FOS SUMMARY - The Lord of the Rings-Living the Sacraments
Holy Ordination: Prophet, Priest, King
by Dorothy Poli & Helen Tellas & Daniel Padovano
October 21, 2008
Jesus Christ came for those who are ‘sick’, not for the well. But who is well?
The flaws of our human condition compel those who recognize them as such to seek a ‘cure.’ This cure comes from God through the Church, a ‘hospital’ for those spiritually ‘sick.’ We need Christ and the Church with its deacons, priests and bishops, albeit imperfect humans like the rest of us. If we do not accept that we are fallen, then Church becomes useless. In every religion since pre-recorded time, there is a recognition and acknowledgment that something here is wrong; that this life is not the way it is supposed to be; that there is something more and we must search for it; ultimately, that we must find our way back to God. The reason we have the Church is to help those who accept this reality.
- The ‘Letters to the Romans’ answers the question, “Why does the Church exist?”
- The ‘Letter to the Ephesians’ answers the question, “Why do we do what we do in the church?”
We know God exists by looking at creation. From the beginning of time, we see that God exists and wants to communicate Himself to us.
Adam and Eve knew God, but rejected Him. They neither glorified Him, nor thanked Him. They were more interested in worshipping creation than Creator. They looked to the animals (the serpent) instead of God’s image. They exchanged the truth of God with sin. They made God in their own image and became ignorant. Our quest is to make ourselves back in to the image and likeness of God so that we may find the truth about the universe and our way back home to Him.
When we have nowhere else to go, and we fall on our knees and run to God, this is when we start to change and our life improves. God knows that we will fall into the temptation of arrogance; therefore, He often needs to humble us, to bring us to our knees and our senses in order for us then to reach for Him.
We have voids that need to be filled. They are:
Ignorance – Adam and Eve became ignorant when they first sinned. Human beings seek to go from ignorance to truth. The need created by ignorance is filled with wisdom.
Sin – Sin arises out of separation from God. From the moment we are born, we are corruptible and need to be healed and freed.
Jesus Christ fills all voids through the following roles and ministries:
- As Prophet, He offered wisdom, teaching and quoted extensively from Deuteronomy. This book detailed the Jews’ experience in the desert in their passover from bondage to liberation. Jesus is the Passover, from death of this world into life in the Kingdom.
- Jesus is Priest. He offered Himself as a sacrifice to heal our sins (=actions separating us from God). He is a unique Priest in that He can and did offer Himself. He is the ‘Offerer’ and the ‘Offered’ eternally.
- He is King, the King of Kings because He inaugurates the
Kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom has resources and as heirs to the King we have this inheritance of the Promised Land. Prior to the Second Coming, we can participate in part but not in its fullness.
To the Jews, He was only known as a prophet. We know Jesus as Prophet, Priest and King. In the Greek Orthodox Church, this knowledge is a daily and liturgical experience.
HOLY ORDINATION
Major Orders
The threefold role of Christ is mirrored in the Priesthood: Deacon, Priest and Bishop (which includes the role of Archbishop and Patriarch). The deacon fills the role of prophet, the priest fills the role of prophet and priest and the bishop fills all roles as he represents the fullness of the Kingdom.
1. Deacon - (Greek: “Diakonos” – translation: “He who serves.”) Initially, the Apostles served food and with the multitudes of followers it became infeasible to carry out all their obligations and the deacon’s post was initiated. The deacon later took on the image of a prophet. His purpose is prophetic. He is also involved in charity and helps feed the poor. The deacon can distribute Holy Communion though he cannot offer a liturgy. He carries and reads the Gospel but only in the presence of the bishop. He wears baptismal vestments and a stole over his left shoulder. Later, after he reads the Gospel, he crosses the ‘oradion’ (material) symbolizing the wings of the seraphim angels covering their eyes in God’s Presence. (Recommended age: 20 - 25 years)
2. Priest – A priest touches the Body and Blood of Christ (this is why we kiss a priest’s or bishop’s hand). A priest can perform the same liturgical actions as the bishop except for ordination. The role of the priest is to serve the bride which is the Church. A priest can be single or married. However, a priest who wants to be married must marry before being ordained. (Recommended age: 30 - 35 years)
3. Bishop – A bishop can read the Gospel, celebrate the Eucharist and ordain a priest. In the kingly role, the bishop administers over the congregation in his jurisdiction. A bishop’s ordination occurs immediately after the Gospel reading. At least three bishops are required to ordain a bishop. A priest can become a bishop only if he is unmarried. Bishops are required to have a congregation; officially there is no such thing as a bishop without a see containing a congregation. Recently, the American archdiocese has moved to a Metropolis system allowing for more bishops, called Metropolitans, overseeing a jurisdiction with congregations. This is in keeping with canon law. (Recommended age: 40 - 45 years). The Archbishop presides over an Archdiocese. The Patriarch is the Archbishop of Constantinople. The Patriarch is the successor of St. Andrew who established the Patriarchate in
A deacon is ordained after the consecration of the bread and wine as he can serve only. A priest is ordained before the anaphora after the great Entrance as he can consecrate the bread and wine. A bishop is ordained before the reading of the gospel as he can perform all three rites: reading of the Gospel, consecrating the Gifts and ordaining priests. At ordination, the people are asked to acclaim “Axios” (worthy) to signal that they approve and accept the newly ordained clergyman as their own.
Minor Orders
- Readers, chanters – These are people who read the Epistles. They are permitted to do this by the Church.
- Exorcists – They exist in the Church and don’t have to be done by the priest. (Father Frank reminds us that no demon can do anything to us unless we allow them.)
- Sub-Deacons – They can marry and can also be women. Women were commonly sub-deacons in the early Church.
On Women and the Ordained Priesthood
Females do not become ordained priests because a female is the image of the bride whose role is to be served. As a man serves a woman, so does Christ, as Bridegroom, serves the Church. The restriction is not based on the lower ranking that was given to Judaic women. In the Old Testament, women were not allowed to enter the temple because it was a reminder of their birth-giving and bringing another sinner into the world. Christ overturns sin and old curses. He also shows when He redeems and heals the woman with the issue of blood thus removing the stigma of the curse. In the Old Testament, women were not allowed to give testimony. It was revolutionary that the Christian religion was propagated by the testimony of the women who were the first to see the Resurrected Christ. Christ is the great gender equalizer.
Everyone has their own priesthood. A woman’s priesthood is her role as birth-giver and mother. When a baby is 40 days old and presented at church, the baby is taken to the iconostasis; baby boys are brought to the altar and carried around it three times. This is to symbolize that boys can aspire to be priests. Baby girls are brought to the icon of the Theotokos (not the altar) as they can aspire to be mothers. While serving in different roles, both men and women are nevertheless part of the royal priesthood.
Clerical Dress Code
The black robes worn by Greek Orthodox clergy are a carry over from the Ottoman occupation, when Christian clergy were forced to wear distinctive clothing. In contrast, Orthodox clergy in other lands wore and still wear different colored robes. In liturgical celebrations, Greek Orthodox clergy wear robes of other colors (gold, white, light blue for various celebrations and feast days).
Biblical figures such as Samson and
The Lord of the Rings
The film The Lord of the Rings relates culture to the Church. Frodo represents the prophet, Gandalf represents the priest and Aragorn represents the king and also us. The King represents the royalty of all human beings. After the exorcism is performed in the movie, ‘breathing the air of freedom’ is symbolic of us because we all need liberation. The sword in this scene represents the Word of God, the liberating message of Jesus. Worm-Tongue represents ignorance. Ignorance cannot stand in the presence of God and is expelled. Truth lives not in the darkness. It does not need to be hidden but radiates in the Light.
FOS Summaries are synopses of discussions points, organized and presented conceptually, in a session's dialogue and Q&A among Fr. Frank and FOS participants. The Summaries' authors further elaborate on certain ideas from a theme offered by Fr. Frank. All Summaries are approved by Fr. Frank prior to e-mail distribution. Past summaries can be found on the Cathedral website at http://www.thecathedral.goarch.org/FOSSummary/.