Is “priest” even the right word? It’s not wrong – it’s an English word meaning “consecrated religious specialist” and it fits in the context of many different religions. But it carries assumptions that may not be accurate, and that we may not want. Oracles are the mouthpieces of the Gods. Sometimes this happens in ecstatic possession, but other times it’s a non-stop connection, like a speaker phone you can’t hang up. Yet the fact that these questions are coming to me shows that – at least in part – we expect our priests to have some expertise with contemplative practices. The monasticism and the religious services of Lamaism also present so striking a similarity with Catholic institutions that non- Catholic investigators have unhesitatingly spoken of a “Buddhist Catholicism” in Tibet. Pope and dalai-lama, Rome and the city of Lhasa are counterparts; Lamaism has its monasteries, bells, processions, litanies, relics, images of saints, holy water, rosary beads, bishop’s mitre, crosier, vestments, copes, baptism, confession, mass, sacrifice for the dead. Nevertheless, since it is the interior spirit that gives a religion its characteristic stamp, we can recognize in these externals, not a true copy of Catholicism, but only a wretched caricature. And, since this religious compound undoubtedly came into existence only in the fourteenth century, it is evident that the remarkable parallelism is the result of Catholic influence on Lamaism, not vice versa. We can only suppose that the founder Thong-Kaba was educated by a Catholic missionary. Of modern Hinduism, Schanz draws a gloomy picture: “In addition to Vishnu and Siva, spirits and demons are worshipped and feared. The River Ganges is held in special veneration. The temples are often built near lakes because to all who bathe there Brahma promises forgiveness of sin. Beasts (cows), especially snakes, trees, and lifeless objects, serve as fetishes. Their offerings consist of flowers, oil, incense, and food. To Siva and his spouse bloody sacrifices are also offered. Nor are idolatry and prostitution wanting” (“Apologie d. Christentums”, Freiburg, 1905, II, 84 sq.). The corresponding term in the Catholic Church is "parochial vicar" – an ordained priest assigned to assist the pastor (Latin: parochus) of a parish in the pastoral care of parishioners. Normally, all pastors are also ordained priests; occasionally an auxiliary bishop will be assigned that role.

Online Course - Pagan Priesthood, at the Irish Pagan School

Hebrew Lexicon:: H6948 (KJV)". cf.blueletterbible.org. Archived from the original on 2012-07-10 . Retrieved 2015-07-25. Nigosian, Solomon Alexander (1993), The Zoroastrian Faith: Tradition and Modern Research, Montreal, Quebec: McGill-Queen's University Press, p. 104, ISBN 077351144X, OCLC 243566889 There are other forms of spiritual practice, but these are the foundation – particularly for priests. Find the others Strong's H6948". Blue Letter Bible. , incorporating Strong's Concordance (1890) and Gesenius's Lexicon (1857).This is another case of wanting what we see in Christianity – someone to talk to about our problems in life. Growing up in a Baptist church, the standard response was “go talk to the preacher and ask him to pray with you.” Mainline Protestant and UU ministers generally can provide some level of pastoral counseling, though they are not mental health professionals. G.—In the religion of the Semites, we meet first the Babylonian-Assyrian priests, who, under the name “Chaldeans”, practiced the interpretation of dreams and the reading of the stars and conducted special schools for priests, besides performing their functions in connection with the sacrifices. Hence their division into various classes: sacrificers (nisakku), seers (bdret), exorcists (aipu) etc. Glorious temples with idols of human and hybrid form arose in Assyria, and (apart from the obligatory cult of the stars) served for astrological and astronomical purposes. Among the Syrians the cruel, voluptuous cult of Moloch and Astarte found its special home, Astarte especially (Babylonian, Ishtar) being known to the ancients simply as the “Syrian Goddess” (Dea Syria). Likewise among the semitized Phoenicians, Amonites, and Philistines these ominous deities found special veneration. Howling and dancing priests sought to appease the bloodthirsty Moloch by sacrifices of children and self-mutilation, as the analogous Galli strove to pacify the Phrygian goddess Cybele. The notorious priests of Baal of the Chanaanites were for the Jews as strong an incentive to idolatry as the cult of Astarte was a temptation to immorality. The south-Semitic religion of the ancient pagan Arabians was a plain religion of the desert without a distinct priesthood; modern Islam or Mohammedanism has a clergy (muezzin, announcer of the hours of prayer; imam, leader of the prayers; khatib, preacher), but no real priesthood. The west-Semitic branch of the Hebrews is treated in the next section.

A Practical Guide to Pagan Priesthood - Google Books

I’ve avoided using the term “leader” so far. Leadership can come from any position or role. But we expect leadership from our priests, and we often look at them as figureheads in our movement, rightly or wrongly. Description of the problem of Roman Catholic and Old Catholic reunion with respect to the female priesthood The feminine English noun, priestess, was coined in the 17th century, to refer to female priests of the pre-Christian religions of classical antiquity. In the 20th century, the word was used in controversies surrounding the women ordained in the Anglican communion, who are referred to as "priests", irrespective of gender, and the term priestess is generally considered archaic in Christianity.A Roman matron was any mature woman of the upper class, married or unmarried. Females could serve public cult as Vestal Virgins but few were chosen, and then only from young maidens of the upper class. [13] Ancient Greece [ edit ] This is true for us whether we are hard polytheists, humanists, naturists, or operating from a non-dual frame. In each case there are the Divinities, and irrespective of Their being interpreted as completely separate, aspects of our psyches, human generated stories, manifestations of, simply Nature herself, or in any other theological frame, They abide. They, however framed, are what we gather around to remember, to honor, to affirm their value, or in other words, to worship. Regardless of our understanding of what it means, when we gather in worship we all come together as a community. This is the place where we all meet. The word "priest", is ultimately derived from Latin via Greek presbyter, [2] the term for "elder", especially elders of Jewish or Christian communities in late antiquity. The Latin presbyter ultimately represents Greek πρεσβύτερος presbúteros, the regular Latin word for "priest" being sacerdos, corresponding to ἱερεύς hiereús. This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. This article is about Slavic priests. For other uses, see Volkhov (disambiguation). Oleg meets the volkhv. Painting by Viktor Vasnetsov.

Pagan Priests. Religion and Power in the Ancient World Pagan Priests. Religion and Power in the Ancient World

The retention of long skirts and vestments among many ranks of contemporary priests when they officiate may be interpreted to express the ancient traditions of the cultures from which their religious practices arose. What I present here is done in the context of the polytheist religion that I practice. There’s no precise name for this tradition – yet – so I call it ancestral, devotional, ecstatic, oracular, magical, public, Pagan polytheism. The structures I’m proposing will be more or less relevant to you to the extent that your path is more or less similar to mine.I am pleased to say that other priest-folk connected with Hermes have been in touch with me and I hope more do. Perhaps we will be able to form a college. Other Priestfolk have told me about embracing this program. I hope you will too. Writing rituals and leading rituals requires two separate skill sets. Ritual is in part sacred theater – the work of the writer and the director is different from the work of the performers. Akintoye, S. A. (2010). A History of the Yoruba People. Dakar, Senegal. ISBN 978-2-35926-005-2. OCLC 609888714. {{ cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher ( link) In the Cuban Santería, a male priest is called Santero, while female priests are called Iyanifas or "mothers of wisdom". [49] Neo-paganism [ edit ] Wicca [ edit ] Wiccan priestess preaching in the United States Perhaps. But not likely. There are others like you – people who have heard the call of a deity and are doing their best to respond

Pagan Priesthood: Community Leadership A Practical Guide to Pagan Priesthood: Community Leadership

Conservative Lutheran reforms are reflected in the theological and practical view of the ministry of the church. Much of European Lutheranism follows the traditional Catholic governance of deacon, presbyter, and bishop. The Lutheran archbishops of Finland, Sweden, etc. and Baltic countries are the historic national primates and some ancient cathedrals and parishes in the Lutheran church were constructed many centuries before the Reformation. Indeed, ecumenical work within the Anglican Communion and among Scandinavian Lutherans mutually recognize the historic apostolic legitimacy and full communion. Likewise in America, Lutherans have embraced the apostolic succession of bishops in the full communion with Episcopalians and most Lutheran ordinations are performed by a bishop. Gerarai, fourteen Athenian matrons of Dionysus, presided over sacrifices and participated in the festivals of Anthesteria. Larger groups generally do a better job of spreading this work around – most of it doesn’t require the specific skills of a consecrated religious specialist. But there is still the impression that a priest is going to be the last one to leave at the end of the night.Priesthood in the ancient world was a call to service and a coveted honor. The Priestfolk were responsible for maintaining the rhythm of society through worship and festival, nurturing the culture’s connection with the Gods. Pagan Priesthood is far from there, but we can rebuild… Most prominent Pagans I know accept their public-facing work as a necessity. A few simply refuse to do it – it causes them too much stress. And a few love it… sometimes too much. How much can one person do? The high-priest had supreme supervision of the Ark of the Covenant (and of the Temple), of Divine service in general and of the whole personnel connected with public worship. He presided at the Sanhedrin. He alone could perform the liturgy on the Feast of Expiation, on which occasion he put on his costly vestments only after the sacrifices were completed. He alone might offer sacrifice for his own sins and those of the people (Lev., iv, 5), enter the holy of holies (sanctum sanctorum), and seek counsel of Jahweh on important occasions. The office of high-priest in the house of Aaron was at first hereditary in the line of his first-born son Eleazar, but in the period from Hell to Abiathar (1131 to 973 B.C.) it belonged, by right of primogeniture, to the line of Ithamar. Under the rule of the Seleucidae (from about 175 B.C.) the office was sold for money to the highest bidder. At a later period it became hereditary in the family of the Hasmon. With the destruction of the central sanctuary by the Romans, the high-priesthood disappeared.