How did they address priests before the 20th century?
Until the 18th century, white clergy were called priests in the Russian Empire (unlike the black priesthood - monastics, priests could get married). This name also extended to the priest’s family, for example, the priest’s wife was called the priest, the daughter was called the priest, and so on.
After Nikon’s reform, the word “pop” was widely used among the people, along with father, priest and priest. The laity usually called the pastor not by rank, but by his first name and patronymic.
The word “pop” acquired the most negative connotation since 1917, after the Bolsheviks came to power. The systematic anti-religious policy of Soviet Russia still affects both believers and the clergy.
Servants of religious worship. What do representatives of different faiths call them?
In a modern multi-confessional society, each of the more or less numerous religious groups is divided into a flock, that is, parishioners of a particular temple, and those who lead the process of worship (priests). With all the diversity of church life, ministers of religious worship, as they are called in official documents, have some similar features. They must be good psychologists, enjoy authority, have good oral communication skills, have a high level of intelligence and know spiritual literature that sanctifies the worldview concept of the confession they represent.
There are also Catholic ministers of religious worship. What are they called? Priests. They carry out the spiritual formation of the flock of the Papal Church. Their activities are undeservedly rarely sanctified by the media. For the most part, Catholic priests are worthy people; it just so happens that the influence of the Vatican in Russia is small. In addition, in recent years, the Roman Church has set a goal to increase its popularity in the West; it has made significant ideological concessions and is pursuing a policy of ecumenism, which in turn does not add adherents to it among our fellow citizens, most of whom gravitate toward traditional moral values.
Protestant ministers of religious worship are usually called pastors. These include Lutheran priests, uniting believers of ethnic Germans and representatives of denominations of American origin (Baptists, Seventh-day Adventists, Mormons, etc.). Representatives of overseas sects are actively working to attract new adherents. For this purpose, colorful booklets are printed, and adherents of Protestant denominations start theosophical conversations with passers-by on the streets, and sometimes go door to door, handing out religious literature. Lutheran pastors keep a low profile.
All priests, regardless of denomination, have one thing in common. They simply must be interesting people, otherwise they will not capture the attention of parishioners.
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Priests in Russian fairy tales
It is incorrect to say that the word “pop” became negatively connoted only in Soviet times. Russian fairy tales often feature priest characters, and jokes from the times of the Russian Empire ridiculed the negative, completely non-Christian actions of “priests.”
It was not the rank itself that had a derogatory connotation, but rather unscrupulous representatives of the clergy: greedy, stupid and cruel.
In folk tales there were both positive and negative priests. But most often, the priest in Russian legends is a neutral character and is mentioned in passing, as for example, in the fairy tale “Lousey Boots,” where the priest gives his daughter in marriage in an original way.
And if we talk about fairy tales, the first thing that comes to mind is the work of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin about the priest and his worker Balda. With the light hand of the classic, the rank of “priest” acquired a disparaging connotation and became a household name in relation to a stingy and dishonest clergyman. After its publication in the 19th century and to this day, the fairy tale is perceived ambiguously by the Orthodox Church.
Pastor, priest - who is it?
The priesthood of the Church has its foundation in the Old Testament. They go in ascending order and cannot be skipped, that is, the bishop must first be a deacon, then a priest. All degrees of the priesthood are ordained (in other words, consecrated) by the bishop.
Deacon
The lowest level of the priesthood includes deacons. Through ordination as a deacon, a person receives the grace necessary to participate in the Liturgy and other services. The deacon cannot conduct the Sacraments and divine services alone; he is only an assistant to the priest. People who serve well in the rank of deacon for a long time receive the following titles:
- white priesthood - protodeacons,
- black priesthood - archdeacons, who most often accompany the bishop.
Often in poor, rural parishes there is no deacon, and his functions are performed by a priest. Also, if necessary, the duties of a deacon can be performed by a bishop.
Priest
A person in the clergy of a priest is also called a presbyter, a priest, and in monasticism - a hieromonk. Priests perform all the Sacraments of the Church, except for ordination (ordination), the consecration of the world (it is performed by the Patriarch - the oil is necessary for the completeness of the Sacrament of Baptism for every person) and the antimension (a scarf with a sewn-in piece of holy relics, which is placed on the altar of each church). The priest who leads the life of the parish is called the rector, and his subordinates, ordinary priests, are full-time clergy. In a village or town the priest usually presides, and in the city there is an archpriest.
The abbots of churches and monasteries report directly to the bishop.
The title of archpriest is usually an incentive for long service and good service. The hieromonk is usually awarded the rank of abbot. Also, the rank of hegumen is often given to the abbot of the monastery (hierogumen). The abbot of the Lavra (a large, ancient monastery, of which there are not many in the world) receives an archimandrite. Most often, this award is followed by the rank of bishop.
Bishops: bishops, archbishops, metropolitans, patriarchs.
- Bishop, translated from Greek - chief of priests. They perform all the Sacraments without exception. Bishops ordain people as deacons and priests, but only the Patriarch, concelebrated by several bishops, can ordain bishops.
- Bishops who have distinguished themselves in ministry and served for a long time are called archbishops. Also, for even greater merits, they elevate them to the rank of metropolitans. They have a higher rank for their services to the Church; also, only metropolitans can govern metropolitan areas - large dioceses, which include several small ones. An analogy can be drawn: a diocese is a region, a metropolis is a city with a region (St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region) or the entire Federal District.
- Often, other bishops are appointed to help the metropolitan or archbishop, who are called suffragan bishops or, in short, vicars.
- The highest spiritual rank in the Orthodox Church is the Patriarch. This rank is elective, and is chosen by the Council of Bishops (a meeting of bishops of the entire regional Church). Most often, he leads the Church together with the Holy Synod (Kinod, in different transcriptions, in different Churches) leads the Church. The rank of Primate (head) of the Church is for life, however, if serious sins are committed, the Bishops' Court can remove the Patriarch from ministry. Also, upon request, the Patriarch can be retired due to illness or old age. Until the convening of the Council of Bishops, a Locum Tenens (temporarily acting as the head of the Church) is appointed.
Memory of the Fathers Betrayed
The Baptism of Rus' in 988 could not overnight destroy the pagan influence on the mentality of the people. Christian missionaries were not always and not everywhere welcomed with open arms.
Neo-pagans believe that because of the hostility towards new shepherds, the common name for Christian preachers came about - priest, i.e. betrayed the memory of his fathers.
But this hypothesis has nothing to do with historical reality. Sources confirm that the pagan faith, although it was considered erroneous, everyone treated the customs of their ancestors in Rus' with respect. In “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign,” the Russians are called Dazhdboz’s grandchildren, despite the fact that the author was a Christian.
Priest, elder, spiritual father, Holy father, what's the difference?
Priest, Spiritual Father, Elder, Holy Fathers - there are many verbal names, but it is sometimes completely unclear to unchurched people what the differences are between them and who can help in this or that situation?
So, for example, one day adults came to our Temple - probably grandparents, and they were looking for a priest so that... he would call and congratulate their grandson on the New Year! And in my little priestly experience, similar, as it seems to me, very strange cases are accumulating more and more. Even sometimes it seems that people, alas, do not understand the deep meaning of priestly service at all.
Meanwhile, everyone has probably heard such spiritual titles as “priest”, “spiritual father”, “elder”, “Holy Fathers”. Who is this and what are their differences, I will try to explain very briefly.
Let's start with the fact that there are no holy people. Therefore, if you hear, for example, about the “sayings of the Holy Fathers” or that such and such a Holy Father said something, then know: we are talking about those who are no longer with us. Holy fathers are those who lived a life pleasing to God and, some time after death, were canonized (canonized) by the Holy Synod. This does not happen without the will of God, the process of canonization is quite complicated (often people were healed from the relics of a future saint with fragrance and there were other reliable facts of holiness), and we will not consider it now, but in reality there are no Holy Fathers here with us on earth , but their various works, letters, instructions remain, and they are very capacious, wise, authoritative, because they do not contradict the teachings of the Church, moreover, they clearly and clearly express the teachings of Christ. In addition, we, as Christians, understand that the Holy Fathers are alive not physically, but spiritually, continuing to serve God in the heavenly army and helping us both through prayer and direct intercession before God, and often miracles occur through the Saints here on earth .
So, a priest is a Christian who has accepted the spiritual order of the priesthood after certain spiritual labors of testing and receiving spiritual education, called by God to serve God and people. By the grace given to him from God, through the bishop he can perform all divine services and sacraments (with the exception of consecration, consecration of the world and antimensions). The Lord has endowed priests with special grace; it is through them that the Lord gives people the opportunity to participate in the Sacraments of the Church: Baptism, Confirmation, Confession, Communion, Unction, and Wedding. The Lord gave priests at their ordination special gifts of the Holy Spirit, as a result of which the priests develop spiritual reasoning, and it is the priests who are entrusted with the responsibility of teaching people the faith and showing them the way to God.
A spiritual father is a priest who regularly confesses to a specific person. As a result of this, a close spiritual connection quickly arises between a person and a clergyman. A person can ask for spiritual advice and questions to this priest. This is how the “priest” becomes a “spiritual father.” The relationship between a believer and a spiritual father is regulated independently; in some places it may be life on advice, in others it may take on a slightly different character. Spiritual life is impossible without a priest (spiritual father), to whom a person constantly confesses, because directly through the spiritual father the Lord reveals to a person circumstances that are very important for the person being confessed and gives reasons for reflection. Each clergyman (priest), in turn, also has his own spiritual father, to whom he confesses, and, believe me, in an amazing way, with equal age categories and spiritual experience, it is through the spiritual father that the Lord provides the answer to many of life’s questions. Therefore, choosing a permanent priest with whom a believer will confess is simply necessary.
An elder is an experienced ascetic with spiritual strength and wisdom. Eldership is a gift given by God to a spiritual ascetic. The Lord often reveals to the elders what is unknown to an ordinary person - for their great faith, humility, and self-abasement. An elder, as a rule, is a monk or a clergyman; he never exalts himself and never considers himself an elder, does not see perfection in himself and has his heart directed towards God. An elder is not a cute grandfather with a beard, not a wizard, but a guide to God and God’s providence, he is someone who can help simply with a word, because it is not from himself, but from God. An example of the Elder can be seen in the films posted in the gallery of our website: “The Word of the Elder”, “The Elder’s Advice to Adults and Children”.
To summarize, we can say that both the clergy and the elders are not Santa Clauses, not fulfillers of demands, not kind uncles, and not even those who distribute blessings left and right to fulfill desires in the name of human selfishness. First of all, these are servants of God, whose task is to lead a person to God, and, if necessary, then explain, tell, guide, instruct. And this is only possible if a person understands that the desires of people and the will of God can be very different - this hides a lot of the meaning of this material.
I recommend viewing the article: How to properly address priests
Anti-religious propaganda
The greatest blow to the word “priests” was dealt by the Soviet ideological campaign. Anti-religious propaganda was not only not prohibited, but was also encouraged. The Constitution of 1936 prohibited any missionary activity.
The image of the clergyman was ridiculed in newspapers, books, and on the radio. Almost everywhere the clergyman was portrayed as a greedy, immoral, repulsive character. And they called him exclusively “pop”. The Soviet leadership understood perfectly well who the target audience was: workers and peasants were unlikely to call priests “priests.”
Many documentary evidence of the persecution of the Orthodox Church has been preserved: these are grotesque propaganda caricatures, caustic, cynical lampoons, speeches by the “Union of Godless” and so on. The consequences of militant atheism are still evident today.
Some modern followers of religionists cross the line of criticism of religion and are incapable of constructive discussion. They use the word "pop" as an insult.
