Christians who lived closer to the time of the apostles had a liturgical worship that centered on the Eucharist. They understood that there was a role to build each other up as “spiritual temples” and “living stones.” The apostles were not of the Levitical priesthood. Not all Christians were from Israel genealogically. Christ continued the apostolic ministry through the priesthood and the episcopacy and the holy nation of people by transferring these to the New Israel, who are now Orthodox Christians. Archpriest Nikolai Afanasiev, an Orthodox theologian in the 20th c., expressed this early Christian background by emphasizing the lay leadership in the Church. When unholiness of the clergy began to make Medieval Christians call into question the dogmatic and structural aspects of the Church and in the later Reformation Era, anticlerical movements gained ground in Protestant countries as well as Roman Catholic ones. The Council of Trent exacerbated animosity toward the clergy when the Pope of Rome more sharply distinguished the roles of “teachers” and docile “learners,” or priests and people.
But there was an important distinction between apostles who witnessed Christ’s earthly ministry and later apostles. The “circle of the apostles” revolved around the eucharistic community and overseeing various “ministries” of the members of all the churches. One of the charismatic gifts given by the Holy Trinity to the Church is leadership. The Holy Apostles Peter and Paul had been given this apostolic gift of leadership among the other apostles too, and that is carried on in the apostolic succession of the hierarchy, which is a Greek word that means “holy leadership” (hiero-archos). The Holy Spirit secures this passing down of gifts to all believers. In this way, Jesus’ ministry has continued through the charismatic succession of apostles in the hierarchical structure of the Church. There was not a solidified distinction between priests and bishops until the 2nd c. Priests came to represent the apostolic assembly while the bishops became the symbol of the Shepherd who serves, heals and leads the sheep into grace-filled gifts. The Greek word episcope means a person who oversees or watches over others. Bishops sit watching “in the place of God,” but not in replacement of Him. Jesus Christ did not come to leave the Church to wander off like sheep tend to do, as many Protestants would like to imagine how the early Church got easily off course so soon. Order is the ontological structure of the Church. Without hierarchy, there is anarchy, whether in our souls or buildings. The priesthood is also important because it is described as “the art of healing men.” Jesus first said to the disciples to become fishers of men. Another important ordered ministry of the Church are deacons (another Greek word that means service). Deacons often are put in charge of baptizing men, calling Christians to prayer, teaching and eucharistic service, just as we see happening today. There were also deaconesses who helped to teach and minister to other women and assist with female baptisms. Here we can see a recognition of the spiritual importance of ministry and order even to the needs of different genders. The inner structure of the Church and its outward hierarchy leads us into imitating holiness and virtue so that we can pass on those gifts to other Christians.