Review article
https://doi.org/10.31337/oz.75.2.4
On the Nature and Degree of Ordained Ministers in the Letters of St. Jerome
Anto Mišić
orcid.org/0000-0002-9229-9788
; Faculty of Philosophy and Religious Studies, University of Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
This article was written on the occasion of the 1600th anniversary of the death of St. Jerome, the great early Christian writer, Bible scholar and theologian. Jerome was born in Stridon, a small town on the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia which was destroyed by the Goths during his lifetime. The article presents Jerome’s teaching on the nature and degree of ordained ministers based on a collection of 154 letters, 116 of which were written by Jerome and 16 of which were written to him. The collection contains also letters which Jerome translated into Latin, some of which are apochryphal. The importance and wealth of the letter collection is evident in the multiplicity and diversity of themes and in the considerable number of persons with whom Jerome corresponded. Jerome writes on ordained ministers in 27 of the 116 authentic
letters, sometimes only implicating them, while he discusses the priesthood at greater length in four letters. Jerome uses terms applying to ordained ministers which were customary in his time, namely, bishop, presbyter and deacon. He very rarely uses the Latin terms sacerdos and sacerdotio, which apply exclusively to bishops and presbyters and not to deacons. When he wishes to unify all ordained ministers under one name, he uses the term clericus. In order for someone to become a minister of the Church, according to Jerome, the decisive factor is selection by and the mission of the community, while the laying on of hands is only a confirmation of the calling. In his letters Jerome speaks of the essence of the different degrees of ordained ministers (bishops and presbyters) and links them to the Apostles, the Sacraments and the Church. Their most important role in the community is the celebration of
the Sacraments, particularly the Eucharist. Jerome’s particularity lies in his resolute negation of an essential difference in the degree of Holy Orders between a bishop and a presbyter: he distinguishes them only through the ministry of each in the Church. Thus, the distinction is moreso sociological than ontological. Deacons are essentially different from bishops and presbyters as they are successors to the Seven chosen by the Apostles and designated to serve in the community. Although Jerome considers that there is no essential distinction within Holy Orders between a bishop and presbyter, he does not negate the difference in their role and the ministry they carry out in the Church. The roots of these differences are not theological, but rather societal and structural. Seeing as the Church is also a human community, She must have a structure similar to other human communities, such as the military or ship crew who are subservient to authority.
Keywords
Church; bishop; presbyter; deacon; clergy; priest; ordained minister; letter
Hrčak ID:
238796
URI
Publication date:
11.6.2020.
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