In recognition of scripture, Church tradition, and contemporary Church teaching, the identity of the Catholic Priesthood has been established. In review of tradition and documentation, one recognizes the qualifications of the priesthood, the duty of the priesthood, and furthermore the theological presuppositions of the priesthood. However, in recognition of the identity of the Catholic Priesthood, identifying a ‘simple’ theological definition is difficult to establish. In its sacramental nature, the relationship between the divine and human is incredibly ‘complex’. (Montini xv) Thus, as contemporary scholars allude to a ‘mutual’ identity of the priesthood (Martos 120), one must first examine a ‘singularity’ in which the priesthood corresponds. Ultimately, it is within the grace flowing from Christ’s ministry in which a singularity of identity rather than a mutual relationship of the Priesthood exists.
In order to explain the identity of the Catholic Priesthood, the Priesthood must be viewed within its relationship with the Old Covenant. In recognition of the soteriological faith of Old Testament Israel, the Catholic Church recognizes Levitical Priesthood of the Jews. (Numbers 18) However, as the Levitical priesthood was identifiable in its lineage dating back to Levi, the established Priesthood in Catholicism traces its divine lineage back to the High Priesthood of Melchizedek. (Martos 403) In Catholicism, Jesus Christ assumes the role of High Priest once and for all as “a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek”. (Genesis 14:18, Heb. 5:6-11)
In regards to the New Covenant, it is believed that through Christ’s Priesthood, the Covenant of the Old Testament has been fulfilled. For example, the epistle to the Hebrews speaks of the priesthood of Christ in comparing his sacrificial death to the Jewish high priests’ offerings for the sins of Israel. (Hebrews 9:6-7) As Christ is the fulfillment of the priesthood of the Old Covenant, Christ reconciled man to God in a similar fashion that the priesthood of the Old Covenant reconciled Israel to God through sacrifice. However, the sacrifice that Christ offered was a complete and whole sacrifice in that it ‘eternally’ reconciled man to God. (Hebrews 10:14) The sacrificial example of Christ’s death was whole and complete in the sense that Christ offered himself, and more importantly, offered God incarnate, as the atonement of man’s sin. (Georgen 9)
For Christians, Christ had all the characteristics of the priesthood which he exercised in his observant and sacrificial life (Georgen 11). The scriptural perception of Christ's priesthood cannot, however, be taken in isolation. In attempt to establish the identity of the modern priesthood, Church tradition has outlined a notion that the priesthood consists of those whom act Alter Christus. (Greshake 29)
As Alter Christus means to say that the ministerial priest is another Christ, this is only understandable in light of understanding who Christ was and what Christ accomplished. As scripture states, Christ offered himself. (Heb 7:27) Thus, as one can only understand the significance of Christ’s ministry through what he administered, similarly, one can only understand what Christ administered if one has a theological understanding of the sacramental nature of Christ.
In attempt to investigate the various aspects of the identity of Christ, one respectively gets the impression that they are dealing with the unattainable mystery of the ‘hypostatic’ word. (Greshake 44) This primordial divinity of the incarnate nature of Christ as recorded in the New Testament reflects a state of being, that seems foreign and transcended to the state of man. However, as the incarnate word, Christ served as a mediator between man and God.(1 Tm 2:5) Thus, Priests recognize their identity to the extent that they live within the ‘imminent’ mediation of the incarnate word. (Greshake 30)
Furthermore, as Christ bestowed the effects of his priesthood: "As the Father has sent me, so I send you" (Jn 20:21), Christ instituted an immersion into God by commanding others to enter his Priesthood. This reference to scripture represents the continuation of Christ’s word, command, and ‘Order’ through establishing a priesthood. (Martos 463) Thus, upon entering into the priesthood of Christ, the priest, like Christ, also becomes an ‘instrument’ of God’s word. (Montini xiv)
Also, in obeying Christ as a sacrificial servant, the priesthood acts as a channel of Christ’s servitude. (Buechlin 47) Respectively, just as Christ redeemed the world by a priestly act of sacrifice, so too the ordained priest, by virtue of participation in Christ’s priesthood, offers that same sacrifice. (Martos 459) In regards to a ‘mutual’ identity of the Preisthood, it should be noted that the sacrificial rituals offered by the Catholic Priesthood are not distinct from that which Christ Himself offered, however these sacramental rituals are a reenactment thereof. (Power 116,117)
Thus, as Vatican II’s Presbyterorum Ordinis states, ‘the priestly office is to administer religious rites, and especially to make sacrificial offerings”, so too does the Catechism of the Catholic Church state "Holy Orders is the sacrament through which the mission entrusted by Christ to his apostles continues to be exercised in the Church". (Catechism 1536) Thus, Christ’s life is reflected as continuous within the life of the Priesthood which is immersed in the Sacraments. (Greshake 49)
It is by virtue of this sacramental consecration by which the priest enters the grace of Christ’s ministry. (Greshake 29) Through sacramental consecration, the priest enters into a spiritual unity of Christ’s ministry. (Buechlein 48) Through the priesthood which arises from the grace of Christ, the priesthood sacramentally enters into communion with God from which the ministry flows. (Buechlin 44) Thus, as the priesthood is immersed in the sacrament of Christ, the Priest also becomes a ‘living sacrament’ within the ministry of Christ. (Buechlin 42)
From scripture, and the continuing documents of the Church, one sees how the sacramental nature of the priesthood continues to represent the priesthood of Christ. Ultimately however, as priests enter the ministry of Christ, so too is Christ recognized as the High Priest of all humanity. (Hebrews 4:14) Presbyterorum Ordinis continues to state that through Holy Orders, priests are configured to Christ the Priest in such a way that they are able to act in the person of Christ. (Georgen 110) This is similar to the scripture which reads, ‘who has entered the priesthood of Christ, administers sacraments through Christ’. (1 Pet. 2:5,9)
Thus, by virtue of sacramental consecration, the priest is not only set apart to simply perform certain functional sacramental rituals, rather, by virtue of the sacramental consecration which the priest receives, he is transformed into the sacramental ministry of Christ. (Martos 459) Through sacramental consecration, the priest not only enters Christ’s mission and ministry, but the priest is also configured to Christ the Priest. (Presbyterorum Ordinis 2) Furthermore, as a Priest’s soul is marked with an indelible character (sacramentum et res) upon ordination, so too is the Priest conformed to Christ the Priest in such a way that they can act in the person of Christ the Head. (Presbyerorum 10) Thus, as Christ is the mediator of the entire priesthood before God, the ordained priest works in his person. (2 Cor. 2: 10)
Another example of the assimilation of the Priesthood into Christ is that the sacraments of ordination ‘ontologically’ change the priest (Buechlein 43). This ontological transformation reflects the spiritually transformative essence of God’s incarnate ministry through Christ. In fact, as the sacraments themselves are not only signs of salvation and grace, but spiritually transformed species, the reality of grace imbued in the material sacrament represents the incarnation and invocation of salvation. (Greshake 28) Essentially, this spiritual endowment of the sacraments represents the transformed inward nature of the priestly identity, which is an identity of grace through Christ. The imitation of Christ, or rather the assimilation into Christ’s priesthood and ministry introduces a mystical element of the sacrificial nature of Christ. (Montini xvii)
In addressing the speculative ‘mutual’ identity of the priesthood, a ‘crisis’ results in such a complimentary definition of a ‘relative’ priestly entity. However, in understanding the ‘twofold’ theological nature of Christ, one can understand the reason why such a concept of ‘mutual’ identity is associated with the Priesthood and Christ. Therefore, upon enquiry into such a ‘mutual’ identity of the priesthood, one must in some detail reflect upon the ‘twofold’ nature of Christ.
In the Gospels, Christ’s mission was to do the will of God, even though it included death. As recorded within Luke 22:42, Jesus asked God to “remove this cup” of oncoming crucifixion. However, Christ’s obedience eventually overcomes his anxiety when he states, “not what I want, but what you want.” (Mk 14:36) Vatican II reflected this aspect of the priesthood when it stated, “When he is drawn to think about his real self he turns to those deep recesses of his being where God who probes the heart awaits him, and where he himself decides his own destiny in the sight of God”. (Gaudium et Spes) As one within Christ, the priesthood experiences a similar conflict of spirit which Christ faced.
However, as Vatican II states, “nevertheless man has been wounded by sin” (Gaudium et Spes, 14), it is within this exclusive state of being wounded by sin, and being saved through grace in which the priesthood seems to be separate from Christ. Complimentary, Vatican II expresses this crisis when it states, "The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the people of our time, are the grief and anguish of the followers of Christ as well". (Gaudium et Spes, 1) Thus, as the Catholic theologian Gisbert Greshake draws upon, the ‘unpriestliness’ of the priesthood is precisely what unites all the priesthood into the fulfillment of Christ through grace. (Greshake 44)
In conclusion, the identity of the Priesthood which corresponds with scripture, Church tradition, and contemporary teaching, is rooted in the identity of the Priesthood of Christ. However, when modern scholarship recognizes a ‘mutual’ identity of the Priesthood, the singularity of Christ’s Priesthood is compromised. As Christ lived obedient, and served as the ultimate sacrifice of atonement, the High Priesthood of Christ ultimately assimilates the Catholic Priesthood into a state of grace by which there is a singularity of identity rather than a mutual relationship existent. Thus, as the priesthood is ultimately assimilated into Christ, the identity of the priesthood is ultimately an identity of Christ.
Works Cited
Buechlein, Daniel M. “The Sacramental Identity of the Ministerial Priesthood”, Priests for a New Millennium Catholic Bishops of the United States, Priests for a New Millennium Washington, D.C., United States Catholic Conference, US 2000
Flannery, Austin. Vatican Council II: Constitutions, Decrees, Declarations Costello Publishing Co, US 1996
Goergen, Donald J. Being a Priest Today, Editor: Goergen, Donald J., Liturgical Press, US. 1992
Greshake, Gisbert. The Meaning of the Christian Priesthood Christian Classics, US. 1989
Martos, Joseph. Doors to the Sacred Liguori publications, US. 2001
Montini, J.P., The Catholic priesthood: papal documents from St Pius X to Pius XII, ed. Monsignor P. Veuillot, Dublin 1957
Power, David N. “Representing Christ In Community and Sacrament”, Being a Priest Today, Editor: Goergen, Donald J., Liturgical Press, US. 1992
The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha, New Revised Standard Version Michael D. Coogan, Marc Z. Brettler, Carol A. Newsom, Pheme Perkins United States: Oxford University Press, 2001
U.S. Catholic Church, Catechism of the Catholic Church Galilee Trade, US. 1995
In order to explain the identity of the Catholic Priesthood, the Priesthood must be viewed within its relationship with the Old Covenant. In recognition of the soteriological faith of Old Testament Israel, the Catholic Church recognizes Levitical Priesthood of the Jews. (Numbers 18) However, as the Levitical priesthood was identifiable in its lineage dating back to Levi, the established Priesthood in Catholicism traces its divine lineage back to the High Priesthood of Melchizedek. (Martos 403) In Catholicism, Jesus Christ assumes the role of High Priest once and for all as “a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek”. (Genesis 14:18, Heb. 5:6-11)
In regards to the New Covenant, it is believed that through Christ’s Priesthood, the Covenant of the Old Testament has been fulfilled. For example, the epistle to the Hebrews speaks of the priesthood of Christ in comparing his sacrificial death to the Jewish high priests’ offerings for the sins of Israel. (Hebrews 9:6-7) As Christ is the fulfillment of the priesthood of the Old Covenant, Christ reconciled man to God in a similar fashion that the priesthood of the Old Covenant reconciled Israel to God through sacrifice. However, the sacrifice that Christ offered was a complete and whole sacrifice in that it ‘eternally’ reconciled man to God. (Hebrews 10:14) The sacrificial example of Christ’s death was whole and complete in the sense that Christ offered himself, and more importantly, offered God incarnate, as the atonement of man’s sin. (Georgen 9)
For Christians, Christ had all the characteristics of the priesthood which he exercised in his observant and sacrificial life (Georgen 11). The scriptural perception of Christ's priesthood cannot, however, be taken in isolation. In attempt to establish the identity of the modern priesthood, Church tradition has outlined a notion that the priesthood consists of those whom act Alter Christus. (Greshake 29)
As Alter Christus means to say that the ministerial priest is another Christ, this is only understandable in light of understanding who Christ was and what Christ accomplished. As scripture states, Christ offered himself. (Heb 7:27) Thus, as one can only understand the significance of Christ’s ministry through what he administered, similarly, one can only understand what Christ administered if one has a theological understanding of the sacramental nature of Christ.
In attempt to investigate the various aspects of the identity of Christ, one respectively gets the impression that they are dealing with the unattainable mystery of the ‘hypostatic’ word. (Greshake 44) This primordial divinity of the incarnate nature of Christ as recorded in the New Testament reflects a state of being, that seems foreign and transcended to the state of man. However, as the incarnate word, Christ served as a mediator between man and God.(1 Tm 2:5) Thus, Priests recognize their identity to the extent that they live within the ‘imminent’ mediation of the incarnate word. (Greshake 30)
Furthermore, as Christ bestowed the effects of his priesthood: "As the Father has sent me, so I send you" (Jn 20:21), Christ instituted an immersion into God by commanding others to enter his Priesthood. This reference to scripture represents the continuation of Christ’s word, command, and ‘Order’ through establishing a priesthood. (Martos 463) Thus, upon entering into the priesthood of Christ, the priest, like Christ, also becomes an ‘instrument’ of God’s word. (Montini xiv)
Also, in obeying Christ as a sacrificial servant, the priesthood acts as a channel of Christ’s servitude. (Buechlin 47) Respectively, just as Christ redeemed the world by a priestly act of sacrifice, so too the ordained priest, by virtue of participation in Christ’s priesthood, offers that same sacrifice. (Martos 459) In regards to a ‘mutual’ identity of the Preisthood, it should be noted that the sacrificial rituals offered by the Catholic Priesthood are not distinct from that which Christ Himself offered, however these sacramental rituals are a reenactment thereof. (Power 116,117)
Thus, as Vatican II’s Presbyterorum Ordinis states, ‘the priestly office is to administer religious rites, and especially to make sacrificial offerings”, so too does the Catechism of the Catholic Church state "Holy Orders is the sacrament through which the mission entrusted by Christ to his apostles continues to be exercised in the Church". (Catechism 1536) Thus, Christ’s life is reflected as continuous within the life of the Priesthood which is immersed in the Sacraments. (Greshake 49)
It is by virtue of this sacramental consecration by which the priest enters the grace of Christ’s ministry. (Greshake 29) Through sacramental consecration, the priest enters into a spiritual unity of Christ’s ministry. (Buechlein 48) Through the priesthood which arises from the grace of Christ, the priesthood sacramentally enters into communion with God from which the ministry flows. (Buechlin 44) Thus, as the priesthood is immersed in the sacrament of Christ, the Priest also becomes a ‘living sacrament’ within the ministry of Christ. (Buechlin 42)
From scripture, and the continuing documents of the Church, one sees how the sacramental nature of the priesthood continues to represent the priesthood of Christ. Ultimately however, as priests enter the ministry of Christ, so too is Christ recognized as the High Priest of all humanity. (Hebrews 4:14) Presbyterorum Ordinis continues to state that through Holy Orders, priests are configured to Christ the Priest in such a way that they are able to act in the person of Christ. (Georgen 110) This is similar to the scripture which reads, ‘who has entered the priesthood of Christ, administers sacraments through Christ’. (1 Pet. 2:5,9)
Thus, by virtue of sacramental consecration, the priest is not only set apart to simply perform certain functional sacramental rituals, rather, by virtue of the sacramental consecration which the priest receives, he is transformed into the sacramental ministry of Christ. (Martos 459) Through sacramental consecration, the priest not only enters Christ’s mission and ministry, but the priest is also configured to Christ the Priest. (Presbyterorum Ordinis 2) Furthermore, as a Priest’s soul is marked with an indelible character (sacramentum et res) upon ordination, so too is the Priest conformed to Christ the Priest in such a way that they can act in the person of Christ the Head. (Presbyerorum 10) Thus, as Christ is the mediator of the entire priesthood before God, the ordained priest works in his person. (2 Cor. 2: 10)
Another example of the assimilation of the Priesthood into Christ is that the sacraments of ordination ‘ontologically’ change the priest (Buechlein 43). This ontological transformation reflects the spiritually transformative essence of God’s incarnate ministry through Christ. In fact, as the sacraments themselves are not only signs of salvation and grace, but spiritually transformed species, the reality of grace imbued in the material sacrament represents the incarnation and invocation of salvation. (Greshake 28) Essentially, this spiritual endowment of the sacraments represents the transformed inward nature of the priestly identity, which is an identity of grace through Christ. The imitation of Christ, or rather the assimilation into Christ’s priesthood and ministry introduces a mystical element of the sacrificial nature of Christ. (Montini xvii)
In addressing the speculative ‘mutual’ identity of the priesthood, a ‘crisis’ results in such a complimentary definition of a ‘relative’ priestly entity. However, in understanding the ‘twofold’ theological nature of Christ, one can understand the reason why such a concept of ‘mutual’ identity is associated with the Priesthood and Christ. Therefore, upon enquiry into such a ‘mutual’ identity of the priesthood, one must in some detail reflect upon the ‘twofold’ nature of Christ.
In the Gospels, Christ’s mission was to do the will of God, even though it included death. As recorded within Luke 22:42, Jesus asked God to “remove this cup” of oncoming crucifixion. However, Christ’s obedience eventually overcomes his anxiety when he states, “not what I want, but what you want.” (Mk 14:36) Vatican II reflected this aspect of the priesthood when it stated, “When he is drawn to think about his real self he turns to those deep recesses of his being where God who probes the heart awaits him, and where he himself decides his own destiny in the sight of God”. (Gaudium et Spes) As one within Christ, the priesthood experiences a similar conflict of spirit which Christ faced.
However, as Vatican II states, “nevertheless man has been wounded by sin” (Gaudium et Spes, 14), it is within this exclusive state of being wounded by sin, and being saved through grace in which the priesthood seems to be separate from Christ. Complimentary, Vatican II expresses this crisis when it states, "The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the people of our time, are the grief and anguish of the followers of Christ as well". (Gaudium et Spes, 1) Thus, as the Catholic theologian Gisbert Greshake draws upon, the ‘unpriestliness’ of the priesthood is precisely what unites all the priesthood into the fulfillment of Christ through grace. (Greshake 44)
In conclusion, the identity of the Priesthood which corresponds with scripture, Church tradition, and contemporary teaching, is rooted in the identity of the Priesthood of Christ. However, when modern scholarship recognizes a ‘mutual’ identity of the Priesthood, the singularity of Christ’s Priesthood is compromised. As Christ lived obedient, and served as the ultimate sacrifice of atonement, the High Priesthood of Christ ultimately assimilates the Catholic Priesthood into a state of grace by which there is a singularity of identity rather than a mutual relationship existent. Thus, as the priesthood is ultimately assimilated into Christ, the identity of the priesthood is ultimately an identity of Christ.
Works Cited
Buechlein, Daniel M. “The Sacramental Identity of the Ministerial Priesthood”, Priests for a New Millennium Catholic Bishops of the United States, Priests for a New Millennium Washington, D.C., United States Catholic Conference, US 2000
Flannery, Austin. Vatican Council II: Constitutions, Decrees, Declarations Costello Publishing Co, US 1996
Goergen, Donald J. Being a Priest Today, Editor: Goergen, Donald J., Liturgical Press, US. 1992
Greshake, Gisbert. The Meaning of the Christian Priesthood Christian Classics, US. 1989
Martos, Joseph. Doors to the Sacred Liguori publications, US. 2001
Montini, J.P., The Catholic priesthood: papal documents from St Pius X to Pius XII, ed. Monsignor P. Veuillot, Dublin 1957
Power, David N. “Representing Christ In Community and Sacrament”, Being a Priest Today, Editor: Goergen, Donald J., Liturgical Press, US. 1992
The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha, New Revised Standard Version Michael D. Coogan, Marc Z. Brettler, Carol A. Newsom, Pheme Perkins United States: Oxford University Press, 2001
U.S. Catholic Church, Catechism of the Catholic Church Galilee Trade, US. 1995
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