Priesthood

The sacrament of priesthood is a vocation to serve God and the Church. If you feel a vocation to become a priest, deacon or monk, our parish priests will be happy to help you discover and develop this vocation.

The Church of Jesus Christ is a community that praises and gives thanks, lives together and shares everything with each other, a community of people reconciled to God by Jesus Christ. Every baptized and confirmed person participates in the priesthood of Jesus Christ. This is the "common priesthood, priestly community" - everyone participates in the mission of Jesus Christ according to their calling. Every Christian and every Christian is a witness of Christ.

In the first letter of Peter (2, 9), the persecuted community is reminded of its dignity: "And you are a chosen family, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a purchased people, called to proclaim the glorious works of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light."

The Church, God's people in the world, lives among other nations. It, the community of believers, needs its own leaders, those who are called, authorized by Jesus Christ and who care for the unity and fidelity to the Faith of believers out of love for Him.

There are three levels of sacramental ecclesiastical ministry: bishops, priests and deacons. They all participate in the priesthood of Jesus Christ, it is the basis of their ministry; they represent the Church.

They are chosen from the community of saints and appointed to serve it. Therefore, they are ordained for this ministry.

A bishop presides over an ecclesiastical area called a diocese. Here he is responsible for preaching the Gospel, worshiping and caring for the poor. As the successors of the apostles, the bishops decide who to assign positions in the church; they ordain deacons and priests. The highest bishop is the Bishop of Rome, the Pope. He is the successor of Saint Peter, to whom the resurrected Christ entrusted his flock (Jn 21, 15-17).

Just as Peter, who was appointed by the Lord Himself as the first apostle, was related to the other apostles, so the Pope, the successor of Peter, and the bishops, the successors of the apostles, are related to each other. The Pope, vicar of Jesus Christ and shepherd of the whole Church, is the cord and foundation of the unity of the Church. Bishops have power only when they go together with the Pope, the Bishop of Rome. The Pope heads the college of bishops (cardinals). The Pope appoints bishops. They receive consecrations and powers through anointing, prayer and the laying on of hands by other bishops.

In order to resolve conflicts relevant to the entire Church, the Pope convenes the bishops in a General Council. There have been a total of 21 such General Assemblies of all bishops in the history of the Church. They are called councils. Their decisions bind the entire Church. The last General Assembly of the Church took place in 1962-1965 in the Vatican. It is called the Second Vatican Council.

Priests are ordained by the bishop. Empowered by Jesus, they lead their community. They preach and explain the Gospel, sacrifice St. Mass, offering the sacraments. During the consecration, the bishop anoints them and is the first to lay his hands on them - and then all the other priests participating in the consecration. Newly ordained priests solemnly promise their obedience to the bishop.

The bishop also ordains deacons, priest assistants appointed to serve the community.

These three main ministries of the Church (bishopric, priesthood and diaconate) have a long history and go back to the times of the apostles. Those twelve men were chosen by Jesus Himself from among His disciples and appointed as His witnesses. He Himself sends them into the world to preach the Gospel, to do signs that show that the Kingdom of God is near, to baptize and gather a new nation of God from all the nations of the world. After Pentecost, they preach by the power of the Holy Spirit first in Jerusalem, then in its surroundings and finally in all the countries of the world "to the ends of the earth". They baptize all believers, lay hands on their heads to receive the Holy Spirit, who creates communities of believers. They appoint "elders" to lead the congregations and entrust them with prayer and the laying on of hands. This is how they accept people into God's service.

When a conflict arose in the Jerusalem community over the failure to provide for the wives of Greek-speaking Jewish Christians, the apostles appointed assistants to carry out these duties. Evangelist Luke in the Acts of the Apostles (chapter 6) tells about 7 deacons on whom the apostles laid hands.

Men who are entrusted with positions of trust in the Church must meet certain requirements. There is not much emphasis on acquired knowledge or background. They must believe in God, Jesus Christ and love people, especially the poor. God's love can be shown to people only by those who follow the words of Jesus: "Whoever wants to be the greatest among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of all" (Mk 10, 43-44).

We pray:

We fervently beg that we,

participants of the Sacrifice of the Body and Blood of Christ,

The Holy Spirit would focus on unity.

Remember, Lord, your Church

in the wide world: cultivate perfect love in it,

protect our Pope, our bishop and all the priesthood.

P.L.G. FROM THE II EUCHARIST PRAYER

Bishop (Greek episkopos - "overseer"): Bishops together with the Pope lead the Church and take care of the preaching of the whole Gospel. Bishop duties are given to unmarried men, just like priests.

Priest (Greek presbyteros - "elder"): The Orthodox and Catholic Churches hold that the priesthood is given only to men by the Will of Christ. Priests of the Catholic Church are bound by celibacy. "Priests are ordained by the Sacrament of Holy Orders ... to preach the Gospel, to lead the faithful and to give honor to God through holy rites" (II Vatican Council, On the Constitution of the Church, 28).

**Deacon **(Greek diakonos - "servant"): Married men can also be ordained as deacons. Deacons do not have the right to offer St. Mass and sacramental forgiveness of sins. They serve the poor in communities, help St. During Mass, stands next to the priest at the altar.