Share
Share
Vibe
Telegram
Question:
I would like to know what is your religion? It is clear that you are not Orthodox, but you use the Orthodox term - priest. And if you use this term, then I believe that you are manipulating by calling yourself a priest.
Indeed, I am the pastor of the Bunăvestirea Church in Chisinau and I have spoken about this many times on the website, at press conferences and in other places. I do not hide my identity, as some do or as they accuse me, and that is why there is no reason to accuse me of manipulation. As for the term priest, it was not I who called myself that, but the Lord Jesus in the Holy Scriptures calls me that. Let's look to Scripture to see this.
Who is a priest?
I don’t know why some readers think that only the Orthodox Church can use this term. This is wrong. This term is used very often in the Bible. The ministers of the Old Testament are called priests. In the New Testament, priests are those who believed with all their hearts in the Lord Jesus Christ, accepted the forgiveness of sins, and were born again. The Apostle Peter wrote his First Epistle to new Christian converts who were born again:
So, putting aside all malice and all deceit, and hypocrisy, and envy, and all slander, like newborn babies , love the pure milk of words, so that from it you may grow into salvation; for you have tasted that the Lord is good. Approaching Him, a living stone, rejected by men, but chosen and precious by God, you yourself, like living stones, build yourself into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it is written in the Scripture: Behold, I lay in Zion a corner stone, chosen, precious; and he who believes in Him will not be put to shame. Therefore, for you who believe, it is a treasure, but for those who do not believe, the stone which the builders rejected, but which has become the head of the corner, is a stone of stumbling and a stone of offense, over which they stumble, not obeying the word, to which they are left. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood , a holy nation, a special people, to proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; once not a people, but now the people of God; who were once not pardoned, but are now pardoned. (1 Peter 2:1-10)
Because I believed with all my heart in Jesus Christ, He begat me again, gave me the Holy Spirit and the honor of being called a priest because I am part of the royal priesthood.
The title PRIEST, received from God, refers to the responsibility of every Christian to proclaim to the whole world the wonderful power of Him who has called us out of darkness into His wonderful Light.
The Apostle John, greeting the seven churches of Revelation, writes:
John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and was and is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and ruler of the kings of the earth. To him, and to him who loved us , who washed us from our sins with the Blood and made us kings and priests to his God and Father , be glory and power forever and ever, amen. (Revelation 1:4-6)
When the Lamb came and took the book from the right hand of Him who sat on the throne, Revelation says that:
And when he took the book, then the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sing a new song, saying: You are worthy to take the book and to open the seals from it, for You were slain, and with Your Blood you redeemed us to God from every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and made us kings and priests to our God; and we will reign on the earth. (Revelation 5:8-10)
Priests are those who, by Faith, accepted the Atonement of the HOLY Jesus Christ by the blood. They will participate in the first resurrection and about them at the end of the book of Revelation God says:
Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection: the second death has no power over them; they will be priests of God and Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years. (Revelation 20:6)
So, priest is a biblical term that God gives to those who have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ with all their hearts and have been born again. And being born again is not an allegory, or as some say, a figurative expression, but it is a reality that God emphasizes and that I have experienced in my life, and thousands and thousands of other true Christians can say the same. Moreover, there is no other way to become a Christian except through being born again, and whoever thinks that he is a Christian because he was born in this religion, or because he inherited it from his parents, or because he goes to this or that church, bitterly deceived. The Lord Jesus said that unless one is born again he cannot see and will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. And now let's see...
Priest and pastor in Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Protestantism
In fact, Orthodox priests are not called pastors. This is what Catholic and Protestant priests are called.
The Catholic and Orthodox Churches are closest to each other among other faiths and denominations. Traditionally, Christianity is divided into three movements:
Catholicism, that is, the United Roman Catholic Church with a single head - the Pope (at the same time, there is a special doctrinal dogma about the infallibility of the Pope, that is, he cannot do anything wrong and has absolute power). The Church is divided into "rites", that is, regional traditions, but they are all under one leadership.
Orthodoxy, which is divided into independent, separate Patriarchate Churches (for example, Moscow, Constantinople) and within them - Exarchates and Autonomous Churches (Serbian, Greek, Georgian, Ukrainian - by region) with varying degrees of independence. At the same time, both Patriarchs and bishops of Churches can be removed from governance if they seriously sin. There is no single head of the Orthodox Church, although the Patriarch of Constantinople bears the historical title of Ecumenical. Orthodox Churches have commonality in prayers, the possibility of jointly celebrating the Sacrament of the Eucharist (Communion) and others.
Protestantism is the most difficult, moving and falling apart confession. The churches here are also divided by region, there are bishops, but there are many sects - that is, those who consider themselves or are classified by religious scholars as Protestantism of individual teachings.
In Protestantism, on the contrary, a priest can get married at any time; in principle, there is no monasticism there. But in Orthodoxy, a priest must already be married by the time he is ordained and cannot marry a second time while in office.
What about the term pastor?
In his letter to the Ephesians, the Apostle Paul writes:
And He appointed some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, some to be shepherds and teachers, for the equipping of the saints, for the work of ministry, for the building up of the Body of Christ, until we all come into the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, into a perfect man, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. ; so that we may no longer be babes, tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine, by the cunning of men, by the cunning art of deception, but by true LOVE we may return EVERYTHING into Him Who is the Material Head CHRIST, from Whom the whole body is composed and joined together through all kinds of mutually fastening ties , when each member acts to its own extent, it receives an increase for the creation of itself in love. (4 Ephesians: 11-16)
Being a pastor is a gift and ministry that the Lord Jesus gives to some of the Church, which is His Body, to equip the saints for the work of ministry. So this is an internal responsibility towards the church, while being a priest is a responsibility towards those outside the church to proclaim the Gospel to them.
The Apostle Peter also writes:
I beg your shepherds, a fellow shepherd and witness of the sufferings of Christ and a sharer in the glory that is about to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God which is yours, overseeing it not under compulsion, but willingly and pleasing to God, not for vile gain, but out of zeal, and not dominating over the inheritance of God, but setting an example for the flock; and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive an unfading crown of glory. (1 Peter 5:1-4)
So, the responsibility of shepherds is to shepherd God's flock, or their local church. According to this verse, shepherds are also elders (in the Romanian translation of the Bible, the beginning of verse 1 reads like this: “I, who am an elder, advise your elders...” - translator’s note)
Let's go back to the question asked of me. I use the term priest because I received this honor from the Lord Jesus Christ and that is exactly what I do on this portal, using the benefits of the Internet to proclaim the Word of God to all who speak Romanian, Russian, English and French around the globe. At the same time, I am the pastor of the Bunăvestirea Church in Chisinau. May God help me to fulfill sincerely and worthily the service to which He has honored and called me.
Translation: Moses Natalya
History and significance of pastoring
Christ in the Gospel many times called Himself a shepherd. It turns out that in the East the shepherd tradition, the way of herding the flock, differs from the Slavic: they do not urge the sheep, but walk ahead of them, calling the flock forward. Therefore, Christ said that His sheep (that is, sincere people striving for God, pure in soul or sincerely repentant) know His voice and will follow Him, like the sheep of His flock.
Addressing the pastor and naming the priest, priest
In a more everyday situation, during a conversation, all bishops are addressed as “Vladyka (name),” for example, “Vladyka Pitirim, bless.” The Patriarch is addressed either in the same way or, a little more formally, “The Most Holy Bishop.”
Pop is a common name for a priest that existed before the revolution. Unfortunately, after her this word became a dirty word and is no longer used. There is a joke that pop is an abbreviation for “shepherd of Orthodox sheep”, and also “a meeting of priests - a pop group”
The word “father” is used to address any priest in everyday life; often before a conversation they ask: “Father, bless.”
May the Lord protect you with His grace and the prayers of the Church!
Source
Pastor's ministry
Pastoral ministry is a great responsibility before God. This has been confirmed by clergy for many centuries; nothing has changed these days; perhaps there are more technical opportunities to carry out one’s word.
Thus, Pastor Eugene from the Christian Recovery Center brings his word of God to the people, and many young people join him. They, in turn, bring the Gospel to the masses using the most modern methods.
Pastor Sergei tries to reach hearts with his spiritual songs, which anyone can download and listen to completely free of charge.
Every pastor is assigned to serve by God; he is responsible for his actions before the Almighty himself and is aware of this. The servant of God worries to tears about each of his parishioners; sometimes he loses sleep, turns gray early, and develops heart disease. How long do our shepherds stand on their knees before the Lord, atonement for our sins? Who knows about this? Only God himself, who sees everything secret.
In addition, the first enemy and important target for the devil is the shepherd. Attacks and temptations come at him from all sides. He must endure everything and survive in this difficult battle.
Who is a Pastor?
Each pastor is placed in his place of ministry by none other than the Lord himself, for a given period of time in a given place. God appoints as a shepherd the very person who, for reasons unknown to us, will help fulfill God’s plans on Earth.
A shepherd is a living person, called by God to serve the church, that is, to all of us who believe in Christ the Savior. A pastor, like all of us, has the same earthly needs: family, home, children, everyday problems and much more. He has the same material needs, he is able to feel and hurt, to be sensitive like us, and maybe even more. His heart is experiencing multiple problems that are associated with numerous personal and church issues. A pastor can grieve and rejoice, be at peace and sad, worry and worry, be comforted and cry. He also has his own inner world, needs and personal needs. He was appointed by God to serve us, and who, if not the parishioners, needs to take care of the health of their shepherd? After all, with our support, he will be more able to serve, the pastor’s sermons will be more clearly filled with God’s blessing and strength for believers. This person also needs support and our participation, so that at a difficult moment someone will be there, listen and support, and pray for him. In the difficult work of a pastor, his flock must support him.
How did Protestantism originate?
The origin of Protestantism is inextricably linked with the Reformation. This is the name of the movement that arose in the 16th century in the Catholic Church in Germany. The leader of the Reformation was Martin Luther, a Catholic monk, thanks to his studies at the University of Wittenberg, he had extensive knowledge in the field of theology and other sciences. It is believed that Luther took the monastic vow after being caught in a heavy rain and thunderstorm in a field. Falling to the ground, he prayed for salvation and promised to dedicate his life to God if he survived. Being a zealot of faith, young Luther was shocked by the free morals that reigned in Rome in 1511.
Pastor is a priestly rank in the Church
The original meaning of the word “Church” is a gathering of Christ’s disciples, Christians; translated as “meeting”. The concept of “Church” is quite broad: it is a building (in this meaning of the word church and temple are one and the same!), and a meeting of all believers, and a regional meeting of Orthodox people - for example, the Russian Orthodox Church, the Greek Orthodox Church.
Also, the Old Russian word “cathedral”, translated “assembly”, still refers to congresses of the episcopate and lay Christians to this day (for example, the Ecumenical Council is a meeting of representatives of all Orthodox regional Churches, the Local Council is a meeting of one Church).
The Orthodox Church consists of three orders of people:
In fact, the word “priest” is a short name for all clergy. They are also called by the words: clergy, clerics, clergy (you can specify - temple, parish, diocese). The clergy is divided into white and black:
There are three degrees of clergy:
