About the priesthood (6 Words)
Contained in the fourth volume of The Complete Works of St. John Chrysostom" conversations on the book of Genesis were delivered, as one must think, in Antioch. There are 67 of these conversations; 32 of them were pronounced in continuation of St. Pentecost, starting from the raw week, when the first introductory conversation was said, entitled ????? ?????????? or “a word of exhortation”; with the onset of Holy Week or half of it, explanation of the book. Existence was interrupted for a while, as can be seen from the 33rd conversation, in which the saint says that in accordance with the great events remembered during Holy Week of St. Church, he chose the latter as the subject of his teachings and spoke about the betrayal of Judas (see Vol. II of this edition, p. 419, where this conversation is located, beginning with the words: “I wanted, beloved, to continue the conversation about the patriarch (Abraham), but the ingratitude of the traitor draws your tongue to a conversation about the latter"), about the Cross (which of the 3 conversations of Golden. about the Holy Cross, printed in Volume II, pp. 431-458, should be understood here is unknown), about the resurrection (of course, with probability, a conversation against “drunk people and about the resurrection”, published in Vol. II, p. 474; see Migne, Patrol. graecae t. LIII, Profatio, p. 7) and, finally, conversations on initial chapters of the book. Acts Apostle. with instructions to the newly enlightened (see Vol. III). From these conversations on the book of Acts, delivered from Easter to the Ascension and then accompanied in the same year by conversations on the book. Genesis, starting from the 33rd demon, it is clear that Antioch served as the place of pronouncing both of them; this can be seen precisely from the fact that the 2nd of the conversations in the book. Acts was pronounced in the church of “Palaea the Ancient,” “founded by the hands of the apostles” (vol. III, p. 62), as the famous temple in Antioch was called. In addition to the idea of the place of delivery of conversations in the book. Genesis also cites the beginning of the 12th of them, where the saint says that before this he addressed his pastoral word to those Christians who, “following custom,” “followed the Jews,” visiting their synagogues or participating in their holidays and fasts ( see Demons against the Jews, vol. I, pp. 635 ff.). Such a passion for Jewish rituals existed, as is known, among some of the residents of Antioch, but not of Constantinople, which is why these conversations in the book could only be addressed to the former. Genesis. - The year of their pronunciation remains unknown, despite the efforts made in this regard: the opinion of Tillemont, who attributed them to 395 or 396, is not recognized by others due to its insufficient validity (Migne, Pathol. graec. t. LIII, pp. 9-10 ). Archbishop Filaret. in "Historical" teaching about the Fathers of the Church" (2nd ed., vol. II, 204) refers them to 388, but as the basis for this he cites rather general considerations that do not point specifically to this year. The compiler of the preface to the publication of these conversations in the Ming Patrology did not go further than the negative conclusion that they were not pronounced either in 386 or 387.
Height of pastes. service. St. John Chrysostom. Six words about the priesthood.
I didn't want to be a pastor. I wrote 6 words as a layman.
Word 1: St. John hides from ordination while his friend Basil is being ordained, justifying his cunning in the Old Testament: Moses took the jewelry from the Egyptians, Jacob stole the birthright. Proves that Vasily is more worthy.
Word 2: It is important to feel what is missing for the priesthood: love for Christ, love for the flock (freedom of the flock and the power of the priest).
Word 3: Speaks of two poles, as it were. On the one hand, he speaks of the highest, humanly incomprehensible height of pastoral service, the Eucharistic service. And on the other hand, the abyss of temptations and dangers that await the shepherd on this path (the first is vanity, if he succumbed, he fell into the power of monsters: anger, despondency, envy, enmity, slander, condemnation, deception, hypocrisy, intrigues, indignation at people innocent, pleasure in the ill-being of employees, sadness in their prosperity, desire for praise, addiction to honors, teaching with gratification, ungrateful caresses, low people-pleasing, contempt for the poor, helpfulness to the rich, unreasonable and harmful preferences, favors dangerous both for those who give and for those who receive them, slave fear). One of the signs that a person can be a priest is the desire to serve the Eucharist. It is important not to be afraid of being defrocked, like a dying warrior, because there will be persecution. The main thing is loyalty to Christ. He predicted his fate with this.
Word 4. He says that the part is justified not by the fact that we did not want the priesthood, by the fact that they were installed involuntarily. Important quality of pastes. – the ability to correctly present dogmas.
Word 5. The Truth of God must be brought to the flock.
Word 6. About the high purity that a shepherd must have: one who prays for the city and the Universe must be purer than those for whom he prays, one who communicates with the Holy Spirit must be pure. Compares the abbot and the city. priest: city priest is more difficult, because monks have a Rule. Priest serves the Liturgy (monks did not yet serve then).
Preparation for ordination.
Cleansing and enlightening yourself. Testing the will through obedience, mercy (doing good to the unworthy). Purification of the heart: from repentance. Enlightenment of the mind: knowledge of Holy Scripture, dogmas, liturgical tradition. Communication with experienced shepherds. The priest lives in a glass house.
Procedure: 1. Diocesan Council; 2. Confession with the diocesan confessor (protege); 3. The date of consecration is not announced in advance (in Moscow and Moscow Region).
The gracious gifts of shepherding.
Grace: 1. To cover the infirmities of the shepherd, 2. Given in advance; 3. To perform the Sacraments; Sacrament – a new relationship with God; 4. Pledge - what will be fulfilled. “God gave us the Spirit of power, love, chastity” - St. Paul. Grace acts on the body: most priests have illnesses, but they endure more stress than healthy ones. The spirit of strength is will, the spirit of sacrificial love is the flock, the spirit of chastity is spiritual prudence. The layman must “earn” the gifts, but the pastor receives them immediately.
Eucharistic ministry of the shepherd according to the teachings of Nicholas Cabasilas.
Cabasilas speaks of the power of the Sacraments. It is up to us not to waste this power. Introduces a third person into the Sacrament - the Temple (in addition to the flock and the priest). . Christ participates as a sacrifice in the substance of the Sacrament of the Eucharist, and as a Priest He participates in the Sacrament through the Temple. Christ is the Anointed One. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are anointed through Myrrh. The temple will be anointed with myrrh. In this sense, the Temple becomes, as it were, an Altar. The temple is the hand of Christ, giving the Sacraments. He argued with Catholics who serve in the 1st person. The words “Take and eat...” have creative power because they are the words of Christ, and not because we pronounce them.
The Eucharist and the sacrifice of pastoral ministry. Martyrdom of St. Polycarp of Smyrna.
“I am the wheat of God... so that I may become the bread of Christ” - Ignatius the God-Bearer.
Martyrdom of St. Polycarp (Gospel parallels): “the body was not like one being burned, but like bread being baked”; St. P. does not go to death himself, but waits for him to be brought (like Christ); He is betrayed by his household (Judas); They are taken to the city on a donkey; Betrayed on Good Friday; they want to crucify, but they only bind.
The Eucharistic sacrifice is projected throughout the life of the priest. In this sense, he is like an image of Christ: presbyter, priest, sacrifice.
John Chrysostom: “About priests”
Let us, beloved, show all respect to those who have been given the power of the Holy Spirit. The priestly office is of great importance: “Whose sins you forgive, their sins are forgiven” (John 20:23). Therefore, [the Apostle] Paul says: “Obey your leaders and be submissive” (Heb. 13:17) and honor them “mostly with love” (1 Thess. 5:13). You only care about yourself and, if you manage your well-being well, you are not responsible for others. And the priest, although he has organized his own life well, if he does not diligently take care of you and everyone entrusted to him, then he will go to hell with the evil ones and may die not for his own, but for your deeds, if he does not do everything as he should. what he is called to do. So, knowing how great the danger is for them, show them goodwill. This is also what the Apostle Paul means when he says: “...for they watch vigilantly for your souls, <and not simply, but> as obligated to give an account” (Heb. 13:17). Therefore, one should treat priests with great respect. If you, together with others, attack them, then your affairs will not be successful. For as long as the helmsman is in a good mood, those on the ship are out of danger. But if they irritate him with hostile and offensive treatment of him, then he can neither be attentive nor do his job as he should and, against his will, exposes them to countless dangers. Likewise, priests, if they are respected by you, can contribute to your salvation; if you upset them, they will give up... Remember what Jesus Christ said to the Jews: “The scribes and Pharisees sat in the seat of Moses; So whatever they tell you to observe, observe” (Matthew 23:2-3); and the priests no longer sit on Moses’ seat, but on Christ’s, for they accepted Christ’s teaching, as Paul says about this: “We are messengers on behalf of Christ, and as if God himself exhorts through us” (2 Cor. 5:20 ). Don’t you see how everyone submits to the worldly bosses, although they are often better than them in kind, in life, and in mind. But out of respect for the one who appointed them, they do not think about anything like that and reverence the will of the king, no matter what the authority received from him. This is the kind of fear we show when a person ordains someone! When God ordains, we despise the ordained one, revile, insult with countless curses and sharpen our tongues against the priests, while we are forbidden to condemn the brethren! How can we excuse this if we do not notice the log in our own eye, but carefully notice the speck in the eye of another? Don’t you know that by judging others in this way, you are preparing the strictest judgment for yourself? Knowing all this, let us fear God and honor His priests, giving them all honor, so that we may receive great reward from God both for our own good deeds and for the honor shown to them.
About the great gift of St. John Chrysostom
Sometimes you almost drown in the raging sea of life, choking on the harsh external waves and internal unrest. Sometimes it is so difficult to stay on this thin golden path of Orthodoxy. Sometimes you feel like you don't have the strength to go on...
But, looking back into the history of your native Church, you (paraphrasing the famous line from Joseph Brodsky’s poem “Letters to a Roman Friend”) see not ruins, but powerful unsinkable rocks of the spirit. And you get out onto their saving firmness, you get out in prayer or in spiritual reading, coming into contact with absolutely amazing lives that passed through this world tangentially, like shining comets on the black velvet of the night sky.
This feeling, it seems to me, arises from the fact that the saints of God tried their best to live on earth according to heavenly laws and gradually, ascending from degree to degree, acquired a certain equal-angelism, already here becoming citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven.
One of these ascetics who became a great teacher of the Church was St. John Chrysostom. November 26, according to the new style, is the day of remembrance of this wonderful saint. Usually, the day of remembrance of any ascetic of God is the day of death - the day when he united with Christ and entered heaven, the day of his personal resurrection. But in the case of St. John, everything happened a little differently.
This saint of God actually died on September 14, 407, on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Life-Giving Cross. For the sake of the holiday, the day of his memory was moved to November 13, old style (November 26, New Style). It is noteworthy that the saint, out of great humility, never wanted to be either the Archbishop of Constantinople or even a priest. In the essay “Six Words about the Priesthood,” which has become a reference book for clergymen of all generations, one can clearly see how horrified he is of this high, equal-angel service, and how clearly he is aware of all the pitfalls and dangers of the priesthood, especially in connection with relations with society. And there was something prophetic in this. Saint John Chrysostom clearly described precisely those social disorders that led him, in the end, almost to the point of being on the cross, a martyr's life.
The saint always gravitated towards monastic life, and not even a communal life, but a hermit life.
But God prepared a different destiny for him. The lamp could not be hidden under a bushel. He was placed on the top of the mountain, where he shone forth to all. Around 374, after the death of his beloved mother Anthusa, he retired into the desert. He spends four years in the monastic monastery in fasting, vigil and prayer. Then he retires deeper into the desert, where he labors for some more time in a secluded cave. The harsh ascetic life and exploits affected his health. The ascetic develops a stomach illness that has plagued him all his life. And he is forced to return to Antioch around 380.
In 381 he was ordained deacon. In 386 he became a priest. At the time of his priestly consecration, the saint was thirty-nine years old.
A zealous shepherd, a brilliant theologian, rhetorician, philosopher, who received an excellent both spiritual and secular education, he deeply studies the Holy Scriptures. But his main gift, perhaps, was preaching.
It is known that the confessor delivered rather long sermons. They brought out a chair for him and placed it in the middle of the temple. He sat in it and began to preach. These homilies took place in the form of live conversations with believers. They actively participated in the discussion of issues. The saint's sermons were bright, figurative and at the same time simple and intelligible. While still in Antioch, John received the nickname Chrysostom.
In addition, the saint of God devoted a lot of time to works of mercy. Under him, the Church of Antioch fed up to three thousand virgins and widows daily, not counting prisoners, wanderers and the sick. At the same time, the saint himself lived very simply. He ate sparingly, dressed poorly, paying absolutely no attention to his appearance. Once even the Patriarch of Alexandria Theophilos was offended by him because the saint, already the Primate of the Church of Constantinople, when meeting him, set a meager table. John Chrysostom did not pay attention to such trifles at all. The main thing was the soul that aspired to God.
In 397, the See of Constantinople became orphaned. Archbishop Nektary died. The attention of the capital was drawn to the Antiochian ascetic, whose fame extended far beyond the borders of his native land. He is ordained bishop and elevated to the see of Constantinople. Thus, the saint, without wanting it himself, turns out to be the Primate of the Church.
Constantinople at that time was a sad sight. Outwardly, it was a Christian city, celebrating all rituals and services with pomp. Internally, from the heart, paganism was very strong. The morals of the imperial court were distinguished by licentiousness, the nobility was drowned in vices and luxury, while the people eked out a beggarly, half-starved existence.
It is to this city, mired in luxury and sins, that the strict ascetic, righteous man and man of prayer, Saint John Chrysostom, arrives. And the great golden city - the capital of the world - could not break him. The Archpastor of Constantinople first takes on the main thing - correcting the life of the clergy. And an example of such a pious life was, of course, himself. John Chrysostom refuses invitations to various entertainments and festive dinners, and sells off the rich property of the Archdiocese: luxurious curtains, furniture, dishes, marble. The proceeds are used to maintain two hospitals and several hotels for pilgrims. He openly denounces visiting all sorts of pagan amusements - hippodromes, theaters with dissolute bloody performances, etc. Of course, with all this he causes a lot of anger and bitterness for those accustomed to living in luxury.
The archpastor acquires an influential enemy in the person of Empress Eudoxia, wife of Emperor Arcadius. In the accusatory word about vain women, the queen sees an allusion to herself. The last straw is the fact that Eudoxia tried to take away the vineyard from a noble widow who had recently lost her husband. The Archbishop of Constantinople takes the side of the widow and protects the unfortunate woman from royal tyranny.
Evdokia begins to intrigue against the saint. Under her patronage, a council was convened at the royal villa “At the Oak”, headed by Patriarch Theophilos of Alexandria and some Egyptian bishops. They condemn John on the false charge of Origenism. The saint is awarded exile.
The people loved him very much. There was great unrest on the streets of Constantinople. Theophilus had to flee. At the temple where the saint was staying, people crowded together, deciding to defend their archpastor. But the saint acted as a true follower of Christ. He, just like the Savior, who commanded the holy chief apostle Peter to sheathe his sword, he himself voluntarily surrendered in order to avoid bloodshed. That same night, an earthquake occurred in the capital. The frightened emperor freed the saint and returned the pulpit to him.
But still this did not last long.
Soon a column was erected in Constantinople in honor of Eudoxia. Games and almost pagan feasts began. The noise interfered with temple services. No exhortations or complaints from the saint
John Chrysostom did not act. Then he publicly accused the empress, calling her a raging, raging Herodias.
And again intrigues and exile to the distant Caucasus.
On the very day of Easter 404, during a divine service, John was taken into custody. For some time he was under house arrest, then he was sent to Bithynia. Then even further - to the village of Kukuz in Malaya Armenia. Here he spends three years in poverty and deprivation. But this was not enough for Eudoxia. He is assigned a new place of exile - Pitiunt (modern Pitsunda in Abkhazia). The guards are given a task with approximately the following content: “If it doesn’t work, then it will be good.” Imagine, dear brothers and sisters, this journey! This slow torture turned into real martyrdom! Saint John does not reach Pitiunta. In the town of Comana, his strength deserts him. Near the crypt of the martyr Basilisk, this saint of God appears to him and strengthens him with the words: “Do not be discouraged, brother John! Tomorrow we will be together." Here, in Comana, having received the Holy Mysteries of Christ, Saint John Chrysostom said “Glory to God for everything!” passed away to the Lord on September 14, 407. On the Feast of the Exaltation of the Honest Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, he raised his own cross from his life to the glory of God.
The author of the Liturgy, many theological works included in the treasury of patristic thought, a worker in the field of Christ, who fought a lot for the purity of Orthodoxy against heresies, who is also related to our country (he installed a bishop in Crimea), became truly a precious diamond in the right hand of God - a precious star , shining the light of Christ on the spiritual horizon for us. Constantinople, after the condemnation of the righteous man, was subjected to disasters. A fire reduced the Senate building to ashes, devastating barbarian hordes fell upon Byzantium, and in 404 (the same year the saint was condemned) Queen Eudoxia died.
In 438, Patriarch Proclus of Constantinople, a disciple of St. John Chrysostom, delivered a word of praise to the sufferer of Christ in the church. The people did not let him finish. People began to beg the Patriarch to intercede with the emperor in order to return the relics of the saint to the capital. This was done. The son of Arkady and Eudoxia, Theodosius II, sent an embassy to the Caucasus for the relics. But the envoys were unable to take the relics. Then the emperor wrote a letter of repentance to the saint, in which he asked to forgive his parents for the sin they had committed against him. The letter was read in front of the tomb. And after the all-night vigil, the saint allowed his relics to be taken. After being transferred to Constantinople, they were placed in the church of the Holy Martyr Irene. Healings came from them.
Day and night crowds of people went to their beloved saint. In the morning the relics were brought into the Church of the Holy Apostles. When the shrine was placed on the patriarchal throne, the people exclaimed with one voice: “Accept your throne, father!” - and those who stood closest to the shrine, led by Patriarch Proclus, saw Saint John Chrysostom open his mouth and say: “Peace to all!”
And now, wandering and sometimes drowning in the waves of the ocean of life, I want to believe that this bishop’s holy blessing of the righteous extends to us, Christians of the 21st century. And the words of the holy martyr Basilisk, it seems to me, can also be paraphrased into “Do not be discouraged, brothers and sisters, tomorrow is the eighth day - we will be together.”
And in the heart, despite the terrible storm, Easter is born in torment and suffering. After all, our Lord Jesus Christ, both then, at the beginning of the 5th century, and now, is with us and in us. The main thing, perhaps, with God’s help, is never to forget this.
Saint Father John Chrysostom, pray to God for us!
“Whoever honors a priest will also honor God; whoever begins to despise a priest will one day gradually come to insult God... As long as you are in the Church, you will always be saved with a sinful priest, if you want, but with detractors outside the Church You will always be lost" St. John Chrysostom.
ABOUT HONORING THE PRIESTS
St. John Chrysostom
Chrysostom's conversation on 2 Timothy
“ Whoever honors the priest will also honor God; whoever begins to despise the priest will one day gradually come to insult God. Those who accept you, said the Lord, accept Me (Matthew 10:40); His priest, it is said elsewhere, give honor (Cf.: Numbers 18:8).
The Jews began to despise God because they despised Moses and threw stones at him. He who reveres the priest will reverence all the more before God.
Even if the priest were wicked, God, seeing that out of reverence for Him you honor even those unworthy of honor, will Himself reward you. If he who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet, as the Lord says, will receive a prophet in return (Matthew 10:41), then, of course, the one who respects the priest, listens to him and obeys him will receive a reward. If in the matter of hospitality, when you do not know whom you are accepting, you receive such a reward, then much more will you receive it when you obey the one whom the Lord commands to obey. Moses' seats, He said, are gray... (Matthew 23:2).
Don't you know what a priest is? He is the angel of the Lord. Is he speaking his own way? If you despise him, then you despise not him, but the God who ordained him. How do you say it is known that God ordained him? But if you are not convinced of this, then your hope is vain; for if God does not do anything through him, then you neither have Baptism, nor partake of the Mysteries, nor receive blessings, and, therefore, you are not a Christian.
How, you say, does God really ordain everyone, even the unworthy? God does not ordain everyone, but through everyone He Himself acts, even if they are unworthy, for the salvation of the people. If He spoke to the people through a donkey and Balaam, a wicked man (Num. 22), then much more through a priest. What does God not do for our salvation? What doesn't he say? Through whom does it not work? If He acted through Judas and through those prophets who say: we do not know you: get away from Me, you workers of lawlessness (cf. Luke 13:27; Matt. 7:23) and who cast out evil spirits, then all the more will He act through priests. When we begin to examine the life of those in authority, it means that we ourselves want to be ordainers of teachers, and thus everything is distorted: the legs become at the top, and the head is at the bottom.
Listen to Paul, who says: I am not great... (1 Cor. 4:3) and again: why do you condemn your brother? (Rom. 14:10). If one should not condemn a brother, let alone a teacher. If God commanded you to do this, then you would do well, and you would sin if you did not do so, but if on the contrary, then do not be impudent and do not go beyond your limits. When the calf was made, Aaron's accomplices rebelled against Aaron: Korah, Dathan and Abiron - but what, didn't they die?
Everyone - take care of your own affairs. Whoever teaches an incorrect teaching, do not listen to him, even if he were an Angel, and if someone teaches a right teaching, then look not at his life, but at his words. But, you will say, the priest does not give to the poor and does not manage affairs well. How do you know this? Before you know for sure, do not blame, be afraid of responsibility. Many people are convicted on suspicion.
Imitate your Lord; listen to what He says: I will come down and see if, because of their cry... they are done: and if not, let me understand (Gen. 18:21). Even if you have learned, researched and seen, and then wait for the Judge, do not anticipate the right of Christ; He has the right to judge, not you; you are the last slave, not the Lord; You are a sheep, do not judge the shepherd, lest you be punished for what you accuse him of. But why, you say, does he tell me, but doesn’t do it himself? - He doesn’t say it himself. If you obey only him, you will not receive a reward; Christ commands you.
What am I saying? Even Paul should not be obeyed if he said anything of his own, anything human, but he should be obeyed as an Apostle, having Christ in him, who spoke through him. Let us not judge other people's affairs, but each his own; explore your own life better. But, you say, the priest should be better than me. Why? - Because he is a priest. What does he not have more than you? Is it labors, dangers, worries or sorrows? How is he not better than you, having all this?..
In any case, if you consider yourself better than another and do not sigh, do not hit yourself in the chest, do not bow your head, do not imitate the publican, then you have ruined yourself, even if you were really better. Are you better than the other? Be silent, so that you remain the best; and as soon as you speak, you will lose everything. If you think about yourself like that, then you are no longer like that; and if you don’t think like that, you will gain even more...
Tell me: if you, having received a wound, come to a hospital, then instead of applying medicine and treating the wound, will you begin to find out about the doctor, whether he has a wound or not? And if he has, do you care about it? And because he has it, do you leave your wound without healing and say: he, as a doctor, should have been healthy, but since he, being a doctor, is himself unhealthy, then I leave my wound without healing? So here, if the priest is not good, will this be a consolation for the subordinate? Not at all. He will receive a certain punishment - you will also receive what you deserve and deserve. The teacher performs only the service. For, says Scripture, they will be taught of God (John 6:45) and will not say, “Know the Lord; for you know Me, from the least of them even to the greatest of them...” (Jer. 31:34).
Why, you say, does he occupy such a place? Let us not, I exhort you, speak ill of teachers, let us not talk about them, so as not to harm ourselves; Let us examine our affairs and not speak ill of anyone...
In a father, even if he has countless weaknesses, the son covers everything; Do not be glorified, says the Wise One, in the dishonor of your father, for the glory of your father’s dishonor is not yours : even if your understanding fails, have forgiveness (Sir. 3, 10. 13). If this is said about carnal fathers, then all the more must it be said about spiritual fathers.
Be ashamed: he serves you every day, offers to read the Scriptures, decorates the house of God for you, watches for you, prays for you, stands and intercedes for you before God, makes petitions for you, performs all his ministry for you. Be ashamed of this, imagine this and approach it with all reverence.
Is he not good? But tell me, what of this? And does a good man himself impart great blessings to you? No! Everything happens according to your faith. And the righteous will not benefit you at all if you are an unbeliever; and the wicked will not harm you at all if you are a believer . God also acted through the thieves at the ark when He wanted to save His people. Can the life of a priest or virtue accomplish anything like this? The gifts of God are not such that they depend on priestly virtue: everything comes from grace; The priest’s job is only to open his mouth, but God does everything; the priest performs only visible actions...
There is not a single person who is as far from another as John (the Baptist) is from Jesus, and yet the spirit descended on Him at the Baptism of John, so that you would know that God arranges everything, that God does everything. I want to say something wonderful, but don’t be amazed or embarrassed. What is it? - The offering in the Eucharist is the same, no matter who makes it, Paul or Peter; it is the same that Christ taught to His disciples, and the priests do the same now; this is in no way lower than that, for this too is not sanctified by people, but by God Himself , who sanctified it even then.
Just as the words now spoken by the priest are the same as those spoken by the Lord , so the offering is the same; Equally, the Baptism is the same, which He administered. So everything depends on faith... And this offering is the Body of Christ just like that; and whoever thinks that it is lower than that does not know that Christ is both now present and now active.”
Word of St. John Chrysostom, how to honor the Priest:
«If a Priest teaches the right, do not look at his life, but listen to his teaching.
And don’t say: why does he teach me, but doesn’t do it himself? “He has the responsibility to teach everyone, and if he does not fulfill it, he will be condemned by the Lord for this.” And if you do not listen to him, you will also be condemned, for this is what the Lord says : listen to you, He listens to Me; but if you are swept away, I will be swept aside; and those who blaspheme you, blaspheme me.
It is not the business, brethren, for the sheep to blaspheme the shepherd; He offers service every day for you and for your brothers; morning and evening in church and outside church he prays for you. Think about all this and honor him as a father.
You will say: “he is sinful and evil.” What do you care? Even if a good person prays for you, what good does it do you if you are unfaithful? And if you are faithful, then his unworthiness will not harm you at all. “Grace is given from God. The priest only opens his mouth, but God does everything.”
Isn’t it clear from here, brethren, that God works with all priests, even if they are unworthy? Think about it: who saves us: the priest or God? Who gives us grace in the sacraments? Who accepts our prayers in church? Whose word is read or spoken by the priest in the temple? Obviously, God's and, obviously, all our salvation is in the hands of the Lord, and not the priest.
And besides: if you truly want to be saved through a priest, then look for a sinless priest. Will you find one? Alas, we are all sinners from first to last. No one is clean from filth, even if only one day of his life on earth.
Therefore, rather than despise priests, whatever they may be, than run from priests and through them from the Church, isn’t it better to run from their detractors?
As long as you are in the Church, you will always be saved with a sinful priest if you want, but with detractors outside the Church you will always be lost ; for, no matter how holy they may seem to you, never forget that they have neither the Church, nor the sacraments, and, consequently, the grace of God. Amen.
Share
Liked this:
Like
Similar
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: John Chrysostom, Priesthood |
