A History of Words (or, The Root of Clerical Orders)
At the beginning of the Church
Apostle refers to those chosen and appointed by Jesus to govern/protect/feed the Church.
Apostle means “sent one.”
The Apostles are stewards—they bear Christ’s authority and work in his stead.
The Apostles have authority over the whole Church and over each local church.
New Apostles come into existence:
In Acts 1, the 11 Apostles appointed Matthias to take Judas’ position.
Thus, their position/authority must be passed down when one dies.
Jesus chose Saul as an Apostle, which is confirmed by the other Apostles.
Thus, Apostles are ultimately chosen and empowered by Christ.
Thus, Christ’s choice is confirmed by the other Apostles.
The term “apostle” is also used non-technically for anyone sent on a mission for the Church.
Episcopos and Presbyteros are the terms used to describe the local leaders of a church.
Episcopos means “overseer/foreman/bishop,” and Presbyteros means “elder.”
The two terms are used interchangeably in the first generation of the Church.
Episcopoi/Presbyteroi (plural) were chosen and ordained by the Apostles.
Episcopoi/Presbyteroi operate under the authority of the Apostles.
They are delegates/lieutenants of the Apostles, bearing (most of) their authority and doing the basic job of the Apostles (govern/protect/feed).
Their authority/role is local, rather than catholic (i.e., over the whole Church).
Both words can be used non-technically (i.e., referring to any old man or foreman, rather than to someone with the office of elder/overseer).
Diaconos refers to one chosen for an ordained position of service in the Church.
Diaconos means “servant.” and is where the word “deacon” comes from.
The Diaconoi (plural) were chosen by the people and ordained by the Apostles.
They operated under the Apostles’ authority in concert with the Presbyteroi/Episcopoi.
The Apostles created the role of Diaconos to address the need for overseeing internal care of the poor.
The original Diaconoi were also noted evangelists and apologists.
The word “deacon” (i.e., servant) is used in the New Testament both technically (for the office) and non-technically (for anyone who serves).
By the early 2nd Century, the use of the terms had shifted (slightly)
Episcopos (Bishop) replaces the term Apostle (for someone in the lineage of the Apostles), after the original Apostles died.
Presbyteros (Priest) becomes the lone word for the local leader of a congregation.
Deacon remains more or less the same.
The words are used increasingly just in the technical sense (i.e., the office) rather than for their original and general meanings (i.e., “sent one,” “old man,” “foreman,” “servant”).
The crystalized roles (ca. 120 AD), are thus:
Episcopos (Eng., Bishop): a successor to the Apostles.
They hold and steward Christ’s authority over the Church in a certain geographical area.
There are Bishops over Bishops, called Patriarchs or Archbishops.
Presbyteros (Eng., Elder/Presbyter/Priest): an ordained local leader, under the Bishop.
They shepherd the local church in teaching, governance, worship, and sacrament.
They are delegated with most of the Bishop’s authority, for use in a local setting.
Diaconos (Eng., Deacon): an ordained Servant in a local church/diocese, under the Bishop.
They are tasked with caring for the poor, stewarding money, and assisting in worship.
Four other terms:
Roles and spiritual gifts, not offices
Evangelist
Prophet
Pastor
Teacher
Like calling your “teacher” my “leader” or “captain,” these terms refer to the roles someone plays, rather than (strictly speaking) the office they hold. Anyone (clergy or lay) could be described as “evangelist,” “pastor,” “prophet,” or “teach” simply because he or she is gifted in that manner and operates in that manner.
If that role and gifting becomes the dominant part of someone’s identity and is how he or she is known, it is understandable that the role/gifting description becomes a sort of office, like “Prophet Name.” But even in this instance, this was not considered one of the clerical orders.
A Summary of the Crystalized Roles, and How They are Exercised:
Bishops steward Christ’s authority. It remains Christ’s, but in his name, they exercise it by:
Governing the Church’s organizational structure
Governing the worship and sacramental life of the Church
Establishing, clarifying, and teaching the truth of Christ
Protecting the Church from threats both outside threats
Protecting the Church from inside threats (i.e., discipline, up to excommunication)
Consecrating successors for the sake of future generations and unreached places
Ordaining and deploying Priests and Deacons for the sake of the local churches
Pastoring the pastors of the Church
Praying for the Church
Priests are delegates of Bishop. Their role is to enact locally his authority and ministry by:
Governing the local body organizationally
Leading the church in worship and the sacraments
Teaching the church so that it grows in maturity
Protecting the local church from threats both inside and outside
Praying for the church
(Priests are not in succession from the Apostles, and therefore lack authority outside their congregation, cannot ordain other clergy members, and cannot excommunicate.)
Deacons are delegates of the Bishop. Their role is to extend the Church’s ministry at the direction of the Bishop in concert with the local Priest by:
Caring for the poor, both inside and outside the church.
Helping to lead the church in evangelistic mission.
Assisting in catechetical work, and preaching when asked by Bishop and/or Priest.
Proclaiming the Gospel to the church and assisting the Priest in worship, especially during the Eucharist.
ASIDE: Diaconissa (feminine form; Eng., Deaconness) began to be used (early 3rd Century) to refer to women who were consecrated, but not ordained. They had particular responsibilities:
They assisted in worship and did the act of baptism for other women.
They cared for women and children in the church and were catechists for them.
What About the Laity?
There are two errors: One is to see the clergy as superior members of the Body of Christ—the only ones with calling, gifting, and a ministry. The other is to deny the role and purpose of the clergy.
A Few Thoughts, from the Bible
The only “special treatment” that the clergy will get from God is stricter judgment.
Authority, according to God, only has one legitimate mode—self-sacrifice and service.
Authority for the sake of “lording it over” others or self-promotion is condemned.
He gives honor to those we neglect and elevates those we don’t value.
The leaders of the Church have been established by God to ensure that each and every saint becomes mature in Christ for the ministry that God has given him or her to do.
The entire Church is a Kingdom of Priests for the world.
To each and every member of the Body of Christ:
God issues a call to ministry.
God gives the Holy Spirit for the sake of that ministry.
God gives gifts for that ministry.
But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he…gave gifts to men.” And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ… (Eph. 4:7-13)
In other words, the clergy exist to ensure that every member of the Body of Christ grows mature in Christ, so that he or she is equipped for the ministry that God has given him or her to do. Clergy are merely stewards (and their delegates) of Christ’s work in, for, and through each of us. They exist to protect and strengthen the entire Body of Christ for its ministry. In a simplified sense:
Bishops do this by governing, feeding, and protecting the entire church.
Priests do this by teaching and leading a local church in worship and sacrament.
Deacons do this by service and evangelism.
What are the ministries to which the laity are called?
The answer is diverse, because the Body of Christ is diverse! But three basic categories are:
Being the presence of Jesus Christ toward the Father—ministries of worship.
Being the presence of Jesus Christ towards one another—ministries of service, care, edification, and organization.
Being the presence of Jesus Christ towards the world—ministries of evangelism and compassion for those in need.
What are the gifts that God gives for these ministries?
A non-exhaustive list:
Wisdom
Knowledge
Faith
Healing
Miracles
Prophecy
Spiritual insight
Tongues
Interpretation
Administration
Service
Teaching
Exhortation
Financial means
Acts of mercy
Leadership
On Bearing and Delegating Christ’s Authority:
Apostolic Succession is the doctrine that Christ appointed successors to bear his authority, and that authority in the Church is held by those appointed by them or by their successors.
Protestants are often nervous about this. American Protestants are especially nervous, because:
We prize the individual believer’s immediate access to Jesus Christ, and apostolic succession can sound like we need to go through another person to get to Christ.
Our political philosophy teaches us that authority is “bottom up” (i.e., from the people).
There have been plenty of bad and heretical bishops.
There are plenty of healthy churches not under Apostolic Succession.
That Christ appointed successors and gave his authority to them is evident from Scripture:
At Peter’s confession of Christ (Mt. 16), Jesus promised to give to him the “keys of the kingdom.”
Later (Mt. 18:18), Jesus told all the Apostles, “Whatever you should bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you should loose on earth will have been loosed in heaven.”
At the Last Supper, Jesus gave the right to enact the meal (“do this”) to the 12 Apostles.
After the Resurrection, Jesus told the Apostles that whatever they forgave would be forgiven, and whatever they refused to forgive would be held unforgiven (Jn. 20:23).
The Apostles act (in Acts and in the Epistles) like they are the stewards of Christ’s full authority, with the right to determine what the Church believes, how it is organized, and how it will worship.
That the Apostles appointed successors to steward this authority is also evident in Scripture:
Claiming the right to insert Matthias as an Apostle (Acts 1) demonstrates that the Apostles saw themselves as stewards over Christ’s kingdom, with his authority to bring others into their office.
Paul, in his first letter to Timothy and his letter to Titus, explicitly gives these men (his successors) Christ’s authority—the authority to govern the churches under their care, ordain elders and deacons, establish teaching, etc.
It is no surprise, then, that when we read the letters of the Church written in the 100s AD, we find that the belief that Christ’s authority has been passed down to the Bishops and should continue to be passed down to each generation via a chain of Bishops is “common sense” and obvious.
In fact, the early church operates under the assumption that if you aren’t under the authority of one of the successors of the Apostles (i.e., a legitimate Bishop), you might not be under Christ’s authority—even if you believe the right things and are a Christian.