The Theology of Priesthood and the Priest Office in the First Century Christianity

Authors

  • Dariusz Kasprzak Uniwersytet Papieski Jana Pawła II w Krakowie

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21906/rbl.165

Keywords:

Apostle, Christology, Christ, deacon, the Twelve, ecclesiology, epískopos, evangelist, first century, priesthood, teacher, sacrifice, pastor, mediator, priest, superior, guide, the Seven, theology, office

Abstract

Neither the Apostles nor any Christian minister is admitted to use the priest’s title in the text of the New Testament. Nevertheless, in the New Testament we can perceive the development of the doctrine of the priest ministry in the early Church. Albert Vanhoye maintains that the lack of the term “priest” in the New Testament suggests the way of understanding of the Christian ministry, different from this in the Old Testament. It can’t be considered as a continuation of Jewish priesthood, which was concentrated mainly on ritual action and ceremonies. In the first century the Church developed the Christology of priesthood (Hbr) and ecclesiology of priesthood (1 P). Early Christians focused first on the redemptive event of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice and Jesus as the mediator of a new covenant. Only then the religious communities adopted the priest’s title for their ministry.

In the early years of the Church, all the ministries were regarded as a charismatic service among the Christian communities. In their services the early Christians followed Jesus Christ sent by God to serve. The Holy Spirit sent by God in the name of Jesus bestowed the spiritual gifts upon the Church (1 Kor 12–13). Consequently the disciples of Jesus and their successors could continue his mission. The Twelve Apostles’ ministry was the very first and most important Christian ministry. It was closely connected to the service of Jesus Christ himself. The Apostles were sent by the authority of Jesus Christ to continue his mission upon earth and they preached the Good News of the risen Christ. The Apostolicity was the fundamental base for every Church ministry established in different Christian communities. Successive ministries were established in order to transmit the teaching of Jesus Christ and to lead the community. For the early Christians the priesthood was not an individual privilege. It had rather the community character.

Published

2010-06-30

How to Cite

Kasprzak, D. (2010). The Theology of Priesthood and the Priest Office in the First Century Christianity. The Biblical and Liturgical Movement, 63(2), 101–126. https://doi.org/10.21906/rbl.165

Issue

Vol. 63 No. 2 (2010): Kapłaństwo

Section

Articles

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