priest

priest. The word ‘priest’ is etymologically a contraction of ‘presbyter’ (Gk. πρεσβύτερος), but the traditional English versions of the NT render πρεσβύτερος by ‘elder’ and keep ‘priest’ and ‘priesthood’ for the purely sacerdotal terms ἰ̑ερεύς and ἰ̑εράτευμα (Lat. sacerdos and sacerdotium). By the end of the Old English period ‘priest’ had become the current word alike for ‘presbyter’ and ‘sacerdos’ and so an ambiguous term.

The idea and institution of priesthood are found in almost all the great religions, usually connected with the concept of sacrifice. According to the OT the priesthood before the age of Moses was patriarchal, but Moses was ordered to consecrate Aaron and his sons ‘to minister in the priest's office’ (Exod. 28: 1); later priests were held to be descendants of Aaron, but it is likely that the reality was very different. The importance of the priesthood, and especially of the High Priest, increased with the enhanced position of the Temple in later Judaism. His position as mediator between God and man came to be the predominant idea of the Jewish priesthood in the time of Christ. In the NT the idea of Christ as High Priest finds clear expression in Heb.

The idea of priesthood as belonging to the Christian ministry was a gradual development arising from a sacrificial understanding of the Eucharist and based on OT ideas of priesthood. The term ‘priest’ does not appear to have been applied to Christian ministers until the end of the 2nd cent., and then the term was commonly confined to bishops. While in the 3rd cent. presbyters were held to share in the episcopal sacerdotium, and could offer the Eucharist and receive penitent lapsi, it seems that these functions were to be exercised only in the absence of the bishop and were regarded as delegated by him. With the spread of Christianity in the country and the establishment of parish churches, the presbyters adopted more fully the priestly functions of the bishop. As the parish priest became the normal celebrant of the Eucharist and customarily exercised the power of absolution, he came to be regarded increasingly as the representative of God to the people rather than the converse. He acquired a position outside the feudal hierarchy, though he remained entirely subordinate to his bishop, and the validity of his position depended on his Ordination.

The tendency of medieval theology to see the priesthood of the clergy almost exclusively in relation to the Mass led to its rejection by the Reformers. The term ‘priest’ was retained in the BCP apparently to make clear that deacons were not to celebrate the Holy Communion. See also ORDERS AND ORDINATION.