Differences Among Them-Clergymen

Religious leaders are generally chosen by the higher ups in the hierarchy of the Church and are generally accepted. They are put in place to monitor and evaluate good deeds of their community. They inspire the group and help them in making crucial decisions as well (Johnstone).

There is a twofold hierarchy present in the Church, one of order and one of jurisdiction (Vermeersch). The hierarchy of order holds its power in celebrating the Eucharist, or the Body of Christ; while the hierarchy of jurisdiction reigns over the actual Church.

The rights of the jurisdiction hierarchy include, but are not limited to, the following. They possess the right to construct laws beneficial to the church. Jurisdiction acts as a judge on the observation of these laws. They have the right to enforce obedience and delegate consequences to those who are disobedi

The priesthood has two degrees. The first is total and complete. The second stands as an incomplete participation of the first. The first degree belongs only to the bishop. He has chief control of the Divine worship and is the president of liturgical meetings. The bishop administers all the sacraments (Vermeersch).

Another member of the Christian clergy is the pastor. The term pastor denotes a priest who is bound in virtue of his office to promote the spiritual welfare of the faithful by preaching, administering the sacraments and exercising certain powers of external government, for example, handing out light corrections for wrong doings (Hoge). The pastoral powers are almost of a paternal nature and contrast those of a bishop, which tend to be more legislative and judicial (Young). The power of appointing pastors ordinarily rests with the bishop.

Another form of religious service reigns through the minister. The word minister stems from “ministri” meaning servant. A minister is one of those charged with spiritual functions in the Christian Church who were called upon to be the servants of their brethren. It describes those of the clergy actually taking part in a function, or the celebrant as distinguished from the assistants.

In the Temple at Jerusalem, God recruited them by ranks, which had been called to God to His ritual service to the exclusion of all others. The elders formed a council, but had no sacerdotal power. It was this group who took counsel with the chief priests to capture Jesus. Consequently, the name presbyter (elder) has passed down into Christianity signifying minister of the Divine, or priest (Hoge).

The majority and most commonly known of these religious leaders are priests. The priests are a representative population in the Church that act almost as teachers. They are associated with their levels of faithfulness more so than anything else.

In addition to the rights of pastors, they also have obligations. They must preach, religiously instruct the faithful, supply their spiritual needs through sacraments, reside in their parish or mission, care for their parish property, and watch over the moral conduct of their parishioners. Along with all of these duties, a pastor must also do his best possible to remove all hindrances to their salvation (Vermeersch). If the population of a given parish grows too large for pastor to perform all his duties, he may take in as many priests necessary to help him. The parish-priest reserves the right to choose his own assistants but they are subject to bishop approval (Young).

The term minister dates from a Calvinistic viewpoint in which Calvin objected to the name priest as involving an erroneous conception of the nature of the sacred office (Vermeersch). Now, when referring to a clergyman as a minister, it implies a lower church view. At the same time, it is still common to think of him as one appointed to spiritual office in any non-Episcopal communion, especially of one having pastoral charge.

Some topics in this essay:
Jesus Consequently, Christian Church, Communion Pastors, Saint Benedict, Vermeersch United, Hoge Priests, Body Christ, , Catholic Church, Pope Church, saint benedict, church jurisdiction, defined law rights, pastors parish-priests, catholic church, hierarchy church, forgive sins, law parish-priests, sacerdotal functions, pastor office, office tenure, pastor office tenure,