CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.
THE FOUR "ORDERS" IN CHURCH GOVERNMENT
An ancient visitor to modern Christendom would be shocked to find that factions have pulled away from Apostolic Christianity not just over doctrinal matters but even over the issue of how the Church is governed. Thus, in quite a recent development, some religious bodies call themselves Congregational (ruled by the people), others are Presbyterian (ruled by the elders), still others are Episcopal (ruled by the bishops).
The New Testament teaches that all four "orders" which form the government of the Church--laity, deacons, presbyters, and bishops--are necessary to the proper functioning of the body of Christ. All four are clearly visible in Saint Paul's First Letter to Timothy.
(1) The laity are also called "saints" (Romans 1:7; 2 Cor. 1:1; 1 Tim. 5:10), the "faithful" (Eph. 1:1); and "brethren" (Col. 1:2). The laity (Gr. laos) are all the people of God, the "Priesthood" (1 Peter 2:4-10). Technically "laity" includes Clergy, though in our day the world usually refers to those in the Church who are not ordained. It is from among the laity that the other three orders emerge.
(2) The Deacons, literally "servants," are ordained to serve the Church and must meet high qualifications (1 Tim. 3:8-13). The Apostles were the first to take on the service tasks of deacons, and when the workload became too great they called for "seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business" (Acts 6:3). Besides serving the material needs of the people, deacons occupy a crucial role in the liturgical life of the Church.
(3) The Presbyters, or Elders, are visible throughout the New Testament. Their ministry from the start was to "rule," "labor in the word" and teach true "doctrine" (1 Tim. 5:17) in the local congregation. Saint Paul "appointed elders in every church" (Acts 14:23) and later instructed his apostolic apprentice, Titus, to do the same in Crete (Titus 1:5). From the word "presbyter" came the shorter form "priest," which was used in the early Church and finally became "priest." In no way is the ordained Christian Priesthood seen as a throwback to or a reenacting of the Old Testament Priesthood. Rather, joined to Christ Who Is our High Priest "according to the order of Melchizedek" (Hebrews 5:6, 10), the Orthodox Priest is likewise a minister of a New Covenant which supersedes the Old.
(4) The Bishop is the "overseer" of the congregation and clergy in a given area. Often the terms "bishop" and "elder" are interchangeable in the New Testament (Acts 20:17, 28), with the bishop being the leader of the elders. The qualifications for bishop in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:7-9 underscore this role. Nevertheless, "bishop" is a specific office both in the New Testament and in the early Church. The Twelve were the first to hold this office (in Acts 1:20 "office" is literally translated "bishopric") and they in turn consecrated other bishops to follow them. For example Timothy and Titus are clearly of a separate order from that of elder (see 1 Timothy 5:17-22; Titus 1:5). Early records show James was bishop of Jerusalem by A.D. 49 and functioned accordingly at the First Council there (Acts 15:13-22). Peter is on record as the first bishop of Antioch prior to A.D. 53, and later first bishop of Rome, where he was martyred about A.D. 65.
Perhaps the strongest early reference outside the New Testament to the presence of the four orders in church government occurs in the writings of Saint Ignatius, bishop of Antioch from A.D. 67-107, the very heart of the New Testament era. To the Church at Philadelphia (see Rev. 3:7-13) he writes of "Christian [laity] at one with the bishop and the presbyters and the deacons..." (Ign. Phil., salutation; italics added).
In the Orthodox Church authority is resident in all four orders, with the bishop providing the center of unity. His authority is not over the Church but within the Church. He is an icon of Jesus Christ, "the Shepherd and Overseer [literally, "Episcopos") of your souls" (1 Peter 2:25). Church leadership is not one or more of the orders like a symphony orchestra, a family, the body of Christ, where all the members in their given offices work together as the dwelling place of the Holy Trinity.
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the qualifications for bishop according to the new testament
1 Timothy 3:17 - Titus 1:7-9
"This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to tech; not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God); not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil."
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"For a bishop must be blameless, as steward of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled, holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort, and convict those who contradict." (Titus 1:7-9)
QUALIFICATIONS FOR DEACONS
"Likewise deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy for money, holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience. But let these also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons, being found blameless. Likewise, their wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things. Let deacons be the husband of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 3:8-13).
(Source: The Orthodox Study Bible)
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"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!" - Saint John Chrysostomos
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With agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+Father George