I’m in the middle of a debate on another forum with a couple of people who are debating whether Constantine established the priesthood. I’m not talking about the position of bishop here, as they acknowledge that the bishops were called together at the Council of Nicea. What they want to see is evidence for a priesthood in the modern sense before Constantine. Obviously, they did, but I’m having problems demonstrating it. They are having difficulty accepting that the modern term “priest” can be equated with the Greek term “presbuteroi” He asks, “The Greek word used for “priest” eg in Hebrews (for Melchisedek) is not the same as used for “elder”, so it cannot be said that “elder” is the same as “priest” surely?” Anyone care to help?
Rolltide, it is true that the word for priest in greek is
hiereus and the word
presbuteros, from which the word presbyter comes from, means elder.
The thing to understand, however, is that priest and presbyter (i.e, hiereus and presbuteros) became synonims from the very beginning in Christian jargon, to the point that the word PRIEST **in english **is etymologically derived from
presbuteros rather than
hiereus!!! Might not be the case in other languages, but it sure is the case in english. You can read about this in the Online dictionary of etymology:
etymonline.com/index.php?term=priest
As you know, from Scripture it is clear that Paul asked Titus (Bishop of Crete) and Timothy (bishop of Ephesus) to ORDAIN presbyters (i.e., priests) in the Churches that they oversaw.
Now, the question here is to establish when the elders (i.e., presbuteros) became priests (i.e., hiereus), to the point that NOW they are synonims. The answer is when Christ instituted the Eucharist.
Christ said: Do this in remembrance of me (Luke 22:19). The word there is the word
anamnesis. This word is very special:
The Thayer’s Lexicon gives meaning to this word as follows: “In offering sacrifices there is a remembrance of sins”
So this word literally mean to OFFER sacrifices as a remembrance of sins.
In Jewish religious observance ONLY the
hiereus (i.e., priests) were allowed to
anamnesis, as they were the only ones allowed to offer sacrifices, thus when CHRIST commands His apostles (and consequently their successors), to do
anamnesis, Christ was ordaining them as
hiereus, this is, as PRIESTS. And from then an on, all the Christian elders or presbyters became priests!, to the point, reiterating, that priests and presbyters or elders are synonims now.
When do Christian priests/presbyters/elders offer sacrifices? the answer is obvious. The Eucharist is the sacrifice that they offer, a sacrifice that they do “in persona Christi”, in the person of Christ, as it is Christ himself who is offering up there in this unbloody sacrifice. Christ died ONCE, no doubt, but His sacrifice lives on in this gift that he left us. Blessed be God forever!
Blessings,
E.C.
