Is the ministerial priesthood Biblical?

Opening statement: Negative Side Abraham V. Llera

Note: This opening statement is culled primarily from Mark Bonocore’s “The Ministerial Priesthood” which appears in this link http://www.philvaz.com/apologetics/a31.htm. Kenneth Howell is also acknowledged as the source of a part of this opening statement.

No non-Catholic who’s been baptized could say “There’s no such thing as ‘priests’” for the simple reason that the Bible itself says there is.

Proof? 1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people set apart." With these words, St. Peter describes all Christians as a "priesthood."

My debate partner is free to reject this claim, but he’d be doing it in rejection of Scripture.

The Common Priesthood of Believers

And that is precisely what every Catholic is: a priest. At Baptism, in his entry into the Catholic Church, a Catholic is also "christened" with oil, and also anointed as a Priest, a Prophet, and a King.

Why? Because, in Baptism, we become adopted sons and daughters of God (Romans 8:14-17), co-heirs of Christ, and, in this, we share in the very same Sonship which Christ Himself enjoys with the Father.

In short, we are to carry out Christ’s three-fold mission of governing, teaching, and sanctifying. Becoming members of His Body at Baptism, we must act as Christ to the world. We are anointed as a King because we share in His royalty (His Messiahship). We are anointed as a Prophet because we are to teach His teachings and preach His Gospel to all. We are anointed a Priest because we are to share in Christ's own High Priesthood, interceding to God for the world.

And this is exactly the definition of a priest: "Someone who is an intermediary and who offers a sacrifice on behalf of another." And, as priests, all Christians do this for the world. As Christians (redeemed by the Blood of Christ), we offer Christ's Sacrifice for the sake of the world. As Christians, we are able to pray:
"Eternal Father, I offer you the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world." (1 Tim 2:1-6; 1 John 2:1-2), a prayer that is especially appropriate and powerful just after we have received Jesus in Holy Communion .


So as Christians we are priests; and, as priests, we are intercessors between Christ and the world (Christ being the one Mediator between us and the Father -- 1 Tim 2:5). And this is what the Catholic Church refers to as the "COMMON PRIESTHOOD OF THE LAITY.”

The Ministerial Priesthood

Aside from this common priesthood which ministers directly to the world, there is, however, ANOTHER priesthood which ministers to the Church itself.

Romans 15:15-16 --"But I have written to you rather boldly in some respects to remind you, because of the grace given me by God to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in performing the PRIESTLY service of the Gospel of God, so that the offering up of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit."

Notice that nice little cognate verb ""hierourgeo," in Rom 15:16 which translates in English “to act as a priest”

There Paul speaks of himself in these words: "to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit."

St. Paul WAS a priest every bit that Pope Benedict XVI today, and every Catholic priest today IS a priest.

Examine closely Rom 15:15-16, and tell me what you see there that does not fit with the Catholic Church’s understanding of a priest as one who intercedes for the people of God as an intermediary. Then tell me, please, that the priest of today, like Paul, does not offer the people back to God in union with the perfect sacrifice of Christ, the great high priest.


I agree with what you will very likely insist that all of God’s faithful people share in the priesthood of Christ by virtue of their baptism: "Christ, high priest and unique mediator, has made of the Church ‘a kingdom, priests for his God and Father’" ( Rev. 1:6, 5:9–10).

BUT there exists another participation in the mission of Christ: the ministry conferred by the sacrament of holy orders, where the task is to serve in the name and in the person of Christ the head in the midst of the community.

In other words, the existence of a common priesthood for all God’s people does not exclude a special calling for the pastors of the Church to be priests.


If you’re looking for Biblical proof to support the negative side’s contention about the ministerial priesthood being Biblical, here’s Rom 15:16 “hierourgeo” staring at you in the face.

This is the ministerial priesthood of the Catholic (and Orthodox) Church -- a priesthood which does not minister directly to the world, but which ministers to those within the Church herself, which builds up the Church and aids the "little ones" through a ministry of unity, leadership, teaching authority, and the Sacraments, a ministry which succeeds to that of the Apostles themselves.


Support for a Ministerial Priesthood in the Old Testament

The bad news for you is that the Old Testament fully supports the idea of a ministerial priesthood aside from the common priesthood of believers.

1 Peter 2:9 speaks of a common priesthood it's true: "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light" (1 Pet. 2:9).

But you will notice that 1 Peter 2:9 is quoting from a number of Old Testament texts.

One of them is Exodus 19:6, where the people of Israel are called "a kingdom of priests."

Isaiah 61:6 says that in the New Covenant times, the restored people of God will be called "priests of the Lord."

But surely you must agree that, just because the people as a whole in the Old Covenant played a priestly role, it did not exclude a special calling for the Levites as priests. As I am sure you know, there is abundant evidence in the Old Testament for a special priesthood for the one tribe of Levi. Deuteronomy 18:1–8 is just one among many such passages.

This special priesthood could not be held by just anyone. It was restricted to those who were called.

The author of Hebrews speaks of this Old Covenant priesthood in these terms in Hebrews 5:1–4. Now, if there were two kinds of priesthood in the Old Covenant—we might call them "the priesthood of the faithful" and "the ministerial priesthood"—then why can there not be this same distinction in the New Covenant? Credit Kenneth Howell.


Reply to the common “No mention of ‘priest’” in the Bible objection


I’d be very surprised were you not to mention the above objection: about there being no mention of the word “priest” in the Bible.

Actually, I couldn’t wait for you to bring the objection up, because I have a ready answer for you: “But, of course, there IS; only, your bible’s in English, not Greek, which is the language St. Luke wrote Acts, but there it IS, , as clear as the fact that today’s Sunday Jan 30, 2011.:

Acts 14:23 --"They (Paul and Barnabas) appointed presbyters for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, commended them to the Lord in Whom they put their faith."

Now, the Greek word "presbyter" holds a special connotation in the English language.

Many bibles render it as "elder," but the Greek meaning is actually more adjectival -- being closer in meaning to "senior" -- as in a "senior citizen" or a "father" of the community (i.e. a "patriarch").

What you probably do not know, however, is that "presbyter" already has an equivalent word for the Christian usage in English -- an English word which draws its root from the Christian usage of "presbyter" in the Greek language; and that English word is, surprise, surprise: "priest."

Ask any of your friends in Greece, or perhaps we could arrange for the Greek embassy to confirm this, but, TO THIS DAY, the Greek word for “priest” is, again surprise, surprise: “presbuteros.”

Yes, for the first 500 to 1,000 years of Christianity, one word was used to describe what today we’d call a Catholic or Orthodox “priest.” And what is this word? You’re right, Gerry: “presbuteros” if the language used is Greek; “presbyterus” if the language used was Latin.


This becomes most clear when one stops reading Scripture from the English (i.e. culturally-Protestant) perspective, and one realizes that the words "presbuteros" (in Greek) and "presbyterus" (in Latin) were used to designate the role of a Catholic (or Orthodox) priest for the first five to ten hundred years of Christianity. Indeed, if one travels to Greece today, one will notice that the Greek word for "priest" is still "presbuteros."

Here's how it works:

"Presbuteros" (Greek) --> "Presbyterus" (Latin) --> "Prete" (Italian) --> "Pretre" (French) --> "Proest" (Old / Middle English) --> "Priest" (Modern English).

In other words,the "presbyters" we see in Scripture are the "priests" of the Catholic Church. See that vested minister presiding as "fathers" at the new Passover Meal (the Eucharist / Holy Communion)?

THAT, is the “presbyter” you often encounter in Scripture. For, in the Jewish Tradition, it was always the father who presided over the Passover Feast; a Tradition that has been elevated to the status of a far greater Passover Feast (the Eucharist), where the faithful are able to partake of the ONE Sacrifice of Calvary made present in their midst.


More proof

The early Christians looked up to these individuals as the "fathers of the community" -- those who offered the Sacrifice of the Mass; just as the "fathers of the tribe" offered sacrifices in Old Testament times before the Temple was built (e.g. Genesis 8:20, Genesis 15:10, Judges 13:19-20, etc).

And this is how Catholics these days call priests “father,” a practice we can see reflected in Scripture itself.

1 Corinthians 4:15 (New International Version: “Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.”

1 Corinthians 4:17 (New American Standard Bible): “For this reason I (A)have sent to you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, and he will remind you of my ways which are in Christ,just as I teach everywhere in every church.”

Timothy 1:2 (New American Standard Bible: “To Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.”

1 Timothy 1:18 (New American Standard Bible : “This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight,”

2 Timothy 1:2 (New American Standard Bible): “To Timothy, my beloved son:Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.”

1 Peter 5:13 (New American Standard Bible): “She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings, and so does my son, Mark.”

Likewise note that this custom is traces its roots in the ancient Jewish practice of referring to the Old Testament Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, etc), and their legitimate successors, as "father"

Luke 1:32 (New American Standard Bible): "He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;”
Romans 9:10 (New American Standard Bible): “And not only this, but there was Rebekah also, when she had conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac; “


Thus, it is laughable—this Protestant claim about the Bible forbidding us to call “father” anyone except God in Mt. 23:9. “Father” is used to refer to a number of personages in the Bible. In fact, were we to take this literally, we couldn’t call “father” even our biological fathers.

What Jesus means in Mt 23:9 which Protestants, in their haste to discredit the Catholic practice, practically twists, is that ultimate authority comes from God, even if that authority were held by men cf Mt 23:1-2, 30.

St. Paul confirms this in Ephesians 3:14-15 : "For this reason I kneel before the Father (Pater), from whom all fatherhood (patria) in Heaven and on earth is named."
In other words, Catholics, when they call their priests or the Pope “father,” do so because of the grace given their office(s) by the one and only Father we have in Heaven. The same is true when Catholics call “father” Abraham (Luke 16:24,30; Rom 4), or Stephen of the patriarchs and fathers present in Acts (7: 2,11,12,15,32,38,39,44,45,51,52. Catholics do so because priests ARE “fathers.”

Presbyters/Priests in the Bible

If, by now, you would still be insisting that NOWHERE in Scripture is the word “priest” founds, I’d like to give him Rev 4:4, and hope he doesn’t have a sleepless night tonight.

Rev 4:4 : "Surrounding the Throne I saw twenty-four other thrones on which twenty-four ELDERS (PRESBYTERS) sat, dressed in white garments and with gold crowns on their heads."


Who are these 24 "presbyters"? They are the 12 sons of Jacob (the heads of the 12 tribes of Israel) PLUS Christ's 12 Apostles, bringing their number to 24.

Notice here that the Apostles themselves are referred to as "presbyters." Indeed, St. Peter calls himself a “presbyter” 1 Peter 5:1 : "So I exhort the presbyters among you, as a fellow presbyter and a witness to the sufferings of Christ..."


If Peter was both an Apostle AND a presbyter, couldn’t we, then, draw the conclusion that all Apostles were presbyters? [Although not all presbyters were Apostles.]
Yet, did the presbyters have the same or similar teaching authority as the Apostles? You might be surprised, but yes, they have.

Acts 14:23 --"They (Paul and Barnabas) appointed presbyters for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, commended them to the Lord in Whom they put their faith."

Acts 15:2 -- "Because there arose no little dissension and debate by Paul and Barnabas with them (some presbyters from Jerusalem), it was decided that Paul and Barnabas, and some of the others, should go up to Jerusalem to the Apostles and presbyters about this question."

Acts 15:6 -- "The Apostles and presbyters met together to see about this matter."

Acts 15:22 -- "The Apostles and presbyters, in agreement with the whole church, decided to choose representatives and send them to Antioch (i.e. to give authoritative teaching).

Acts 15:23 -- "This is the letter delivered by them: 'The Apostles and presbyters, your brothers, to the brothers of Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia of Gentile origin..." (it then proceeds to give authoritative teaching).

Acts 21:18-25 -- "The next day, Paul accompanied us on a visit to James, and all the presbyters were present. They praised God when they heard [what God accomplished among the Gentiles] but said to them, 'Brothers, you see how many thousands of believers there are from among the Jews...So, do what we tell you...As for the Gentiles who have come to believe, we sent them our decision that they abstain from the meat of strangled animals" etc. (i.e. the authoritative letter of Acts 15).

1 Thess 5:12 -- "We ask you, brothers, to respect those who are laboring among you and who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you, and show esteem for them with special love on account of their work."

Hebrews 13:17 -- "Obey those who have the rule over you, and submit yourselves; for they watch for your souls, as they that must give an account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you."


Philippians 2:29 -- Speaking of a particular presbyter, Epaphroditus, Paul tells the Philippians to: "Welcome him then in the Lord with all joy and hold such people in esteem, because of the sake of the work of Christ he came close to death, risking his life to make up for those services to me that you could not perform."

Note, further, that this authority of the presbyters, and the respect due them because of their off is something very clear in the early Christian understanding:

Acts 23:2-5 -- "Then the High Priest Ananias ordered his attendants to strike his mouth. Then Paul said to him, 'God will strike you, you whitewashed wall. Do you indeed sit in judgment upon me according to the law, and yet in violation of the law you order me struck?' The attendants said, 'Would you revile God's high priest?' Paul answered, 'Brothers, I did not realize he was the high priest. For, it is written: 'You shall not curse a ruler of your people.' "

Note, however, that while the Apostles and presbyters – AND THEY KNEW IT-- had authority GREATER than the High Priest of Israel (Acts 4:18-20 & Acts 5:29-32), they exercised their authority with the signature Christian charity, causing modern readers of Scripture to sometimes assume this authority did not exist.

Philemon 8 --"Therefore, although I have the full right in Christ to order you to do what is proper, I rather urge you out of love to [do so], being as I am Paul, an old man, and now also a prisoner for Christ Jesus."

1 Peter 5:1-4 -- "So I exhort the presbyters among you, as a fellow presbyter and a witness to the sufferings of Christ...Tend the flock of God in your midst, overseeing not by constraint but willingly, as God would have it, not for shameful profit, but eagerly. Do not lord over those assigned to you, but be examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd is revealed, you will receive the unfading crown of glory."

I could understand why anyone would dare take the Affirmative Side in this debate: he looks at his bible and doesn’t see the word “priest” there, at least where it describes the ministerial kind that the Catholic Church these days—and concludes there’s none.

But that’s only because he apparently has not bothered to study closely Rom 15:16 and that bothersome [to Protestants] little cognate Greek verb “hierourgeo.”
Further, it is apparent that he has not bothered to study closely that little word “presbuteros” which is found all over the New Testament, an oversight which will likely cost him this debate.