the foundation principles of Pietism.
Some groups during the Reformation believed that priesthood authority was still needed but was lost from the earth. American Puritan Roger Williams believed, "There is no regularly constituted church of Christ on earth, nor any person qualified to administer any church ordinances; nor can there be until new apostles are sent by the Great Head of the Church for whose coming I am seeking." The Seekers, believed that the Roman Catholic Church had lost its authority through corruption and waited for Christ to restore his true church and authority.
The vast majority of Protestants draw some distinction between their own ordained ministers and lay people.
Democratic churches
Luther's doctrine of the universal priesthood of all believers gave laypersons and the clergy equal rights and responsibilities. It had strong, far-reaching consequences both within the Protestant churches and outside of them with respect to the development of distinct political and societal structures.
Luther had the intention to organize the church in such a way as to give the members of a congregation the right to elect a pastor by majority-decision and, if necessary, to dismiss him again.[17] The Lutheran church would get an institutional framework based on the majoritarian principle, the central characteristic of democracy.[18][19] But mainly because of the strong political and military pressure from the Catholic powers, the developing Lutheran churches in the German territories had to seek the protection of their worldly rulers who turned them into state churches.[20] In the Scandinavian countries, Lutheran state churches were established, too.[21][22]
When Lutherans from Germany and Scandinavia emigrated to North America, they took over the church polity based on presbyteries and synods which had been developed by the denominations with Calvinist traditions (for example,
It is a featured doctrine of Restorationist churches, such as the Churches of Christ.[27]: 532
North American Pilgrims
The Separatist Congregationalists (Pilgrim Fathers) who founded Plymouth Colony in North America in 1620 took the next step in evolving the consequences of Luther's universal priesthood doctrine by combining it with the federal theology that had been developed by Calvinist theologians, especially Robert Browne, Henry Barrowe, and John Greenwood. On the basis of the Mayflower Compact, a social contract, the Pilgrims applied the principles that guided their congregational democracy also to the administration of the worldly affairs of their community. It was, like Massachusetts Bay Colony, founded by Puritans in 1628, de facto a small democratic, self-governing republic until 1691, when the two colonies were united under a royal governor.[28] Both colonies had a representative political structure and practiced separation of powers. The General Court functioned as the legislative and the judiciary, the annually elected governor and his assistants were the executive branch of government. These Protestants believed that democracy was the will of God.[29][30][31] In so doing, they followed Calvin who had, in order to safeguard the rights and liberties of ordinary people, praised the advantages of democracy and recommended that political power should be distributed among several institutions to minimise its misuse. He had in effect advocated separation of powers.[32]
In
A practical example of the priesthood of all believers may be found in modern Anabaptist churches, such as the Amish, Bruderhof and Hutterites. While these groups appoint leaders, it is held that all members are responsible for the functioning of the church and church meetings. For example, at the Bruderhof, meetings are held with members sitting in a circle, breaking down the tradition of "preacher" and "congregation".[40]
Priesthood of each believer
The phrase "Priesthood of each believer" has been used to express the teaching that this priesthood is not collective or participatory but entirely individual,[41] especially in "a congregation of faithful believers united in a common confession working as priests to each other."[42]
Priesthood of no believers
Commentators sometimes use the phrase "Priesthood of no believers" for example for democratized Protestant groups where there are no clergy,[43] or in churches which have purely symbolic, or no, sacraments,[44]: 71 or which do not make a distinction between religions.[45]: 220 Some Lutheran theologians have pushed back on idea that the priesthood of all believers entails a democratic leveling of offices:
Luther's text "cannot mean, "anyone can be a pastor," but rather, "all of us are members of the one body of Christ and individually servants to each other in our respective offices." The Protestant and pietistic appropriation of these terms turns everything on its head and replaces service with power-grabbing and the unity of Christ's body with the disunity of individualistic spirituality. Or, as my friend Paul Rorem puts it, the democratic, American misconstrual of the priesthood of all believers means in actuality the priesthood of no believers."
— Timothy J. Wengert, The Priesthood of All Believers and Other Pious Myths[46]
It has also been used for households without heads[47] and for mutually-indifferent Christians.[48]: 114
Theology
This section needs additional citations for verification. (January 2010) |
The Bible passage considered to be the basis of this belief is 1 Peter 2:9:
But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.
(This
.Most Protestants today recognize only Christ as a mediator between themselves and God (1 Timothy 2:5). The Epistle to the Hebrews calls Jesus the supreme "high priest," who offered himself as a perfect sacrifice (Hebrews 7:23–28). Protestants believe that through Christ they have been given direct access to God, just like a priest; thus the doctrine is called the priesthood of all believers. God is equally accessible to all the faithful, and every Christian has equal potential to minister for God. This doctrine stands in opposition to the concept of a spiritual aristocracy or hierarchy within Christianity.
Much[
See also
Footnotes
- ^ In ancient Israel, priests acted as mediators between God and people. They ministered according to God's instruction and offered sacrifices to God on behalf of the people. Once a year, the high priest would enter the holiest part of the temple and offer a sacrifice for the sins of all the people, including all the priests.[citation needed]
- ISBN 978-1-4982-8329-8.
- ^ "The responsibility of all those who were baptised is to offer their lives to God. Augustine defines the royal priesthood’s ‘true sacrifices’ as ‘works of mercy done to ourselves or our neighbour and directed to God.’" apud Dreyer[5]
- ^ Who is unique as both "the one who sacrifices and the one who is sacrificed."[8]: 90
- ^ "Protestantism originated in the 16th-century Reformation, and its basic doctrines, in addition to those of the ancient Christian creeds, are justification by grace alone through faith, the priesthood of all believers, and the supremacy of Holy Scripture in matters of faith and order." "The Protestant Heritage" Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 20 Sept. 2007 "The Protestant Heritage -- Encyclopędia Britannica". Archived from the original on 2006-06-14. Retrieved 2007-09-20.
Notes
- Augsburg Fortress, 2000.
- ISBN 978-1-60608-550-9.
- ISBN 978-1-879998-78-0.
- ISBN 978-0-567-08325-8.
- ^ a b Dreyer, Wim A. (1 January 2020). "CHURCH POLITY: THE PRIESTHOOD OF ALL BELIEVERS - FORGOTTEN LEGACY OF THE REFORMATION". HTS Theological Studies.
- ^ "CCC, 1547". Vatican.va.
- ^ "CCC, 1536–1600". Vatican.va.
- .
- ^ "CCC, 1333". Vatican.va.
- ^ {"CCC, 1454". Vatican.va.
- ^ "CCC, 15546". Vatican.va.
- ^ The Priesthood is Both Ministerial and Universal Archived 2013-03-26 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ All the Faithful Are Priests through Baptism Archived 2017-11-14 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Martin Luther, Weimar Ausgabe, vol. 6, p. 407, lines 19–25 as quoted in Timothy Wengert, "The Priesthood of All Believers and Other Pious Myths," page 12 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-10-11. Retrieved 2013-06-24.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link). - ^ De captivitate Babylonica ecclesiae praeludium [Prelude concerning the Babylonian Captivity of the church], Weimar Ausgabe 6, 564.6–14 as quoted in Norman Nagel, "Luther and the Priesthood of All Believers", Concordia Theological Quarterly 61 (October 1997) 4:283-84.
- ^ Articles 4, 5, and 14 of the Augsburg Confession in Robert Kolb and Timothy J. Wengert, trans. and eds., The Book of Concord : The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2000), 39, 40, 46.
- ^ Treatise That a Christian Meeting or Congregation has the Right and the Power to Judge All Doctrines and Call, Install, and Dismiss Teachers, as Grounded on Scriptures [Dass eine christliche Versammlung oder Gemeine Recht und Macht habe, alle Lehre zu beurteilen und Lehrer zu berufen, ein- und abzusetzen: Grund und Ursach aus der Schrift], 1523
- ^ Heussi, p. 316.
- ^ Waldron, pp. 128-136.
- ^ Graf, pp. 35-38.
- ^ Heussi, pp. 330-331.
- ^ Olmstead, p. 6.
- ^ Heussi, p. 325
- ^ Wentz, p. 41
- ^ Olmstead, pp. 6, 140.
- ^ Moorman, col. 379.
- ISBN 978-0-8028-3898-8, 854 pages, entry on Ministry
- ^ Philbrick, pp. 6-30, 39-42.
- ^ Fennell.
- ^ Olmstead, pp.15-16, 64-73.
- ^ Weinstein, pp. 56-63.
- ^ Weerda, col. 210.
- ^ Ohst, col. 364
- ^ Bornkamm, col. 937.
- ^ Bornkamm, col. 937.
- ^ Middlekauff, pp. 51-52, 136, 627, 670-674.
- ^ Kidd, pp. 5-10, 54-55, 225.
- ^ Winkler, p. 317.
- ^ Stevenson, p. 34.
- ^ "Bruderhof - Fellowship for Intentional Community". Fellowship for Intentional Community. Archived from the original on 2017-04-25. Retrieved 2017-05-23.
- .
- ^ Leeman, Jonathan (2019). "A Baptist View of the Royal Priesthood of All Believers" (PDF). Southern Baptist Journal of Theology. 23 (1): 113–135.
- ISBN 978-1-78359-510-5.
- ^ Fisher, Dom (1 January 2019). Martin Luther's Theology of Universal Priesthood: A Historical, Contextual and Contemporary Analysis.
- ISBN 978-0-89869-388-1.
- ^ Wengert, T. (2005). "The Priesthood of All Believers and Other Pious Myths". Institute of Liturgical. Studies Occasional Papers. 2.
- ISBN 0-930464-11-7.
- ISBN 978-1-4964-4704-3.
References
- Bronkamm, Heinrich, Toleranz. In der Geschichte des Christentums, in: Die Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart, Third Edition, Tübingen (Germany), Vol. VI, 1962.
- Fennell, Christopher, Plymouth Colony Legal Structure, 1998. www.histarch.Illinois.edu/plymouth/ccflaw.html
- Graf, Friedrich Wilhelm, Der Protestantismus. Geschichte und Gegenwart, Second, Revised Edition, Munich, 2010. ISBN 978-3-406-46708-0
- Heussi, Karl, Kompendium der Kirchengeschichte, Eleventh Edition, Tübingen, 1957.
- Kidd, Thomas S., God of Liberty: A Religious History of the American Revolution, Pennsylvania, 2010. ISBN 978-0-465-00235-1
- ISBN 978-0-19-516247-9
- Moorman, J.R.H., Anglikanische Kirche, in: Die Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart, Third Edition, Tübingen (Germany), Vol. I, 1957.
- Ohst, Martin, Toleranz/Intoleranz, in: Die Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart, Fourth Edition, Tübingen (Germany), Vol. 8, 2005.
- Olmstead, Clifton E., History of Religion in the United States, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1960.
- Philbrick, Nathaniel, Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War, New York, 2006, ISBN 978-0-14-311197-9
- Stevenson, Douglas K., American Life and Institutions, Stuttgart, 1987.
- ISBN 978-0-521-89057-1
- Weerda, Jan, Calvin. Sozialethik, in: Evangelisches Soziallexikon, Stuttgart, 1958.
- Wentz, Abdel R., A Basic History of Lutheranism in America, Philadelphia, 1954.
- Weinstein, Allen and David Rubel, The Story of America: Freedom and Crisis from Settlement to Superpower, New York, 2002, ISBN 0-7894-8903-1
- Winkler, Heinrich A., Geschichte des Westens. Von den Anfängen in der Antike bis zum 20. Jahrhundert, Third Edition, Munich, 2012. ISBN 978 3 406 59235 5
External links
- Quotations related to Priesthood of all believers at Wikiquote
- "The Priesthood of All Believers and Other Pious Myths" by Timothy Wengert Archived 2010-07-31 at the Wayback Machine
- "Luther and the Priesthood of All Believers" by Norman Nagel Archived 2006-09-09 at the Wayback Machine
- "What the Priesthood of All Believers Means" by Simon Perry