St. John Chrysostom on Christ and His
Priests
Let us do all we can,
then, to possess the Holy Ghost and to reverence with all
honour those to whom his power has been confided. In truth,
great is this priestly dignity. When you forgive men's sins,
they are forgiven (Jn 20). For this reason St. Paul adds:
Obey those who have charge over you and yield to their will
(Heb 13). Hold them in great esteem. You look after your own
affairs and if they go well then there is no need for you to
give an account of those of others; while the priest, even
though his own life may be sound, if he does not look after
yours and others under his charge, will go to hell.
Knowing their great danger, then, show
them much affection. St. Paul implies this when he says:
They are keeping unwearied watch over your souls because
they know they will have an account to give (Heb 13). For
this reason it is just that they should enjoy your esteem.
For while the priest enjoys your esteem he can guide your
affairs perfectly; but if you cause him to get discouraged
his hands will lose their vigour and will expose him to the
danger of perishing with you in the waves, no matter how
strong his spirit may be. Remember what Christ said of the
Jews: do what they tell you (Matt 23). For this reason St.
Paul also says: We are Christ's ambassadors, then, and God
appeals to you through us (2 Cor 5).
When God chooses, are we going to despise
the object of his choice, caluminate him, load him with a
thousand insults and having been warned not to judge our
brethren, sharpen our tongues against the priests? What
defence can there be for such conduct, since not seeing the
beam which is in our own eye, we examine so critically the
mote which is in another's? Do you not know that when you
judge like this, you are preparing a more terrible judgement
for yourselves? I do not say this in order to defend those
who administer the sacraments unworthily; rather, I have
pity for them and weep for them; however, I do not consider
it just that they should be judged by their subjects, much
less by the simple and ignorant. Even supposing their life
to be unworthy, you, provided you take heed to the priest,
will come to no harm, because it is not the purse soul which
attacts you by its very purity; rather it is the work of
grace. That which is entrusted to the priest only God can
give, and however great may be human virtue, it will always
be less than that grace. Neither angel or archangel has any
power over these gifts of God.
It was no man, angel or any created power
which instituted this hierarchy, but the Consoling Spirit
Himself. To men God has confided a power which neither
angels nor archangels ever obtained. Can there be a greater
power than this? Therefore it may well be said that, on
being elevated to such a sublime dignity, they have been
translated to heaven, transcending our human nature as if
they were free from our human passions.
